Criteria For Legal Aid

[Caribeing]

What is the criteria for legal aid, single mother working has two dependent children gone through separation sold house but after split amounts just enough to live on has to pay large legal bill is she entitled to help.

[Mamyalynne]

Check here till someone qualified can help you.

https://www.gov.uk/legal-aid/overview

[EDDIE51]

Very unlikely, legal aid has been drastically cut in the last few years.
Legal aid is only available in domestic situations such as this if there is a danger to the children, due to violence , threat of abduction or similar.
If she has already run up the bill I think it is too late anyway, you have to apply for legal aid and your claim accepted before you start proceedings.
How has the 'large legal bill' been run up? (to see if it could be one of the few things that aid may be available for)

[Peter Pedant]

one divorcee bitterly told me she had to pay back her legal aid bill over a few years after a contested divorce so the rule has been around for some time

[bednobs]

is the legal bill already run up? Is it to do with a crime (your post doesn't make it clear whether the divorce etc is the thing she needs legal aid for, or for a criminal matter).
If the bill is already in existence, i'm not sure legal aid will pay it under any circumstances

[ummmm]

I'm sure bednobs is right.

When my solicitor applied for legal aid on my behalf it was done before she took the case on.

[EDDIE51]

Your friend can ask for time to pay. They will accept even a very small regular payment as long as it is genuinely all she can afford. I know of a lady who is paying a £9800 legal bill off at £1 a month!. She got a county court judgement against her for the debt and after supplying her financial details offered £1 a month which was accepted. As long as she keeps the £1 a month payments up they can't ask for more unless she has a change of circumstances ( which is not likely on a fixed pension!)