Children's hearings

A children's hearing is a legal meeting to decide what's best for a child or young person who has a problem, such as: 

• they're not being looked after properly
• they've been in trouble with the police

Children's legal aid can help with the costs of using a solicitor for:

• legal advice about a children's hearing (this is called 'advice and assistance)' – for example, a solicitor can tell you what to expect, what decisions can be made and how to appeal
• representation at a children's hearing (this is called 'advice by the way of representation')
• representation at a children's hearing court case (this is called 'legal aid')

Children do not usually need to pay for legal aid, but your solicitor can tell you if you if you'll need to pay anything and what help you can get with legal costs.

Use the children's hearing online estimator on the Scottish Legal Aid Board website to find out if you could get children's legal aid.