Legal Aid Eligibility in Court of Protection Cases
Some types of Court of Protection cases mean that you may be eligible for government funded representation from a solicitor. This is known as Legal Aid. In order to assess whether you are entitled to this funding, we have to follow the steps set out by the Legal Aid Agency. This is essentially a two stage test, firstly do you qualify financially, and secondly, does your case pass the merits test.
Financial eligibility
The first step to working out if you are eligible for legal aid is to consider your financial status to determine if you are financially eligible.
You will not need to undergo a financial assessment if you are either:
- Under 18 years old,
- Deprived of your liberty in a care home or hospital, or
- You are the Relevant Person Representative for
If none of these apply to your circumstances, then we will need to assess both your income and capital.
Income assessment
If you are in receipt of certain benefits you will automatically pass the income assessment. These are:
- Universal Credit
- Income support
- Income-based job seekers allowance
- Income-related employment support allowance
- Guarantee credit
You will need to provide proof of your benefits and your national insurance number.
If you are working, you will need to confirm and evidence:
- Your gross income, before any deductions, does not exceed £2,657 per month.
- Your disposable income does not exceed £733 per month.
Your disposable income is worked out by deducting from your total income:
- How much you pay in tax
- How much you pay in national insurance
- How much you pay towards your rent or mortgage
- How much you pay for childcare costs because you are working
- How much you pay towards any criminal legal aid you have had
Capital
If you qualify based on your income, the next step will be to assess if you also qualify based on your capital.
Your capital is the total of any money that you have in your bank account and anything you own that is worth more than £500.
You need to have less than £8,000 total to qualify for legal aid funding.
If you have between £3,000 and £8,000 then you will be asked to pay a contribution towards your legal aid.
If you own your own home, then this is counted towards the capital limit, but you get an allowance for it being the home that you live in. The amount of capital taken into account from the home you live in is calculated as The value of your house less any outstanding mortgage less £100,000 allowance..
If you have a partner, then their income and capital is also included towards your legal aid eligibility. A partner is anyone you are married to or ordinarily live with.
Merits test
If you are financially eligible for legal aid funding, the next step is to look if you are eligible based on the merits of your case.
This means that your case must have a strong enough prospect of success for you to qualify for legal aid.
This is a subjective decision for the legal aid agency to make on a case-by-case basis, however we are able to advise you based on our strong knowledge and experience.
If you have a Court of Protection matter where you think you may qualify for legal aid, please get in touch with our dedicated team on 0191 232 9547.
*Please be aware that this is a simplified overview of the process but there are other elements that can be taken into account and you are recommended to always check with us if you are eligible.
