Family Attorney
There are plenty of free or reduced-price legal services available
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Q: My mom and dad have been married 45 years. My mother wants a divorce but is afraid she’ll be impoverished unless she’s entitled to some of my father’s Social Security income before and after he dies. What are her legal rights? They have little money. Is there any place she can get free or reduced-cost legal advice? A: I can’t tell you your mom’s legal rights, but I’m happy to say there’s a variety of free or discounted legal services available through the King County Bar Association on civil issues, such as divorce, landlord/tenant, wills and estate planning, and debt problems. Each has different eligibility guidelines, says Val Carlson, director of Community Legal Services at the bar association. Here are a few of the programs, their telephone numbers, and, at the end, the bar association’s Web site. In 25 Neighborhood Legal Clinics throughout King County, you can talk privately with a volunteer attorney free for up to a half-hour. Most clinics are open in the evening or around lunch and are available to all residents of King County, regardless of income. Attorneys with a wide variety of experience staff “general” clinics, while “specialty” clinics have attorneys who are experts in particular areas (such as family law) or who serve specific cultural communities. To find a clinic that meets your needs and to make an appointment, phone 206-267-7070. In addition, the bar partners with King County Senior Rights Assistance to provide help on elder-law issues. For an appointment, call 206-448-5720. To move your case forward, the bar’s Lawyer Referral Service will give you the names of one or two attorneys in the specialty you need. The 400 attorneys who serve in this capacity pay a small fee to be listed, and you pay a small fee ($30) to talk to one for a half-hour; all money goes to the bar to help cover their costs. You then negotiate the attorney’s fee for additional work. To contact the Lawyer Referral Service, call 206-267-7010. The Bar’s Self-Help Plus (SHP) program is for litigants of low income or modest means to help them represent themselves in relatively simple, uncontested family disputes, such as child custody or divorce. Once eligibility is determined, participants attend a one-time class and are given a booklet that tells what information they need to collect. Then they sit down with a paralegal or law-student intern who helps them fill out the necessary forms — and get through the system if there are roadblocks. An experienced family-law attorney reviews all paperwork before it’s filed. The program has a one-time, sliding charge (based on income), starting at $35. To learn more, call 206-267-7080. The Family Law Mentor Program is free to low-income people getting a divorce where children are at risk (such as from a drug-addicted or violent parent). The divorcing spouse works with an attorney “in training” in family law, who’s mentored by an experienced family-law attorney until the end of the case. All attorneys are volunteers — and, since the mid-1980s, when this program began, it has trained many of the current family-law attorneys in King County. Call 206-267-7010. More : seattletimes.nwsource.com |
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