Need advice on appealing to get legal aid revoked

I'm not sure if I was clear enough about the reasons to make a representation. It's to remove her capability of funding and fighting a long and drawn out financial case against me.

The reason for this thread wasn't to ask whether or not I should make a representation or not against her getting it, I have actually already got that ball rolling by asking Representations if I can appeal at this stage and they want to know my reasons, it's to formulate an argument I can make against her getting it. (And I'm sure this would come in useful to others in my position in future, as there continue to be false allegations of DV made in order to get the upper hand in divorce cases as one person has mentioned)

Something else the solicitor mentioned to me was that I could make an argument regarding the possible amount to be recovered even if she did manage to be granted it. In other words, considering the fact that she wouldn't be able to obtain more than £20-25K out of me and that the legal aid costs would probably reach this much anyway, I think it could be argued that giving her legal aid would be a zero sum game, i.e. neither side would stand to come away with much.

@Bubblegum11 I would rather nip it in the bud now. I'm not sure if it would work out better to wait and see, that feels like taking a risk in unnecessarily delaying my appeal.

@spinit
Well she already isn't talking to me about this so I don't see how it would change anything for the better for me if I didn't take this action. Lawyers may be officers of the court in a technical sense, but her lawyers have behaved more like sharks, and removing their food source (her legal aid) would remove their incentive in helping her attack me, you state yourself how common false DV allegation is so maybe remove the incentive in making it so easy and you get less false allegations? The reason many people make these allegations is precisely because they are totally aware it opens the door to free legal help to crush their partners in divorce court. Just a thought.

It wouldn't be 18 years, my child is 6 now. Also they have living in council funded accomodation (a 2 bed house in a nice area) which I doubt she would give up unless she had to. If she had to move out and fund her own living arrangements she almost certainly would not get somewhere as comfortable. I'm not sure if this can be factored into my appeal but it would be good to know if anyone had ideas.

One thing you said definitely did get my attention, my house isn't mortgage free by any means, there is approximately £60K left to pay (on a house that is only worth about £180k.)

Her visa situation is that she is a Pakistani national with some kind of leave to remain.

"justice might be done"
Don't make me laugh

"fair settlement"
Nothing about this entire legal battle (which began long before this financial component) has been even remotely fair to me, I'm not even going to pretend I care about being fair within the parameters of a system that seems hugely weighted against me. I care about doing what's best for me.

"Tactical and controlling"
Not sure why that's a bad thing as you seem to imply? Considering how the so-called justice system has been towards me until now (this isn't the first legal battle with her) I don't think I'm being tactical or controlling enough by half. I'm really only looking at the hard facts here. If you don't have any clear advice to offer other then feel free to stop replying, I am not here for counseling or moral support. I just came here for legal advice.

Also I really don't need your moral judgements like this one:"It's not the false allegations that seem to bother you but more the fact that you seek to weaken her position for making a financial claim". You don't know a thing about me other than the details I've set out here. How dare you judge. Its pretty obvious what your agenda is from your replies.

You frame this as if you are doing a public service by trying to get legal aid removed, at this point in time I would do what is best for your own situation.

When you get into court having a lawyer is nice but not having one doesn't stop you writing essentially what you have written here down on a piece of paper and presenting it to the judge for them to decide. I did half and half and frankly for me once I had learnt enough it was easier for me without a lawyer and the facts of the case remained the facts of the case.

At the start, I also spoke with the legal aid people to try to get it revoked thinking pretty much the same as you are now as in it would shorten the proceedings so I totally understand where you are coming from but it just won't make it any shorter or change the outcome massively. If your ex is capable of walking into a court, turning on the waterworks in front of a judge and turning the court hearing into a mini-episode of Eastenders, she will do just fine with or without a lawyer and in fact if the judge heard that you had managed to get her legal aid suspended it may just confirm in their mind some of the allegations that may have been made against you.

You say you are represented so your lawyer is gong to have a better idea of possible outcomes as they will know the full details of the case so I don't really see the value of speculating on the potential outcome. Normally people ask on here because they are not represented and have no idea of what the outcome may be.

Wikivorce doesn't offer legal advice, so if that's what you are after, you will need to speak with your solicitor.

Bubblegum is right - you are seeking to deny your spouse access to legal representation; and no-one here with any morales will assist you with that.

I'm sorry if I have offended you. This was not my intention. I was merely trying to offer a balanced view. Maybe as a victim of domestic abuse I'm not the best person to do that and for that I appologise. If it is legal advice you seek, a wikivorce forum is not the place - people here have a lot of experience and some have legal backgrounds, but no one has he facts of you case to give informed legal advice. For that you should seek advice from a solicitor.
I will now bow out from this tread so that you can seek the advice you want to hear.

Have a good day

@spinit
No I didn't frame it as if I'm doing a public service, I'm pretty clear about wanting to get a good outcome for myself, but if you want to play it that way then yes I feel the public should not be funding false claimants of domestic violence at all, I think the system has been abused enough, don't you?

At the moment I am not really represented, and I didn't say that I was. I said that a solicitor had given me some advice during a consultation. You may think from what I have said that I am minted but the reality is that I'm not and the whole reason I am seeking help is so I don't get shafted in court because I don't think I could afford a long and drawn out court battle, especially not after hearing the figures the solicitor quoted at me.

@rubytueady
If it's about morals, then let's also bring in the morals of using a false claim of DV to get legal aid to take someone's child away from them. Why aren't you sympathetic with me?
And you do offer legal advice on your phone number, so I'm not sure why you're saying you don't. If hard facts are not something that anyone can give then fine, even someone with experience just relating what they have been through would be good and far better than nothing. I'm not seeking professional legal advice here. I honestly feel like I'm been treated like I am doing something wrong and being made into a victim myself quite ironically.

@Bubblegum11
Yes I was offended as you seem to be coming at this from a bias of wanting to side with the DV victim and as you stated yourself you may not be the best person to remain impartial in such a discussion. Sorry if I had a go at you but as you can imagine this is a pretty tough and draining time on me, I'm probably not in the frame of mind to really listen to anyone who seems even remotely as if they are being judgemental towards after the hell I've been through.

@rubytueady
If it's about morals, then let's also bring in the morals of using a false claim of DV to get legal aid to take someone's child away from them. Why aren't you sympathetic with me?
And you do offer legal advice on your phone number, so I'm not sure why you're saying you don't. If hard facts are not something that anyone can give then fine, even someone with experience just relating what they have been through would be good and far better than nothing. I'm not seeking professional legal advice here. I honestly feel like I'm been treated like I am doing something wrong and being made into a victim myself quite ironically.

You have invited comment about your desire to deprive your spouse of legal aid so don't be surprised if some of the responses you've received aren't to your liking.

Wikivorce do not offer legal advice either on the forum or the phone lines - please see our disclaimer. How do I know this? because until recently I worked on the helpline as an adviser for many years.

May I suggest that you take a breather, and then come back and re-read the replies you've had - and what you yourself have written - with a clear head. Your postings on this make you sound aggressive, bitter and controlling, and don;t reflect well on you.