Am I eligible for legal aid?

Althought CHABOT mediators lawyers does not accept legal aid, the following text inform's you of the process to obtain your legal aid eligibility assesment.

Am I eligible for legal aid ?

There are two aspects of legal aid: free legal aid or legal aid with financial support from your side.

To be eligible for one of the two components, you must meet the criteria established in the Act respecting legal aid and the provision of certain other legal services and Regulations of legal aid.

The elements assessed are:

-Your annual income

-Your family situation (children, spouse, etc.)

-The value of your assets.

It is important to note that if you receive benefits of last resort under the Individual and family assistance act, commonly known as social assistance or social solidarity, you are automatically eligible for the free component of the legal aid.

How do I check my eligibily for legal aid? 

To check your eligibility for legal aid, you must make an appointment by phone to one of the legal aid offices nearest you, even if you are receiving last resort benefits under the Individual and family assistance Act, commonly called social solidarity or social assistance benefits.

To check the various legal aid offices, you can visit the following link: www.csj.qc.ca under the section "Contact Us" and then "Coordinates of legal aid offices."

During this meeting, a lawyer will check your eligibility for legal aid by making a portrait of your financial situation. To do this, you will need to provide more information and other documents at the meeting. To help you, here is the information and documents you may be asked to provide :

Documents required for the cause

• Procedures;

• Formal notice;

• Summons;

• Contracts,

• Etc.

Personal information

• Name;

• Address;

• Date of birth;

• Social insurance number;

• Names and dates of birth of family members;

• Proof of school attendance of a chilf over the age of legal majority, if it applies

•Proof of income for the previous year or of the current year, depending on the case*

• Name and address of the income source;

• Recent pay stub;

• Unemployment benefits stub;

• Commissions;

• Tips;

• Tax reports for the previous year and notice of assessment;

• Financial statements (business income);

• Rental income;

• Interest income;

• Support payments received;

• Etc.

Annualized deductions

• Support payments paid;

• Care expenses paid;

• Tuition fees;

• Expenditures for a serious physical or mental disability.

Assets

• Income and expenses from the rental of a building (TP-128 Revenu Québec form)

• Assets : Property tax bills (house or other properties), RRSP, etc.;

• Debts :  loans, lines of credit, outstanding bills, balance of mortgage, etc.;

• Liquid assets : bank books, term deposits, investments, shares, bonds, etc.

*This list comes from the official website of the Commission des services juridiques.

Note : This information comes from the official website of the Commission des services juridiques : www.csj.qc.ca