Unidad Ejecutora 001: Administración Nivel Central

[What follows is an explanation of the legal help scheme to add to the public funding client care letter where applicable]

Family help scheme

This covers legal work before the grant of emergency or full public funding. It does not cover

proceedings issued in a court other than for divorce or judicial separation. You must be aware that the work that I carry out for you under the legal help scheme is limited solely to the essential work required to achieve the legal objectives in your case. At all times, a test is applied by the Legal Services

Commission that there is sufficient benefit to be obtained in carrying out the work on your behalf compared with the cost to the public fund.

Representation

Under the family help scheme it is not possible to represent you at court. However, if your situation becomes more complex or is fully contested then it may be possible to apply for an emergency or full public funding certificate. I explain below important points about the public funding scheme.

Evidence of income

It is essential under the Legal Services Commission Regulations for us to obtain from you evidence of your income and/or benefits to verify your entitlement to advice under the family help scheme. This should be provided at the initial meeting. If it is not available then you must provide such proof very promptly. If you do not, we will be unable to carry out any further work for you until evidence of your income and means has been produced. Failure to provide this documentary evidence will result in us being required to cease advising you, and you may be invoiced at my private hourly rate as set out below.

You will not have to pay anything towards our costs under the legal help scheme if you do not recover money or preserve property. However, if the issues about which I am advising you under the family help scheme become complex and/or you are issued a public funding certificate then the costs incurred under the legal help scheme do become relevant and if money or property is recovered or preserved then the statutory charge is likely to apply. Full information about the statutory charge is set out below.

The statutory charge

It is important to remember that public funding is only in some circumstances completely free. In most cases it operates as a loan. If there is a dispute about owning, sharing or using:

• money (except maintenance); • property;

• other valuable, disputed assets (eg pensions, trusts, jewellery, antiques, animals, cars/vans, boats, collections, life policies) etc; and/or

then if you receive or keep the money, property or valuable asset, I must first pay out of it to the Legal Services Commission enough money to cover all your public funding costs. The costs must be repaid before any other debt or liability, irrespective of the terms of any court order.

However, if you settle financial matters through mediation, you do not have to pay for my firm’s legal costs in advising and assisting you.

Please note:

• The law about this harsh ruling is very complicated.

• If the property that is recovered or preserved is your home, the Legal Services Commission may agree to delay payment of your public funding costs until the property is sold or until you decide that you want to raise money on it (if earlier). Interest will, however, be added to the costs until they are paid back. That is currently 8% per annum.

• If you recover money which you wish to use to buy a family home, or you sell your family home to buy another home, the Legal Services Commission has a limited discretion to delay

repayment until the new home is sold, but interest will be added until the costs are paid back. • Legal costs can be very expensive. Because of the public funding or statutory charge, please help

me to keep them as low as possible. We can discuss ways in which this can be done.

• If you are represented in several aspects of family proceedings, including divorce, children issues, injunction issues or property issues then the statutory charge applies to all the costs that you incur where you have the benefit of a public funding certificate. Even if there are separate certificates, they will be linked and the statutory charge will apply to the total costs incurred. If you do recover or preserve money or property, and you have very high public funding costs because of issues concerning children or an injunction, then you may find that all that you have recovered needs to be paid back.

Costs estimate

It is important to provide you with the best information about the likely costs involved in the event that you have to repay your legal costs.

The Legal Services Commission pays standard fees depending on the nature of the work required. The payment arrangements are complex but in general if the cost of the work required on your case exceeds more than three times the standard fees (two times in some proceedings), the case is considered exceptional and the Legal Services Commission will pay for the work we have carried out at hourly rates. The standard fees for the legal costs are complex and subject to change on a regular basis. We will endeavour to keep you informed of the standard fees that apply to your case from time to time. [I anticipate that your case will incur the following standard fees, making an estimated total of £[ ] plus VAT]/[I anticipate that your case will become exceptional and the likely costs will be between £[ ] and £[ ] plus VAT.]

In addition to the standard fees, we will also have to pay out expenses on your behalf. It is possible to apply to the court for exemption of some of the court fees and we will provide you with an application form if this is appropriate. The likely expenses are:

Expense Amount

Therefore, the likely total costs incurred under the family help scheme is £[ ] inclusive of VAT and expenses.

As the matter proceeds I will provide you with an update of that figure with details of costs and disbursements incurred at least every six months, if it is likely that you will need to repay the costs to the Legal Services Commission.

Conclusion

Your continuing instructions in this matter amount to acceptance of my firm’s terms of business. Even so, I would ask you please to sign and date a copy of this letter where indicated and return it to me in the enclosed pre-paid envelope so that I can be sure that you understand the basis upon which I am acting for you, and the regulations in relation to the family help scheme.

Yours sincerely…

I confirm that I have read and retain the original letter of which this is a duplicate

Signed ………. A Client Dated ……….

Guide to Good Practice on the Proceeds of