Money matters

The heavy bite of the recession has resulted in cutbacks to the Legal Aid budget, limiting availability and placing constraints on individuals’ incomes, which means they are often not able to afford the use of solicitors. A greater number of people are having to ‘go it alone’ when dealing with the fallout following a marriage or relationship breakdown. We have noticed an increase in the number of people struggling to complete Court applications and having to attend Court unrepresented. The breakdown of a relationship is a distressing time and having to cope and deal with the formalities of Court only adds to the pressure and can further damage already fraught relationships.

The Law Commission are considering whether they should make changes, to make it easier for couples, by providing more certainty and clarity, particularly in respect of financial matters. The advantage of this would be that applications to the Court would be much more likely to settle, as everyone would know where they stand. The disadvantage of certainty and clarity is “a broad brush, one suits all approach”, rather like the stance adopted by the CSA. This approach can be terribly unfair, as it does not take into account the circumstances of an individual’s case but this is the price that would have to be paid if such reforms are to be made.

“Legal Aid clients may be represented by people without the necessary experience or time”

People looking for law firms who still carry out Legal Aid work are often unable to find a firm with the capacity to take on their case. Even if they are successful in finding a firm, they will often have their case dealt with by junior fee earners in that practice, as the rate paid to the Legal Aid firm are now so low that such firms often cannot afford for more experienced lawyers to run Legal Aid cases. This can result in Legal Aid clients being represented by people without the necessary experience or time to deal with their case in the same way as a client who is paying privately.

A good way to ensure value for money and save on expense is to use a lawyer as and when needed. From recent experience, clients are choosing to obtain legal and practical advice and then carry out much of the paperwork themselves. It may well be a one-off meeting is all that is needed to help to resolve issues and help couples to move forward.

At Healys, we offer a one-off appointment service at a reduced fixed rate and, if you have any issues following the breakdown of a relationship, we are here to help. Please feel free to contact our friendly family law team:
Catherine Taylor: catherine.taylor@healys.com
Kathryn Sawyer: kathryn.sawyer@healys.com
Our telephone number is 01273 685888

If you have any issues following the breakdown of your marriage and civil partnership, please feel free to contact me on 01273 669124 or email me at catherine.taylor@healys.com.