§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what financial assistance for legal action is available to families of murder victims where the convicted murderer is related to the victim and has a claim as a beneficiary of the deceased estate. [53264]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonMatters of probate are included within the scope of public funding under the Legal Services Commission's (LSC's) Funding Code which is approved by Parliament under the Access to Justice Act 1999. As a result, public funding for Legal Help or Legal Representation (formerly legal aid) could be available in such a case to individual family members who could demonstrate their financial eligibility, subject to a funding assessment of the merits of the case by the LSC.
Financial eligibility is determined by assessing the gross income, disposable income and capital of the applicant; a funding assessment is carried out to establish whether it is reasonable, taking all the circumstances into account, for public funding to be granted.