Check whether you are eligible for Legal Aid

This page is intended only to provide you with a broad indication of whether you may or may not be eligible for legal aid assistance. If you would prefer advice tailored to your own circumstances, you should contact our family team. No liability is accepted for the use, misuse or interpretation placed upon, or reliance placed upon this guide.

This guide assumes that you have no second home, savings, investments or capital or if you do, such assets form part of the assets potentially in dispute with your spouse.

We suggest you identify your monthly gross income from:-

• Salary
• Working Tax Credit
• Child Tax Credit
• Child Benefit
• Maintenance Received
• State Benefits (note that some are ignored for these purposes)
• Any of the above for your current/new partner

Add this income to arrive at an overall monthly income. If this exceeds  a £2657 you may not be eligible for legal aid. Call your income "Figure A".

We suggest you then deduct:-

• Tax
• National Insurance
• Mortgage or Rent
• An amount for your new/current partner at  about £159.25
• An amount for each dependant child from the table below
• Child care costs
• An allowance for each person who works at £45 per month

Call your outgoings "Figure B". Deduct Figure B from Figure A. If the result is £733 or less then you may be eligible for legal aid.

Dependant Child Allowances

For each dependent child allow about £243.81 as a deduction against your income

Income Support/Job Seekers Allowance/Pension Credit

If you receive these benefits you may be automatically eligible for legal aid assistance.

Alternatively you could consider using the on line legal aid eligibility calculator found at this link:-

http://legalaidcalculator.justice.gov.uk/calculators/eligiCalc?execution=e2s1

Advice

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