What good is legal aid when one cannot afford to pay it?

[Ukuleila]

Currently going through divorce with my ex husband who decided out of the blue that he doesn't want to be married any longer and does not want to live in the UK any longer, leaving me all alone in London with a seven year old, no family support, low income and a big mortgage on the back. Adding to that, he is paying me a lousy £100 child support per month and stopped paying for the mortgage (we have a 50/50 joined ownership!).

So I decided to apply for legal aid to get him to court. Mainly for a redistribution of equity share in my favour, for higher child support payment and for him paying me what he owes me over the last year.

I prepared a massive dossier over the summer and they finally granted me legal aid. But I was in shock about what they asking for. They know I have hardly any savings left and that I struggle with low income and no pay from my ex.

They are asking for a £1850 one off payment plus a monthly contribution of £195 (didn't say for how long)! How on earth am I supposed to pay that?!

I feel like they try to rip me off. I now have two weeks to decide if I accept or not. If I do, I may end up completely broke. If I don't, I may not be able to get my case sorted.

I wonder how much it could cost if I just went private. Somehow I think I may be able to find a cheaper deal finding a solicitor myself.

Anyone experienced with this? Thanks

No, I wouldn't have thought you will find anything cheaper. Bear in mind most family partners will have an hourly rate of give or take £325+VAT, so the amount Legal Aid are charging each month won't go far.

If you can agree with your ex who's having what, you won't need a solicitor but it sounds like that's not possible?

Oh I meant to say the child support bit you can absolutely do yourself through the CSA. Have you worked out what he should be paying you?

They asked me to find a lawyer myself who will accept legal aid. I spoke to a firm in Harrow who do that, they have an hourly rate of £160, so really not as dramatic as described here. They wouldn't let me go through their own lawyer.

My ex has no money and he won't be able to pay for a solicitor. That's why I wonder if costs would go so high as he cannot afford to defend himself. Also, I am in a much stronger position as I am the sole carer for our child now and the flat is our family home.

I need to check with them if the financial assessment they made was correct.

As for child support, he pays 8% of his salary, as he has another child to support from a previous marriage. That makes £100... That covers about half of the costs of the afternoon school club for my child, so that I can go working. It's a ridiculous amount for London

I think you should be grateful you’ve been given a legal aid offer. I’m a single mum, on benefits and can barely afford to pay my bills to keep a roof over me and my child’s head and I’m already thousands in debt to a solicitor because I’m not entitled to legal aid

Their private rate is £160? That wouldn't even get you a qualified lawyer here.

Slightly off topic but if your ex 'has no money', how will he pay you more CM, pay 50% of the mortgage and pay you back what he owes you?

I'm a solicitor - one month qualified, and my hourly rate is £175+VAT - i very very much doubt that you'd get anything cheaper than what you're currently being offered.

Where are you based? The University of Strathclyde offer a law clinic run by the students and provide free advice. Not much use if you're not in Scotland, but maybe other uni's offer something similar?

Thanks for all the replies.

I just found out that these initial figures are not written in stone but apparently, when the solicitor then writes the legal aid application, he /she then will submit the current financial situation of the applicant and the fees can then be reassessed. They would not reassess them now.

They counted £700 deposit from my lodger as disposable income, which it is not, as I need to pay this money back.

They also don't take credit card debts and overdraft into account. Had I known that before the application, I would have paid off debts and overdraft from my savings.

Waiting now for them to confirm that the one off fee can be paid after reassessment. That's the only thing that worries me. Because if not, then I will find myself with hardly any savings left and a mortgage to pay.....

So thanks for the reality check.

BTW, I am based in London.

As for ex, he has no money yes. But he has a new job now where he earns a low basic plus ote. But he only takes into account the low basic to pay me. Also, he pushes me to sell the flat. We have a 50/50. As he now lives in a country much cheaper than the UK, that means for him being able to buy a really nice property there. Whereas for me, on my low income with dependant, the property ladder will be finished. I would need to go back to renting in London which I cannot afford, will eat up all my money from the sales and over time end up in poverty (worse case scenario).

That's not fair on me, hence I want a redistribution of equity