Family Court Expense Insurance?

Rockyuk_2

Hi Everyone,
I am sure there are allot of other fathers out there in the current situation I am in so I am going to put this out there and see if anyone can help.

I am currently in court over my daughter for access and residency and due to my salary I am not eligible for Legal Aid. I have been representing myself with some help of a family friend who is a solicitor but I would like to now get one to represent me as things have started to get complicated. Now is there any type of insurance I can take out to help me with my court fee's? I have been speaking to solicitors for quotes and they are asking for between £150 to £200 per hour to work on my case. No this excludes a barrister should I want one at court with me which can cost from £300+ upwards per hour and yes I am in the wrong job!

Even with my salary I cannot afford to pay these sorts of costs as I would be bankrupt within a month haha. So I have been looking for an insurance policy that I could take out and claim my costs off it so I can speed this process for this long winded court they call FAMILY COURT.

Regards

Rockyuk

rpc

Insurance is to cover forseeable, but unexpected events (with quantifiable risk). Incurring fees is (now) a certainty so what you would be saying to an insurer is "If I give you £X, give me £10*X back" which no sane business would go for. There is no risk here - the money would be paid out. I'm afraid you won't find what you are looking for, but your current approach seems sound.

Rockyuk_2

Hi RPC,
Thankyou for your reply, I do understand what your saying but what I mean is insurance is a business with risk full stop. As so many marriages and relationships do break down it would be good if there was a marriage/relationship insurance should either party need to attend court. This will stop people from using and abusing Legal Aid and maybe people will think again about being difficult when it comes to property and children etc.

If people had to spend more money out of there own pockets then and only then would people start becoming more reasonable and hopefully cut down court appearances etc.

Thanks

Rockyuk

rpc

I could envisage such a product being sold when folk marry, there are statistics on divorce rates and probably court costs and if there were the market, an insurer could probably work out a premium. But, you are now in court and a "maybe" has become a "almost certainly".

Your situation would be somewhat akin to taking out insurance after you had crashed your car but before taking it to be repaired (very loose analogy, but it isn't too far off the mark).

I agree with your criticism of legal aid, but the way to fix that is to fix the legal aid system. Easier said than done, mind...

Kitten_Pie

Have you checked your contents insurance, most will include an amount for legal fees which you might be able to use. It doesn't have to be anything to do with the house.