Funding Options For Domestic Violence Cases
Any domestic abuse victims who cannot afford to pay legal costs can get financial assistance. Legal aid will cover legal costs for disputes related to private family law disputes, child arrangements, and issuance of specific orders. In addition, many organizations and social services provide support to domestic violence victims.
The person entitled to get legal aid for the domestic violence case must have been a victim of any of the following:
- Physical, psychological, sexual, emotional, and financial abuse
- Controlling, intolerant, threatening, or coercive behaviour
For disputes between parents and spouses related to domestic abuse, legal aid will only be available to the victims if there is concrete evidence proving any incident or series of incidents of domestic violence.
Moreover, the victim must prove that any relevant child’s safety is at risk from the other parent or associated individual. A legal aid solicitor will ask for evidence before deciding whether or not the applicant is eligible for legal aid.
Evidence Required
The Civil Legal Aid (Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 outlines the documents accepted as evidence to claim funding due to domestic abuse. These include:
- Evidence that the other party is charged with an offence related to domestic violence
- Proof that the associated individual was cautioned for domestic violence offence
- The person is formally charged with domestic violence, however, the decision is pending
- A copy of the charge sheet or written confirmation from police that the person is released on a bail for a domestic violence offence
- Expert assessment as evidence in court proceedings
- Medical report from an appropriate healthcare professional
- A formal letter from the multi-agency risk assessment conference (MARAC)
- A letter from the domestic violence support service confirming the domestic abuse and the risk of harm
If a person does not have any relevant evidence, they can request written statements and a range of documents from court, police, social, and medical services.
Claiming Legal Aid
A solicitor or family mediator will usually apply for legal aid on behalf of a victim. They will fill out the application form and state the applicant’s inability to pay legal costs.
If the applicant needs urgent representation in court, the solicitor can apply for Emergency Legal Representation to cover the costs of the court proceedings.
Disclaimer:
The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Connaught Law and authors accept no responsibility for loss that may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Connaught Law. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Connaught Law.
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