Costs and Legal Aid

Someone else is paying your costs

Your legal costs may be paid for by someone else, for example, an insurance company. You need to take care to ensure you know the exact terms of your insurance. Make sure you know what costs will be paid by the insurance and what costs the insurance will not cover.

You may, for example, need to find out whether the person or insurance paying for your costs will:

• require the level of the firm’s costs to be agreed before work starts
• pay for all the firm’s costs, or only a proportion or specified amount
• pay other costs such as an expert’s report or searches (disbursements)
• pay if your case is withdrawn and is not taken through the court (if your case involves court work)

Legal Aid

If eligible, you may get help from Civil Legal Advice (CLA) for problems including:

• debt, if your home is at risk
• housing, if you are homeless or at risk of being evicted
• domestic abuse
• separating from an abusive partner, when you’re making arrangements for children or sorting out money and property
• a child being taken into care
• special education needs
• discrimination
• some child abduction cases

You can find more information on the Civil Legal Advice website or by contacting CLA directly:

Telephone: +44 (0)345 3454 345 Minicom: +44 (0)3456 096 677.