Family Legal Aid Solicitors in Carlisle
Wragg Mark-Bell Solicitors holds a Family Legal Aid contract, which means eligible clients in Carlisle and Cumbria on lower incomes can get help from our experienced Family Law team with the cost of advice, family mediation and court representation – on matters such as divorce, child arrangements, injunctions and domestic abuse. We believe everyone should be able to access good legal support, whatever their financial means.
What family legal aid can help with
Legal aid is government funding that helps people on lower incomes pay for legal advice and representation. Family legal aid can help you meet the cost of our advice, family mediation, and representation in court, and our help to navigate the legal process on critical family matters such as divorce, injunctions and domestic abuse.
Do I qualify for family legal aid?
You will need to show that you qualify for legal aid and provide evidence before we can complete your legal aid application. You can check if you are eligible by completing the assessment on the gov.uk website.
What evidence do I need?
If you qualify for legal aid, you will be required to provide evidence depending on the criteria you have met. For example, for legal aid for help with divorce, separation, child arrangements or financial arrangements, you will need to provide financial evidence and also evidence of domestic abuse from a health professional, the police, courts, social services or a domestic violence support service. If you need to request this evidence, gov.uk provides sample letters.
Financial evidence is required when legal aid is sought for domestic violence towards you or a child. The gov.uk CW1 financial eligibility guidance sets out what you need to provide. (Link: gov.uk CW1 financial eligibility for legal aid clients)
Meet our family legal aid team
When you have the evidence required – or if you need help with this process — please contact Keith White or Lauren Goad from our family law team to discuss further. Call us on 01228 510077 or contact us by email.
Family legal aid FAQs
Who qualifies for family legal aid?
Family legal aid depends on two things: whether your type of case is in scope, and whether you pass the means and merits tests. Since the 2013 legal aid changes, most private family matters — such as divorce or child arrangements — are only in scope where there is evidence of domestic abuse or a risk of harm to a child. Family mediation is more widely available.
You must also pass a means test based on your income, benefits, savings and assets, and provide supporting evidence. You can check whether you are likely to qualify using the gov.uk legal aid checker.
Does legal aid cover divorce?
Legal aid is generally not available for the divorce itself (legally ending the marriage), which is now a largely administrative, no-fault process. However, legal aid may be available for related issues — such as child arrangements or financial matters — where there is evidence of domestic abuse, and for family mediation.
Whether legal aid can help with your situation therefore depends on your circumstances, particularly whether domestic abuse evidence is available. Our family team can tell you quickly whether your matter is likely to be covered.
Do I have to pay legal aid back?
Family legal aid is not always entirely free. Depending on your income and capital, you may have to pay a monthly contribution towards your costs. There is also the statutory charge: if you recover or keep money or property as a result of your case — for example through a financial settlement — the legal aid costs may have to be repaid from that amount.
We will explain clearly whether a contribution or the statutory charge applies to you before any work begins, so there are no surprises.
What is the domestic abuse evidence requirement?
For most private family law legal aid — such as child arrangements or financial matters — you must provide evidence of domestic abuse, or that a child is at risk. Acceptable evidence can come from a health professional, the police, the courts, social services or a domestic abuse support service: for example a letter from a GP, a police caution or charge, a protective order, or confirmation from a refuge.
The abuse can be against you or your child. gov.uk provides sample letters you can use to request this evidence, and we can help you gather it.
How do I apply for family legal aid?
First, check whether you are likely to be eligible using the gov.uk legal aid checker. Then gather the required evidence — financial evidence and, where relevant, domestic abuse evidence. Contact our family team (Ellie Lawson or Emma Miller), who will complete the legal aid application with you and submit it to the Legal Aid Agency.
We will tell you exactly what is needed and guide you through each step.
Contact our family legal aid solicitors in Carlisle
If you’re worried about affording legal help with a family matter, it’s worth checking whether you qualify for legal aid. For confidential advice, contact Wragg Mark-Bell Solicitors today on 01228 510077.