Estimator: advice and assistance

This estimator helps you work out if you are likely to qualify financially for advice and assistance in a civil, criminal, or children's case.

Please use the 'Help/Information' boxes - these give more details on what is being asked for.

Once you complete these fields, an estimate will automatically be provided.

"*" indicates required fields

Step 1: Type of case

Help / Information

Type of Case

Children's: Legal advice about a Children's Hearing – for example, a solicitor can tell you what to expect, what decisions can be made and how to appeal in a civil court.
Criminal: Advice from a solicitor to help if you are in trouble with the police and are going to appear before a criminal court.
Civil: Advice from a solicitor to help you with non-criminal matters - things like divorce or adoption or getting compensation after an accident.

What type of case do you want to get help with?*

Step 2: About your household situation

Tell us about your situation and any dependants living with you - this is a child or person(s) who has (have) no income of their own.

Help / Information

Partner: You should include your partner or spouse in these steps even if you don’t always live in the same household. For example your partner may work away or be in prison. You do not have to include your partner or spouse if the application is against them or you consider the relationship to be over.
Dependants: You should only declare children who are wholly dependent on you full time. We may consider making an allowance when we receive your application, for children in your care part of the time or adult children who have some income of their own but for this calculation you should not include them.

Do you have a partner or spouse?*

Yes

How many dependants (adults and/or children) live with you?

Step 3: Do you qualify automatically based on income?

If you are in receipt of, or included in your partner's award of, any of the benefits below, select 'Yes'.

Do you receive, or are you included in your partner's award of, universal credit, income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance, income-related employment and support allowance?*

Yes

If you DO NOT receive any of the benefits above:

If you don't receive these benefits, please give us information below about your weekly income - this is the total income you and your partner receive in a week.

For example, enter your pay less tax and National Insurance contributions if you are employed plus any other income such as interest on savings.

Depending on your income, you may have to pay a contribution.

Help / Information

Your net weekly income*

Enter '0' if you do not receive an income

Maintenance paid out (but not any CSA payments)*

Enter '0' if you do not make maintenance payments.

Your weekly allowances

This is calculated automatically from the number of dependants in Step 2.

Weekly disposable income

This is calculated automatically as you answer all questions.

Step 4: Do you qualify based on capital?

We may take into consideration any capital disposed of when you were likely to be aware of your involvement in litigation, if we don’t consider the reasons given justified.

If you think this may be a situation that applies to you, you can contact us on 0131 226 7061 to check if you should include the capital in this calculation. Please ask to speak to either the criminal, civil or children's assessment team depending on what type of advice and assistance you are wanting to check your eligibility for.

Add up all your capital and that of your partner (unless we do not have to consider their resources - see the 'Help/Information' box for Step 2). The calculator will work out your allowances using what you told us at Step 2 above.

(If you are a pensioner, you may qualify even if your capital is more than £1,716 – speak to your solicitor about this.)

Help / Information

Total capital

By capital we mean money and anything else of value you and your spouse or partner (if you have one) own.

Examples of capital include:

The value of any interest in land and buildings owned after the deduction of any loans secured on them, including interests in timeshares. We do not include the home you live in.
Money in the bank, building society, Post Office, credit union, premium bonds etc.
Investments, stocks and shares
Cash-in values of any policies
Money owed to you or your spouse or partner
Money due from the will of someone who has died
Money due from a trust fund
Money available from your or your spouse’s or partner’s business or which could be borrowed against the business assets.
The value of any valuable possessions such as a boat, caravan, jewellery (but not wedding or engagement rings) or items bought for investment purposes

Capital not to be included:

The house which you live in
Tools and equipment you need for work
The value of any property or item you have an interest in which is being sought by the opponent in the action for which your civil application relates to will be disregarded for assessment purposes. However, we will only disregard the amount/share they are putting at issue. For example if you own 50% of a house or some savings and the opponent is asking for it to be split 60/40 in their favour only 10% of your share would be disregarded for assessment purposes.

Total Capital*

Enter 0 if you do not have any capital

Allowances

No Dependents

Allowances

Spouse Only

Allowances

Single Dependent

Allowances

No Spouse, Multiple Dependents

Allowances

Spouse and Dependent(s)

Total Disposable Capital

Step 5: Estimate

Once you complete these fields, an estimate will be provided:

Type of case
Weekly income (if not receiving benefits)
Maintenance payments (if not receiving benefits)
Total capital

Once you complete these fields, an estimate will be provided:

Type of case
Weekly income (if not receiving benefits)
Maintenance payments (if not receiving benefits)
Total capital

Once you complete these fields, an estimate will be provided:

Type of case
Weekly income (if not receiving benefits)
Maintenance payments (if not receiving benefits)
Total capital

Based on the above figures, you are unlikely to qualify for advice and assistance, based on capital.