More People to be Eligible for Legal Aid
6 January 2009
It has recently been announced by the Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill, that the upper disposable income limit for civil legal aid is to be increased from £10,306 to £25,000.
The change will be introduced from April 2009 and is therefore not too far away.
Kenny MacAskill claims that more than a million additional Scots should potentially become eligible for financial help towards court costs for civil actions.
Basically, those with higher earnings and disposable incomes between £10,306 and £25,000 will require to pay a contribution towards the costs of the legal fees. However that is no different from the present situation where a contribution can be asked to be paid by the Scottish Legal Aid Board.
The benefit to the client is that the contribution can be paid over instalments and are interest–free. This therefore spreads the cost of legal advice and should be of considerable benefit to many.
Please feel free to look at our page regarding Legal Aid and we will also keep you posted as to when the change in the eligibility limits is actually introduced.
It may well be that many clients who were not previously eligible will now be eligible for a grant of civil legal aid, either for an action already raised or for raising a fresh action.