Legal Help

All of the agencies listed in this website can offer advice to help you in your situation, most of them are not qualified to offer legal advice. Some websites and agencies can point you in the right direction to get the help you require.

If you want to discuss legal protection for you and your children, it is better to see a solicitor who is experienced in domestic abuse and matrimonial work.

The website South Yorkshire Women on Line (SYWOL) has a link enabling women to get free legal advice from local solicitors. You can access them by clicking on the following link  http://www.sywol.org

The website for Community Legal Service Direct has free legal information leaflets and legal fact sheets.You can access them by clicking on the following link  http://www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk   It also has links for you to search for a legal advisor or solicitor. In addition, there are links to over 300 sites offering legal information on benefits, employment, health and social care, money and tax and many other categories. There are also links for you to find out if you qualify for
public funding (previously known as legal aid).

The National Centre for Domestic Violence  specialises in obtaining non molestation orders and injunctions (please see below for a brief explanation on these orders). You can access The National Centre for Domestic Violence by clicking on the following link.  www.ncdv.org.uk   If you qualify for public funding, this can be arranged by a solicitor. If you are not eligible for public funding, they will offer you
assistance at Court (called a "McKenzie Friend") , who can accompany you and sit with you through the Court process. There is no charge for this service

What legal options are there?

Injunction
An Injunction will ban a violent or abusive partner or ex partner (called a respondent) from using or threatening violence against you, pestering, intimidating or harassing you. A power of arrest will usually be attached to the order, allowing the Police to arrest the respondent if the order is breached. The following is an explanation of some legal processes available. Your solicitor will take the time to explain the legal processes.

Court orders (injunctions) you can get to protect you Who is eligible to apply for an injunction?
In order for you to apply for one of these orders you must be an associated person. This means you and your partner or ex-partner must be related or associated with each other in one of the following ways:
You are to have been married to each other
You are cohabitants or former cohabitants
You live or have lived in the same household
You are relatives You have formally agreed to marry each other (even if that agreement has now ended)
You have a child together (this can include those who are parents of the same child, and those who have parental responsibility for the same child)
You are both involved in the same family proceedings (e.g. divorce or child contact)

Recent legislation (the Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act 2004) will amend the Family Law Act so that cohabiting same sex couples will be able to apply for occupation orders, as well as couples who do not live together or have children together, will also be able to apply for non-molestation orders.

Court orders generally fall into two parts:
" Orders about the way your partner should behave in future  non-molestation orders
" Orders saying who has the right to live in the home  occupation orders

1. Non-Molestation Order
This order tells your partner they must not use or threaten to use violence against you, or harass, pester or intimidate you or any children lving with you. The order is generally written in wide terms to stop all forms of unpleasant behaviour including, for example, threatening phone calls. It will stop you partner getting someone else to harass you.

2. Occupation Order
If your partners behaviour has been serious enough for them to be kept apart from you so as to protect you, then you will need an order saying who can live in the home.

An occupation order can order any number of the following:
" one partner to leave the home;
" one partner to let the other return to the home;
" one partner not to return to the home;
" One partner to keep away from the home; or
" One partner to stay our of parts of the home

The court can also make orders about:
" who will repair and maintain the home;
" who will pay the mortgage or rent and other costs; and
" who can use and care for things in the home
You cant use an occupation order to change the ownership of the property. You may need to sort this out through separate legal proceedings, and you should seek legal advice about this.

What will I have to tel the court?
For a non-molestation order, you will have to tell the court about how the violence or abuse has affected you. If you have received medical treatment because of the violence or abuse, it helps if you can prove this. A doctors report and photographs of any injuries are useful for this.

For an occupation order, the court needs more information. The judge also needs to know more about:
 you and your partners housing needs (and the needs of any children you have);
" how much money you both have;
" how any order will affect you ad your partners (and any childrens h) health,
  safety and well-being; and
" how you and your partner have behaved towards each other.

If you are not married the judge also needs to know:
" how long you have been living together;
" whether you have children or stepchildren;
" how long you have been separated;
" whether you are in any other legal proceedings together, such as other court proceedings about your family.


What will happen at court?
You solicitor (if you have one) should arrange for you to have a solicitor or barrister at court, who will speak for you to the judge. If you do not have a lawyer, you will speak directly to the judge. The judge will read the forms you have filled in, and your statement about what has happened and what your partner has done. Your partner will be able to reply to what you have said about them. If they have had enough time before the hearing, they may state their reply in writing. If your partner does not really dispute what has happened and wants to sort something out, they may offer the court and undertaking. This is a solemn promise about their future behaviour, similar to an injunction. Sometimes you may also be asked
to give an undertaking about your behaviour.

The judge does not have to accept an undertaking  it depends on whether it looks as if this will keep you safe enough in the future.When the judge has heard from both of you, they will make an order or set out the terms on which the court accepts an undertaking.

What if my partner isnt there?
Your partner may not be at the hearing for various reasons:
" you may have gone to court as an emergency without serving the paper on your partner;
" it may not be possible to serve the papers on your partner before the hearing;
  or
" your partner has been served with the papers and does not turn up to court

The judge can make an order if your partner does not come to the hearing. If your partner has not been served with the papers (because you have gone to court for an emergency hearing or your partner cant be traced), then the judge will fix another date in the near future to give you another chance to serve the
papers. The judge may also make a short-term non-molestation order to protect you until that hearing. The judge will not normally make an occupation order if your partner has not been served with the papers, but may also do this if it seems the best way to protect you until the next hearing. If your partner has been served with the papers and has not come to court, the judge will make whatever orders he or she thinks are appropriate to protect you. If you ant to find out more information, you can find it by clicking on the following link   www.clsdirect.org.uk

The Family Law Act 1996 (Part IV)
You can apply for any of the orders below if you are associated with the abuser in
any of the following ways:-
" If you are or were married
" If you, (one male and one female), live together or have lived together
" If you are related
" The parties live or lived at the same residence, for example one being the
tenant.
" If you have a child together.
Children under the age of 16 can apply for an order if they have sufficient
understanding of the circumstances.

1. Non-Molestation Order
Molestation is using or threatening to use physical violence, harassing, pestering or intimidating someone. You can get a non molestation injunction order made to prevent a person from carrying these acts out against you. A non-molestation order can be made within existing proceedings or by itself, to get an order there needs to be proof of molestation. To get a non-molestation order the following must apply:-
(a) There must be evidence of molestation (harassment, intimidation, pestering,
violence or threats of violence)
(b) The Applicant (or child) must need protection; and
(c) The judge must be satisfied (on the balance of probabilities) that legal intervention is required to control the behaviour which you are complaining about.
The Applicant or relevant child must be at risk of significant harm if no order is made.

There are two ways of getting a non molestation order:-
By way of an urgent application to the Court on what is known as an ex parte basis. This is only done in the most urgent and serious of cases. This means that the order is made before the other party has any knowledge of the application. Once an ex parte order is made, it has to be served upon the other party. An order is only effective and enforceable once served upon the party named in it.

Public Funding (Previously Known As Legal Aid)
If you are on a low income or are receiving state benefits (such as Income Support or income-based Job Seekers Allowance) and have little or no money in savings, you may be eligible for civil legal aid) (now called public funding or Community Legal Services funding. The income of your partner does not count if
you are taking legal action against them. The Community Legal Services website has information about applying for this funding, and there is a calculator enabling you to work out whether or not you are likely to be eligible. The CLS web address is www.clsdirect.org.uk. You can also call them on 0845 345 4345 for legal help and advice. The CLS website has a directory that enables you to find a solicitor in your area. All solicitors listed there hold the CLS quality mark.

Applying for funds to pursue a case may take time, but in the case of an urgent application for a domestic violence injunction, a solicitor who is contracted with the Legal Services Commission can grant an emergency certificate of legal representation.
If you are not eligible for public funding, and cannot afford a solicitor, you could get free advice from a law centre or from the Citizens Advice Bureau. It is also possible to make you won application for an injunction. Your local County Court office will be able to give you the forms and a leaflet, Part lV of the Family Law Act: How can it help me?, or you can download these from the Court Service
website by clicking on the following link.   www.courtservice.gov.uk

Cost Orders
The person applying for the orders may ask the court to make a costs order against the other party. This is not always granted even if the application for the order is successful.