Legal Support

Legal Aid

Free legal advice may be obtained from solicitors under the advice and assistance scheme.

If in doubt as to how to find legal advice services contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau.

If you are on a low income, Legal Aid may pay for your solicitor; look for the Legal Aid symbol under solicitors in Yellow Pages or in the local press.

Power of Attorney

Power of Attorney is a legal document whereby one person (the "Donor") gives another person or persons (the "Attorney") the power to act on his or her behalf with regard to his or her property and financial affairs.

The most common types of Power of Attorney in England and Wales are:

• Ordinary Power of Attorney
• Enduring Power of Attorney 
  

Ordinary Power of Attorney can be general or limited to specific affairs

Usually, an Ordinary Power of Attorney is created for a set period of time in cases where the Donor is going abroad or is unable to act for some other reason and wishes someone else to have the authority to act on his or her behalf. An Ordinary Power of Attorney will usually end either at a specified time or upon the request of the Donor at any time using a Deed of Revocation and will automatically be revoked if the Donor loses mental capacity. There is no requirement for the Ordinary Power of Attorney to be registered.

Enduring Power of Attorney can be used in the event of the Donor's mental incapacity

In contrast, an Enduring Power of Attorney allows the Donor to appoint a legally authorised person to look after their property and financial affairs should they become incapable of doing so themselves at some point in the future. It continues after the Donor has become mentally incapable of managing his or her affairs and must be registered when the Attorney becomes aware or has reason to believe that the Donor has become or is becoming mentally incapable.

For advice on how to obtain legal assistance, contact your local citizens advice bureau.

Family Court Assessment Service

This is an independent service that works with families that are going through court proceedings, producing reports for court when proceedings have begun to bring a child into care.

If your family is affected, two specially trained social workers will spend 12 weeks working with you to identify what we think are the problems and how they can be tackled. At the initial meeting we will explain how we work, what our assessment will involve and how everyone needs to behave. We review this each month and give you a chance to let us know how you feel you are doing and what you would like to see changed. After the 12 weeks we will tell you what will be in our final report to the court.