Legal Aid raises some income and asset limits until 2028For the next 3 years, Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) is increasing the amount of income and assets a person can have and qualify for: - family and criminal duty counsel services
- certificates for criminal law services
New income limitsSomeone who lives alone or with fewer than 5 family members, can now qualify for these services if their total family income is $45,440 a year or less. If someone lives with 5 or more family members, the total family income to qualify is $50,803 a year or less. This has not changed. Total family income is the combined income of the person applying and the family members they live with. New asset limitsFor the services listed above, the total value of assets a person can have has gone up to $15,000. This includes the assets of any family members that they live with. It does not change with family size. LAO includes cash and items that can be easily sold for cash as assets. They do not count property like houses and land when they decide if someone is eligible. Duty counsel for family and criminal issuesDuty counsel give legal help to people who qualify on the day they’re in court, including court that’s held virtually by phone or videoconference. Duty counsel can help with only certain things. If someone does not have a lawyer, duty counsel can give them information about the court process and provide legal advice. Criminal duty counsel may also be able to: Family duty counsel may be also able to help someone with: Changes to income limits for duty counselThe chart below shows how the income limits have changed for duty counsel services. The limits go back to the old amounts on March 3, 2028. |