Advice on welfare worries lawyers

Press, 28 November 1977, Page 2

Advice on welfare worries lawyers

The Legal Association considers that the Social Welfare Department is “improperly” becoming involved in the right of persons to seek independent legal advice. The complaint comes from the association's chairman (Mr A. C. Hughes-Johnson), who says the association is concerned about certain aspects of the new pilot scheme which has been adopted by the Social Welfare Department in Christchurch. “The association believes that as part of the scheme, officers of the department interview and give advice to the husbands of separated wives and .fathers of children bom outside marriage, concerning their liability to pay maintenance. The officer concerned in the interview seeks to have the husband or father sign a standard-

i form maintenance agreement,” Mr Hughes-Johnson said. The main purpose of this scheme, he believed, was to ■ avoid as far as possible the need for court maintenance proceedings. “There is no doubt that delays in the processing of maintenance applications by ■ the Magistrate’s Court have : meant that where agreement i cannot be reached between • husband and wife, or father and mother, the department is often paying a benefit for ;| a substantial period before a j court fixes maintenance and the husband or father begins i payments under the order,” I he said.

Nevertheless, the association believed that a husband or father was entitled to the benefit of proper and independent legal advice about whether he was liable I for maintenance.

“Such advice must be given by a party who has no financial or other interest in the consequences which will follow the giving of such advice,” said Mr Hughes-John-son. “Once the liability to pay maintenance has been established, there is also the question of establishing the amount of maintenance which should be paid.

“The Association considers that many legal considerations come to bear on this matter, such as assessing the effect of the conduct of the wife. “The Social Welfare is quite improperly being involved in what should be the man’s right to seek an independent legal opinion. “Mere improvement in the efficiency of the department is certainly no ground for abrogating this right.” Mr Hughes-Johnson said.