Divorce and financial proceedings inevitably cause distress and anxiety. This is also often coupled with the worry as to how they are able to afford to pay for their legal representation.
If you are involved in financial proceedings there are a number of options available to you if you are unable to afford your legal fees. These include for example a Legal Litigation Loan, 0% Credit Cards and a Legal Services Payment Order, to list a few.
This article focuses on the latter of those examples, a Legal Services Payments Order. Essentially, a Legal Services Payments Order is where one party to the marriage is ordered to pay to the other a sum of money to enable them to pay their legal costs.
A Legal Services Payment Order is common where one spouse has a significantly higher income or income capacity, or has other financial assets to which the Court can have recourse to (for example a recent pay-out or property). In order to apply for a Legal Services Payment Order it is important to demonstrate to the Court that you do not have sufficient funds, but your spouse does. It is also important to demonstrate that you are unable to obtain funding from another source and it is important to provide evidence to that effect.
A Legal Services Payment Order can be a one-off payment, payments in instalments or payments for a specified period (ie the whole proceedings or up to a particular stage in proceedings).
Importantly, the recent case of LKH v TQA AL Z (2018) highlighted that a spouse cannot recover money for legal costs that they have already occurred. Therefore, it is always important for you to obtain advice from your solicitor at an early stage if you are concerned about being able to afford your legal fees.
If you are considering issuing financial proceedings, but you are worried or concerned about how you might be able to fund your legal costs, then speak to a member of our team who would be happy to discuss the options with you.
Shavaun is a trainee solicitor who has had a seat in our family team. Our family law team advises families across the South West on the best solutions for them. If you would like to get in touch with the team to discuss adultery in divorce or any other family law matter please call 0345 450 5558 or email enquiries@stephens-scown.co.uk