Fee remission/access to children

[CYNthesys]

With he help of a solicitor divorced friend of a friend is seeking access to his children via courts. As he is in receipt of means tested jobseekers allowance he is entitled to full remission for the court/application fees, but he has been asked by his solicitor for a £350+ upfront fee (which includes the cost of an application) because solicitor advised that fee remission doesn't apply if he is using a solicitor to represent him.
Doesn't sound quite right to me?

[charitynjw]

Re: Fee remission/access to children

With he help of a solicitor divorced friend of a friend is seeking access to his children via courts. As he is in receipt of means tested jobseekers allowance he is entitled to full remission for the court/application fees, but he has been asked by his solicitor for a £350+ upfront fee (which includes the cost of an application) because solicitor advised that fee remission doesn't apply if he is using a solicitor to represent him.
Doesn't sound quite right to me?

Hi CYN

Fee remission (EX160) is for court fees.

As far as I'm aware, legal aid would only be a possible if there was evidence of violence/abuse.
https://www.gov.uk/legal-aid/domestic-abuse-or-violence

I could be wrong, though.
I'll give [MENTION=39710]des8[/MENTION] a nudge.

[CYNthesys]

Re: Fee remission/access to children

I dont mean legal aid
Because he is using a solicitor as opposed to going it alone, solicitor told him that fee remission for applications doesnt apply
Personally I think its just that it would be too much trouble for the solicitor to bother about application fee remission for his client

[des8]

Re: Fee remission/access to children

Just because one uses a solicitor desn't mean automatically fee remission is not possible!
form EX160A has this to say:
If you are receiving Legal Aid in England and Wales the level of Legal Aid you receive willdetermine whether or not you can apply for a fee remission.
In England and Wales, if you have a solicitor representing you under a certificate either forLegal Representation or Family Help (Higher) you cannot apply for a fee remission.
Thesolicitor, having filed notice of acting together with notice of issue of Legal Aid, will pay yourcourt or tribunal fee for you.
If you receive advice under Family Help (Lower) where a consent order is being applied for,the solicitor will also pay the court or tribunal fee on your behalf.
If you receive one of the following levels of Legal Aid you can apply for a remission:• Legal Help; or• Help at Court; or• Family Help (Lower) except where a consent order is being applied for

The court or tribunal will need to see evidence of all the information you enter in yourapplication.
You may give the court or tribunal certified copies of your evidence if you arelegally represented or in receipt of one of the levels of Legal Aid where you can apply for afee remission.
To get your documents certified you must give the original documents to yourlegal representative, who can photocopy the documents and stamp them as being certifiedas true copies.Certified documents:• must be accompanied by an original letter on your legal representatives headednotepaper, with their contact details; and,• will still be subject to checks made by court or tribunal staff.

[CYNthesys]

Re: Fee remission/access to children

To clarify
does the above only apply if legal aid is made available

[des8]

Re: Fee remission/access to children

Just caught up with this after interruptions.

I'm inclined to go along with Cyn.
If you qualify for fee remission I have a feeling that the individual has to make the appliation even if using a solicitor.Iie solicitor can't do it for you.
I'll do some more looking around.

[charitynjw]

Re: Fee remission/access to children

Just caught up with this after interruptions.

I'm inclined to go along with Cyn.
If you qualify for fee remission I have a feeling that the individual has to make the appliation even if using a solicitor.Iie solicitor can't do it for you.
I'll do some more looking around.

I agree.
Fee remission & legal aid are different animals......you could have one without being eligible for the other.

[des8]

Re: Fee remission/access to children

If I was your friend I would be asking the solicitor to show where that ruling comes from.
The sentence "You may give the court or tribunal certified copies of your evidence if you are legally represented or in receipt of one of the levels of Legal Aid where you can apply for afee remission." indicates to me that evn if Legally represented you can apply for fee remission.
That paragraph continues that your legal rep sees to it all.

If all else fails he could apply for a refund :
Form EX160A sec 7:
"For all courts and tribunals: You can apply for a refund (known as a retrospectiveapplication) if you have paid a court or tribunal fee within the last three months and thinkthat you would have been granted a remission at the time you paid the fee".


Sorry..I'm stopping now Family problems.

[Openlaw15]

Re: Fee remission/access to children

With he help of a solicitor divorced friend of a friend is seeking access to his children via courts. As he is in receipt of means tested jobseekers allowance he is entitled to full remission for the court/application fees, but he has been asked by his solicitor for a £350+ upfront fee (which includes the cost of an application) because solicitor advised that fee remission doesn't apply if he is using a solicitor to represent him.
Doesn't sound quite right to me?

No, I think your solicitor is trying to pull a fast one. Income related DWP benefits including JSA entitles a person to full remission. The fee remission applies to the person making the court application, ie for a court order for contact to see/ visit/ have a relationship with children. If the solicitor makes the application to the court, then he/ she should send said person a copy of the fee remission form which they complete and send it back to the solicitor. Then if there is a successful fee remission, the solicitor informs of this in writing usually and then the case can be heard. In this situation, there will be a full remission granted on the basis the person is in income related JSA.

Incidentally, why has this divorced person been deprived access to his own children. He has an Article 8 (Human Rights Act 1998): right to have a relationship with his children, ie family, unless he is considered a threat, in which case he should normally have at least supervised contact.