What are Legal Services Payment Orders?

The financial remedy process that accompanies divorce proceedings can be very expensive, especially as each party will often have their own legal costs to pay. These fees can prove difficult to meet for those who earn significantly less than their partners, or nothing at all. However, the Court can make an order for the wealthier spouse to meet some or all of the legal fees of the poorer spouse. This is known as a Legal Services Payment Order, or LSPO.

What is involved in applying for an LSPO?

When applying for an LSPO, the Court must be provided with detailed figures about the legal fees that need to be paid and the work remaining to bring your financial matter to a resolution. You must also demonstrate that you have no alternative reasonable means of funding your legal fees such as through legal aid, through the selling of any of your assets or through a bank or litigation loan.

Your ex-spouse will also be asked to provide details on their own financial situation, and from there, the Court must consider the impact of any order they make on both parties. If the order would cause undue hardship or prevent the paying party from meeting their own legal fees, the Court may not make the LSPO as asked for and could reduce the sum awarded.

If the Court does make an LSPO, the awarded sum could be limited to a specific time or a specific portion of the process. However, should the awarded sum not turn out to be sufficient, the Court can make multiple LSPOs or vary an existing LSPO to reflect changing circumstances.

Limitations of LSPOs

LSPOs are not commonly granted as sought, given that the pre-requisite is that one party must be so wealthy that they could afford to pay for two parties legal fees without it being deemed to be undue hardship, whilst the other party is so poor that they cannot afford to meet their own. This does not apply to many cases, and the Judges are likely to reduce the awarded sum to an affordable level.

There is also a cost to making an application for LSPO, including for the work done by your legal team. An applicant for an LSPO may not have the funds to make the application in the first place, meaning that they may not be able to pay for a solicitor at all.

How can we help?

At Johnson Astills, our Solicitors are experienced with both applying for and defending LSPOs.

If you are considering whether or not to apply for an LSPO, or if your ex-spouse has applied for one against you, please call us at our office in Leicester on 0116 255 4855 or our office in Loughborough on 01509 610 312 and ask to speak to a member of the Family Team. Alternatively, you may prefer to email us at legal@johnsonastills.com or fill in our enquiry form.