How Do I Afford Divorce

The divorce process not only leaves the couples with emotional disturbances but also heavily in debt. The persons who have undergone the process would know the consequences. Many precedents are there where the couples have faced severe financial crisis and regretted their decision to approach court for settlements, rather than settling down it through mediation. The financial process involved in divorce is the most stressful aspect of divorce. When persons opt for a contested divorce, it would be even more costly to them.

A survey conducted by divorce firms revealed that, almost half of the persons suffered as separation caused more financial problems to them than the separation itself. The separated couples normally use their personal savings and so 36 percent of the divorced couples end up heavily in personal debt. 30 percent of divorced couples are looking out for professional debt counselling and advice. 10 percent of the couples were trying hard to sort out their debts and bankruptcy during the process.

Many online and offline organisations are providing services free of cost, to the couples to come out of the problem. They look at the issues from the court’s point of view, and will help to plan a budget. They will also offer insolvency helpline and also a short term plan to tackle the crisis.

Legal services commission has found that resolving family disputes through mediation is cheaper and quicker. It develops less hostility among the couples, than if they are settled down through courts. In spite of the advantages, only around 20 percent of the people who were funded by the Legal Services Commission have opted for mediation. Various reports have also been sent to the commission to encourage mediation to reduce the cost. However, it cannot decide to sponsor the expenses only to the couples who opt for mediation.

Irrespective of the methodology, it has been providing aid to the deserving couples. Legal Services Commission will also pay the fees of the solicitors, and other fees relating to the case under the Public Funding Scheme. If the person’s gross income is above £2,350 he or she might not be eligible to get the legal help. There is also a limit for disposable income which should not exceed £649 and the disposable capital should be below £8,000. If the person fulfils all the criteria, then there will not be any problem for him or her to get the legal aid.

Persons, who cannot afford to meet out the expenses of divorce, can apply under the Public Funding Scheme under which the Government may provide financial aid to the people. Community Legal Services Fund, maintained by the Legal Services Commission would be utilised for this purpose. If you speak to a solicitor and if he writes a letter on behalf of you, then, you would be entitled to public funding. This is known as legal help. Under legal help scheme, the officials are allowed to carry out work to an initial upper limit of £500.

Under funding schemes, other forms of help are ‘help with mediation’, ‘general family help’ and ‘legal representation’. If the underprivileged are involved in mediation and receiving mediation legal aid, then they will automatically be entitled to get the Help with Mediation services. Under General Family Help, further negotiations for child contact arrangements or financial settlements and other works related to the disputes that might arise at the time of divorce would be dealt with. The ‘Legal Representation’ would help make an application to the court to decide on the major disputable issues. The person should be in a position to prove that they have a justifiable problem and if he is also eligible for legal representation, then the solicitor who is dealing with the case will provide the form to be filled in.

Persons can find out the details of the public funding from a solicitor or through Legal Service Commission, or from their local citizens advice bureau. It is the primary duty of the solicitor to advise the clients on the matters related to public funding. They have to ascertain whether the client is eligible for funding for divorce and other matters such as periodical payments, division of property and child custody. Not all the solicitors accept public-funded work because the Legal Service Commission will pay the solicitor’s fee in the form of a loan and many solicitors may feel uncomfortable with that.

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