You may qualify for Nova Scotia Legal Aid

Contact your local Nova Scotia Legal Aid office for information about Legal Aid's services: nslegalaid.ca/legal-aid-offices/, and ways to apply for Nova Scotia Legal Aid: http://www.nslegalaid.ca/apply.php .  You can also apply for Legal Aid online: nslegalaid.ca/onlineapplication.php. Check your local directory for the addresses and telephone numbers of legal aid offices across Nova Scotia, listed under 'Legal Aid' in the white pages and government section of the telephone book, or visit Nova Scotia Legal Aid's website at: www.nslegalaid.ca

Free brief legal advice for family law issues

You can make an appointment with a Nova Scotia Legal Aid Summary Advice Lawyer.  You do not have to qualify for Nova Scotia Legal Aid to use this service.  Go to nsfamilylaw.ca/legal-advice-information , (under question 21), for contact information.

More about the Summary Advice Counsel at Family Courts
This service is available throughout Nova Scotia. Your case or issue must be somehow related to the court where the Summary Advice lawyer is located. For example, if you are making an application to the court in Halifax, you should book an appointment with Summary Advice lawyer in Halifax.

The Summary Advice Counsel is a lawyer who assists people who need legal advice on a family law matter, but who do not have a lawyer. The Summary Advice lawyer provides basic legal advice, free of charge, regardless of how much you make or where you get your income.

The purpose of the Summary Advice Counsel service is to give people a better understanding of their legal rights and responsibilities. The Summary Advice lawyer can give basic information about legal terms, how to start or respond to a court application, court processes, legal documents, and other aspects of family law.

The Summary Advice lawyer can give advice on parenting arrangements, child support and spousal support, property division, divorce, and most other family law matters and court processes.

The Summary Advice lawyer does not provide advice to parents involved in child protection matters, or for matters involving Mi’kmaw Family Services. The Summary Advice lawyer may provide advice to a non-party to a child protection matter. For example, if you are not directly involved with a child protection proceeding and are applying for decision-making responsibility for, or contact with, the children involved.

The Summary Advice lawyer does not go to court with you. For more information about this service, click here.

You can contact your local Summary Advice lawyer to book an appointment by calling the appropriate number below:

Annapolis	902-742-0500	Pictou	902-485-7350
Antigonish	902-863-7312	Port Hawkesbury	902-625-2665
Amherst	902-667-2256	Sydney	902-563-2085
Bridgewater	902-543-4679	Truro	902-893-5840
Halifax	902-424-5616	Windsor	902-679-6075
Kentville	902-679-6075	Yarmouth	902-742-0500

Lower cost options

Your lawyer may accept alternate billing arrangements, or may be willing to just work on part of your case.

If you have no extra money, but you and your spouse own property, such as a home, investments, or RRSPs, some lawyers may agree to be paid at the end of your case, when you receive your share of the family property. 

Also, some lawyers may consider helping you with just part of your legal issue - for example, preparing an affidavit or cross-examining a witness in court.  Helping with just part of a case is sometimes called providing 'unbundled'  or "Limited Scope Retainer" legal services.  Go here for more information about how lawyers charge for their work.

You can represent yourself

If you decide to or must represent yourself, you should still ask a lawyer to review court forms before you file them with the court, if possible.  You should always get independent legal advice from your own lawyer before you sign a written agreement or enter into a consent court order.