Legal Aid for Family Matters

Legal aid helps those who need it to meet the costs of legal advice and representation in a court or tribunal.

Am I eligible for legal aid?

For cases involving care proceedings, our solicitors can check whether you’re eligible for legal aid. If you are eligible, we will sign you up for the initial level of aid.

If you are not eligible, you may be entitled to a complimentary telephone meeting of up to 30 minutes to discuss the various options available to you. We’ll also outline the various fee options we have available.

If your child is subject to an application for an Emergency Protection Order or Care Order by a local authority to have them removed from your care, you are entitled to free legal aid funding during those proceedings. In addition, there are other limited proceedings where the local authority may be involved, such as applying to discharge a Care Order or to have contact with a child in care, and public funding may be available but this will be subject to means.

If you are subject to pre-proceedings where the local authority is considering taking court proceedings against you, you are entitled to free legal help funding which includes being advised on that process.

How can I apply for legal aid?

If you wish to apply for legal aid for advice that is not related to care proceedings, please contact Resolution.

Further information

We have a dedicated team of legal aid care solicitors, many of whom are members of the Law Society Family and Children’s Legal Panels.

To find out more about legal aid for care proceedings, call our family law solicitors on 0117 325 2929 or complete our online enquiry form.

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    • "Barcan+Kirby's responsiveness to calls and emails was always very swift and they were efficiently dealt with."


      Chambers and Partners UK 2025
    • "The team are all deeply committed to their clients and achieving the best outcome for them whether it is through settlement or contested proceedings. I have seen the team go above and beyond to ensure the clients feel supported and well-represented. They are organised in providing bundles and briefs, and I am always pleased to accept instructions from them as I know it will be a good working relationship."
      Legal 500 UK 2025
    • "The Barcan+Kirby Family Team are a dedicated, experienced and caring cohort whose focus on providing good, pragmatic and helpful advice is consistent regardless of whether the client is private paying or publicly funded. The team collaborate and discuss cases at their weekly meetings, which means the client gets the benefit of not just one lawyer's experience but that of the whole team, providing a much wider pool of knowledge and experience."
      Legal 500 UK 2025
    • "I would highly recommend Gareth Hughes."

      Chambers and Partners UK 2025
    • "Tom is extremely experienced."

      Chambers and Partners UK 2025

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