confused over divorce, legal aid and fee remission

nazli319

Hi

I ve just received my draft divorce papers and application for fee remission along with a request for 3 months worth of wage slips and bank statements plus tenancy agreement.

My questions are:

1) it asks me to state my annual gross income, but I just received a payrise last month of £50 a month (I work for the NHS) so is my gross income 12 months back from now? My estimated gross income for Apr 11 - Mar 12 or something different?

2) I moved house last week over Christmas into a house share for £180 a month from a £400 a month apartment do I include both and how will this be calculated?

3) I was earning £15,860 and now am on £16,395. I qualified for legal aid, but these documents say I may need to pay a fee but it also says the solicitor will pay this on my behalf. So I am confused as to will I have to pay anything or not!!

Thanks in advance for your advice

N

marywooyeah

nazli319 wrote: »

Hi

I ve just received my draft divorce papers and application for fee remission along with a request for 3 months worth of wage slips and bank statements plus tenancy agreement.

My questions are:

1) it asks me to state my annual gross income, but I just received a payrise last month of £50 a month (I work for the NHS) so is my gross income 12 months back from now? My estimated gross income for Apr 11 - Mar 12 or something different?

2) I moved house last week over Christmas into a house share for £180 a month from a £400 a month apartment do I include both and how will this be calculated?

3) I was earning £15,860 and now am on £16,395. I qualified for legal aid, but these documents say I may need to pay a fee but it also says the solicitor will pay this on my behalf. So I am confused as to will I have to pay anything or not!!

Thanks in advance for your advice

N

Your gross annual income based on this and the next 11 months, eg 12 x whatever you get paid monthly.

Include your new tenancy agreement, but your bank statements will show your old rent payment. Your solicitor will include details of your house change on your CLS Means 1 form but would be good if you also had your old tenancy agreement. Your rent allowance will be calculated from what you pay now.

It says you may have to pay a contribution because you may qualify for legal aid but need to pay a contribution towards it. This means the bulk of your legal work is paid for by the Legal Services Commission and some of it by you, but this depends on how much you earn and how much your deductable outgoings are. Once you have completed your application your solicitor will send it to the LSC, who will calculate your entitlement and write to you informing you of your eligibility status, this takes between 4-8 weeks from reciept.

hope this helps

marywooyeah

nazli319 wrote: »

Hi

I ve just received my draft divorce papers and application for fee remission along with a request for 3 months worth of wage slips and bank statements plus tenancy agreement.

My questions are:

1) it asks me to state my annual gross income, but I just received a payrise last month of £50 a month (I work for the NHS) so is my gross income 12 months back from now? My estimated gross income for Apr 11 - Mar 12 or something different?

2) I moved house last week over Christmas into a house share for £180 a month from a £400 a month apartment do I include both and how will this be calculated?

3) I was earning £15,860 and now am on £16,395. I qualified for legal aid, but these documents say I may need to pay a fee but it also says the solicitor will pay this on my behalf. So I am confused as to will I have to pay anything or not!!

Thanks in advance for your advice

N

Your annual income is calculated at 12 x what you earn monthly now.

Your deductable rent allowance is whatever you pay now and you need your tenancy agreement as proof of this. You may need to provide your old tenancy agreement to show why £450 used to go out of your account each month as this will show up on your bank statement and your solicitor will explain the reason for the difference in amounts on your CLSMeans 1 form.

If you are eligible for public funding you may have to pay a contribution depending on your income and your deductable allowance. This has the effect that the Legal Services Commission pay the bulk of your legal work and you pay some towards it. Once your application has been submitted the LSC will write to you telling you how much, if any, contribution will need to be paid each month until your case concludes. this takes between 4-6 weeks from reciept.

hope this helps.

nazli319

Think I will just take everything and explain at the solicitors cos I m getting a headache
Thanks for your responses

Rikki

Please remember Legal Aid is a loan and will have to be repaid at some point. It is basically legal fees at a lower fixed rate than your solicitor charges.

Bossyboots

I think there is some confusion/misdirection here. The MEANS1 is not a form involved with divorce at all. Divorce is undertaken under the auspices of the Legal Help Scheme and is not subject to re-assessment during the course of its life. The MEANS1 would come into play in any ancillary relief proceedings.

As far as the fee remission form is concerned, put your current salary but enclose the last three months pay slips as requested. You will also need to put your current rent as this is the yardstick by which your entitlement to remission or exemption will be measured. You can put in a note stating that this is a new figure and what your rent was over the three month period in the hope they will average out the figures.

If you are receiving legal aid under the Legal Help Scheme and a fee is payable because you are not entitled to full exemption, then it is true that your solicitor will pay it for you.

Not all legal aid is repayable. If matters conclude with the decree absolute and there are no ancillary matters dealt with then the fees are not repayable. The fees would only have to be paid back if advice is given which results in the gaining or retention of assets and the actual divorce costs would also be repayable even if the ancillary matters are dealt with under a full certificate of public funding.

Perfect10_2

I received Legal Aid due to my income but applied twice for fee remission for courts fees and was turned down due to earnings plus benefits and maintenance. In the end I just paid the fees as £350 was worth it to finally get divorced

marywooyeah

Bossyboots wrote: »

I think there is some confusion/misdirection here. The MEANS1 is not a form involved with divorce at all. Divorce is undertaken under the auspices of the Legal Help Scheme and is not subject to re-assessment during the course of its life. The MEANS1 would come into play in any ancillary relief proceedings.

You're correct, I was not meaning to misdirect anyone I shouldn't have assumed OP was also seeking ancillary relief in addition to divorce.