Is there such a thing as pro bono family law advice?

[BCBG]

Not wanting to drip feed, but to cut a long story short as well, my DB and his fiancee have been together for four years - are due to marry in Nov. They have had ongoing battles with GF's ex ever since she left him, over access to her DD (now 11). Ex was granted residency in Yorkshire (but shared custody)as GF fled Yorkshire to South East to be near her family/escape his excessive control/abuse. Fast forward three years, she is now in a settled relationship with my DB, due to marry next month. DB relocated job to Yorkshire so that GF could see her daughter more and hopefully share care as per the court order, now they live ten minutes from the school. Court order said one weekend in three while mother was residing in South East, child to stay in marital home until she left Primary School (that home has now been sold in accordance with order), and all other changes to be mutually agreed between the parties.
Ex will agree to NOTHING.
Ex refuses to change the access from the one weekend in three that he tolerated when they were living in South East, and when it is the child's weekend, insists that she returns a 40 min bus ride home to be collected by her mother rather than return the ten minute walk to her mum's house. Yesterday after an accident at school the daughter had to go to A+E - he didn't tell GF, (child texted very late to tell her mum) then again this morning when the daughter had to return to A+E he still refused to let her know and so when GF arrived at hospital she found her daughter sitting with a (much older) half sister as ex had gone off to do his thing, whatever that was. His behaviour is extremely controlling, and he controls GF through access to the child - controls the child by saying if she wants to live with her mum he'll never speak to her or see her again. . His barrister utterly destroyed her in court in the initial hearing four years ago, and s a result she is now completely incapable of representing herself back in court, and they have no money to pay legal fees, my DB has just had a stress related heart attack and they are bras sic.

I just wish that somehow they could take him back to court. I am certain that a judge, looking at the catalogue of his behaviour towards both mother and child, would sort him out.

sorry should have explained that mum and DB live ten minutes from her school, ex lives 40-60 minutes away by bus.

One option not mentioned is a McKenzie Friend. It's what I do for a living.

A McKenzie Friend doesn't have to be legally qualified (although I know some who are). They don't have automatic rights of audience in court meaning you cannot assume they can speak on your behalf in the way a solicitor or barrister can. They also cannot conduct litigation or act as your agent....but they can advise.

Some charge, some don't (the ones that do typically charge about fifth of what a solicitor does). Some are good, some aren't. The best ones can give the best legal professional a good run for their money. In my line of work I have attended courts around the UK (including High Courts), negotiated with solicitors and barristers at hearings, prepared paperwork ranging from two-page statements to trial bundles consisting of hundreds of pages. I've assisted with cases including contact dispute, DA allegations, substance abuse, leave to remove, paternity dispute, etc.

Like anyone else you're trusting to use for a court case - check them out. Ask for experience and background and a few references.

You might want to consider joining Families Need Fathers. They have support meetings around the country with solicitors attending many of them to give pro bono advice, a forum dedicated to the problems you describe here, helplines, documentation to help you and a handy list of McKenzie Friends.

Let me know if you'd like a chat. It's not as daunting as you might think.

And there are law centres. The following list is only those in the network though there are others.
www.lawcentres.org.uk/about-law-centres/law-centres-on-google-maps/alphabetically
You however need advice and representation rather than just advice. To that end, some law centres have solicitors, some have referral schemes, many can feed into the Bar Pro-bono Unit, I am not aware of any referring to McKenzie friends.
But, some McKenzie friends I have come across some are at least as good as good lawyers. I am not aware of any regulatory body, nor do I know if they are insured as law centres and so on are. They can however be an excellent source of support and guidance and lostdad may be able to add something about insurance and regulation. That said, if you have faith in an individual it may not matter to you.

Thank you all - some brilliant and positive advice here. I am going to to copy and paste this thread to my brother and his fiancee - Thank you SO much! I think she will want very much to get in contact but I will leave it to her, - I hope she will join MN so she can link through here.

Yes, you can get some free advice and help. there might be some useful info here. www.childprotectionresource.org.uk/category/legal-advice/