Denial of Legal Aid Based on Unenforced Spousal Support Payments

The appellate court reviewed the denial of free legal aid to an applicant in divorce proceedings, who was deemed not indigent because she received spousal support payments in addition to her salary. The court reasoned that under the principle of effectiveness in free legal aid applications, outstanding support payments are counted as collectible income unless the applicant credibly demonstrates that they have demanded or attempted to enforce collection from the obligated party without success. Since the applicant failed to provide evidence of having pursued the owed support payments, the court upheld the lower court's decision to count the support as actual income, thus affirming the denial of free legal aid based on the applicant's current financial situation.