Help the community and expand your practice! Find out how.
Already registered? Login here.
Question Details: I am a single mother who has 3 children under 13. I currently work 17.25hrs per week and receive working for families payments. I also receive child support. I jointly own property, pay off the mortgage and all bills related to property.
Filed under Family Law | 1781 View(s)
Community Law Wellington & Hutt Valley
You may be eligible for family legal aid.
(There are two main types of legal aid - one for criminal cases, and one for civil disputes - including family cases. The eligibility rules for the two types are quite different.)
In deciding whether to grant family legal aid, the Ministry of Justice's Legal Aid team takes a number of factors into account, including your financial circumstances and what the case is about.
In your situation the financial income limit for applying for family legal aid is $57,880 per year (because you have three dependent children). However, to be eligible for civil legal aid, you must also not have more than $3,500 of disposable capital. This includes the value of an debts or assets you may have (including equity in your home you jointly own).
As you can see, there are a lot of factors to be taken into account when assessing whether or not you will be eligible for legal aid.
We recommend finding a local lawyer who does family legal aid, and talking to them about your case (click here: www2.justice.govt.nz or heading along to your local Community Law Centre to discuss your circumstances. For details on how to find your nearest Community Law Centre, head along to this website: www.communitylaw.org.nz
For more information on legal aid generally, including how to apply, head along to these websites: www.justice.govt.nz
www.communitylaw.org.nz
Remember also that legal aid is not always a grant. You can be required to pay back some of the legal aid you receive.
Answered 28 Jan 2013. The IMPORTANT NOTICE below is part of this answer.
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
The answer provided above is intended for general informational purposes only and cannot be
considered a substitute for face-to-face legal advice. It should not be relied upon as the sole
basis for taking action in relation to a legal issue. Laws change frequently, and small
variations in the facts, or a fact not provided in the question, can often change a legal
outcome or a lawyer’s conclusion. No liability whatsoever is accepted by the authors or
publishers of the answer, for loss, damage or inconvenience arising in any way from the use of
this site. While each answer has been published by a lawyer with a practising certificate, that
person may not necessarily have experience in the particular area of law involved.
For more information about this website, please review our
Terms of Use.