Income Surplus Barring Free Legal Aid in Divorce Appeal

A litigant appealing a lower court's denial of free legal aid for divorce proceedings, despite claiming need, was found to have a calculable monthly surplus of income over expenses, which the appellate court reasoned must be utilized for litigation costs because the litigant was not currently paying court-ordered spousal support obligations, adhering to the principle that actual income and expenditures determine eligibility and that any such surplus, absent existing support payments to the spouse, must be applied to the procedural expenses.