Legal Services Online
What is legal aid and who can get it? Legal services help with the costs of legal advice for people who cannot afford it. If you need help with the costs of legal advice, you can apply for legal aid. Whether you will receive it will depend on: the type of legal problem you have;  your income (how much you earn) and how much capital (money, property and belongings) you have – called ‘financial eligibility’; and whether there is a reasonable chance of winning your case and whether it is worth the time and money needed to win.

Legal aid is available for many types of civil legal problem. A civil legal case is one in which you have a dispute with a person, company or other organization. Civil disputes can be with an individual person, a company, or a government department or agency. They can be, for example to do with your home, your relationships (you may be separating or divorcing), or finance management (you may be having
difficulty receiving benefits). There can be also cases dealing with legal documents, property management, personal insurance and other quite numerous legal issues.

If you are granted any of legal services,you do not receive money yourself to pay the legal bills. If you do receive legal aid, you may still have to pay some of the costs, depending on your financial situation and your case. There are three ways you may have to pay: a lump sum (‘capital contribution’); monthly installments from your income until your case finishes (‘income contribution’); and repaying costs if you receive (or keep hold of) money or property by winning your case. This is called the ‘statutory charge'.