Family Mediation?..legal Aid?

[anthony25]

hello not sure if this should be posted in the family topic but anyway,ive recently come out of a 12 year relationship and things have gone a bit sour,shes refusing me access to my 2 young children,not seen them in 5 weeks now,ive had to come out of work due to illness and have put a fresh claim in for esa,i went to see a solicitor who specialise in this area as the first appointment you get an hours free,i was told due to changes in the law a soilicitor of any kind cannot assist me on this without charging me,but said family mediation i may get legal aid cover?..ive never been in this position before so simply have no finances available to me.

[ummmm]

I don't know the exact answer but when I went through a break up I was told by the solicitor that I would have to pay for mediation as it was no longer covered by legal aid.

[hc4361]

Try this:

https://www.gov.uk/check-legal-aid

[Peter Pedant]

and you are looking at big big money

to vary an ex parte ( without notice ) order a neighbour was quoted four grand

[sherrardk]

My friend is almost divorced and she had to pay for mediation (I think it was £80 for each session). The first session was mandatory but things dragged on a bit.

[Buenchico]

You need a Child Arrangements Order from a court. (They've replaced 'contact orders'). However a court won't grant one unless you've already been down the road of family mediation via a MIAM (= mediation and assessment meeting) or you can prove an exemption from attending a MIAM. Legal aid cover is available for the cost of MIAMs for those who qualify. Further information is available here:
http://www.familymediationcouncil.org.uk/#

If that doesn't work you can then apply for the order using this form:
http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/c100-eng.pdf
for which you need to read these notes:
http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/cb007-eng.pdf
(which also explain further about mediation)

If you're in receipt of certain benefits (including income-related ESA) you won't have to pay any court fee. If you're not in receipt of any such benefits but still have a low income then (depending on the level of that income) you pay either nothing or a reduced fee. You need to complete this form to declare your entitlement to a remission of the fee:
http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/ex160a-eng.pdf