earnings for legal aid

[pinkkoala]

how much are you allowed to earn to get legal aid, i earn approx 6k a yr, get child tax credit and child benefit, also do i have to pay legal aid back and what happens if wf get so far in and then things change.

Hey, I'm going through it all now I have to pay contributions monthly,and had a one off payment. They say you are allowed, I think it's £730 disposable income a month, they give u so much for dependents,and only expense they take into account is your rent or mortgage monthly. Eg: I earn just over 1400 a month, they take out my £425 a month rent,and think its £200 a month for my daughter being a dependant, leaves me with bout £775 disposable income,so im just over,hence contributions!goes on if you have any savings too, that's what messed mine up!!
It's complicated, but base it on the £700 disposable income, if you have less than that after your rent monthly, you should qualify. ( includes your tax credits,chid benefit too)
Hope that helps,if it changes throughout whatever you need legal aid for, it will be recalculated.
Good luck :-)

i earn approx 450 a mnth and get 200 a mnth ctc, and have a dd.

what happens if me change our mind with regards to divorceand try to seperate amicably would i then have to pay back what i have used so far, basically we havent applied to courts yet, he has had ltr from my sols regarding divorce and also a statement of arrangement for dd, to which he has just agreed my requests.

i would rather sort it out between us to save some money.

Where are you in the UK? In England & Wales the rules are different from those in Scotland.

In E&W it's around £282 a month for each dependent child. You do have to repay your legal costs if you benefit financially through the advice you've been given. It's called the statutory charge. You can google it to get all the info you need.

i have googled legal aid statuory charge and to be honest, didnt understand a word.
do you always end up paying all the legal aid back.
so far ours hasnt gone to court yet, he has had two ltrs sent from my sol, and we have had statemdnt of arrangement form sent to us, which i have returned.
i went to sols in first instance as he wasnt cooperating, now he is being reasonable and doesnt seem to want divorce, but has suggested separating and he moves out.
i would rather sort things amicably to save myself legal costs, how much legal aid do you think i would of used already.

If you qualify for legal aid it won't cost you a thing to see a solicitor and have them help you get the divorce. They can also answer any other question you might have.

All I remember them saying is legal aid is not a gift, as somebody already said, if you benefit financially ( eg: you take the legal aid to get a solicitor to help you get an inheritance, either money or property, then you would have to pay some back) However, don't think that's your situation, think you will qualify for the legal aid, but go speak to solicitor, take a list of questions, and "what if's" that's what I did, and felt better for it!! Good luck! :)

It isn't just about earnings, but also any other income you have such as child benefit, TCs and maintenance. Also capital. Certain deductions are then taken. Some of these are standard figures- eg £45 for working expenses, about £272 for each dependant child. For others such as rent, income tax and NI, they'll deduct what you actually spend. Council tax and bills will not be included. The figure that comes out after all this needs to be £733 a month or less, or you won't qualify for legal aid.

In order to be assessed, just take proof of all your income for the past month to the solicitor. That's payslips, bank statement, TC letter and proof of anything else you get. Let them do the maths!

If you get a financial settlement, yes you'd have to pay money back. If there's no financial settlement, no you wouldn't. You might have to pay a monthly contribution towards your legal aid if you get a full legal aid certificate, for example if there are contact proceedings at court. There's nothing to stop you going to a solicitor, being assessed and getting initial advice under the legal help scheme, if you qualify (legal help is sort of the initial stage of legal aid, you never have to pay anything back at legal help level). You could then choose not to apply for a full legal aid certificate and represent yourself instead, if things do get to court.