civil legal aid

[patrixcia]

would a person living on state pension of £122.00 per week have to pay much to go to court with regard to access of grandchildren?

[Mr Veritas]

This Community Legal Advice site has a calculator to see what you qualify for Legal Aid:~
http://www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk/en/legalaid/calculator.jsp

Sadly (from what I read on the net) even if you are financially eleigible for Legal Aid,as a Grandparent it is not automatically granted( and in many cases not at all) but do read this:~
http://www.macdonaldoates.co.uk/article.php?article_id=10 />
This:~
http://www.legalservices.gov.uk/about_legal_aid.asp
is the Goverment's own official Legal Aid webpage.
It can't of course say whether if you are eligible,(being a Grandparent) whether it WILL be granted to you.

The only people who seem to get granted Legal Aid (if eligible) in cases dealing with children are the parents.

[STIDW]

If you are not granted legal aid it is possible to obtain free legal advice from the Community Legal Services [ http://www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk ] phone line. Alternatively there might be a law clinic near you.

If you are prepared to spend time doing some research and filling in forms it is also possible to represent yourself. With children cases there isn't usually that much law involved. The application form, C100, and guides CB1 & CB3 can be downloaded from;

http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/HMCSCourtFinder/FormFinder.do

There is a fee of £175 and if you are on a low income you will be exempt (Form 160).

However, in England & Wales, grandparents need to seek permission from the court before going ahead with the application. Court officials could help you with this and check any forms have been filled in correctly, but they cannot say anything which might be construed as legal advice.

[hc4361]

Think very carefully before applying to the courts. Even if you win there is no guarantee the parent will comply and the courts are reluctant to enforce it because it would mean putting a parent in prison.
Try everything else first.

[patrixcia]

thank you all very much for your help. hopefully we can settle things amicably and not have to go to court

regards pat