Legal Aid

[Brijoh]

If you are granted legal aid and the result is you now have assets {ie in a divorce settlement] is it free ?

[ummmm]

Not always. It depends how much you receive. They make a decision after it's been settled and will either send you a bill or inform you there is nothing to pay.

[themas]

Legal aid is often in effect a loan. If you gain any benefit (such as rights to a house, or a financial improvement) as a result of the Court case which is legally aided then you have to pay back the legal aid money out of the proceeds. Sometimes this is done by putting a charge on the house so the payment is made when it is eventually sold.

[ummmm]

Like I said though, not always. I didn't have to pay it back on a settlement of over 13k.

[EDDIE51]

Legal aid is VERY unlikely to be awarded in a divorce or other family law case now anyway. Most divorce cases are not eligible for legal aid at all. So the question hardly arises.

[tonywiltshire]

As eddie says legal aid is not usually necessary in divorce, certainly not in an undefended divorce, it is simply not needed, in a defended divorce it can be given if the correct conditions apply, but today it is unusual to have a defended divorce.
If legal aid were to be given and your financial circumstances improved you may very well be expected to make a repayment depending on the circumstances.