ILS may provide legal assistance to a group, company, association or other organization if the group consists primarily of authorized persons and the group cannot afford to engage private legal counsel. The group`s activities must comply with LSC regulations and ILS priorities. If the other party to your dispute lives with you, do not count their income as part of the household income and do not count it as part of the household. Generally, a claimant is financially eligible for legal aid from Indiana Legal Services if that person`s income falls within 125% of the federal poverty guidelines. The PDF chart below shows the income level of 125%. (For general information on federal poverty guidelines, see the Frequently Asked Questions.) For example, an applicant who has two people in their household (including herself) can earn up to $1,638.58 per month while still being financially eligible for ILS services. These guidelines were approved by the ILS Board of Directors on March 9, 2018. Created by FindLaw`s team of writers and legal writers| Last updated: 20 June 2016 Cases must be heard in one of the counties served by CMLS. CMLS cannot accept cases outside of the 21 counties we serve.

If you live in the CMLS service area and need assistance, please complete a service request by calling your local office or filling out an online file. CMLS will determine if we can help you. If you are located in one of the 21 counties where CMLS operates, but your case is located in another county or state, CMLS may refer your case to the appropriate legal aid office for possible assistance. To find free legal aid in your area, check out FindLaw`s legal aid resources for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Many agencies provide free legal advice to immigrants and other non-citizens who need help with issues such as visa applications, green cards, deportation procedures, and work permits. Conditions for participation vary from program to program. If you are a victim of domestic violence or fear for your safety, you may be eligible for free legal aid from agencies that can help you gather evidence of abuse, including seeking injunctions. For immediate help wherever you are, contact the National Domestic Violence Helpline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In some cases, you may be eligible for free legal aid if you can prove to a judge that you are eligible for “poor” representation.

In the case of indigent representation, you may have to reimburse the court for part of the cost of the legal services provided to you. The specific qualifications of lawyers provided by the courts vary considerably from state to state and sometimes between different courts in the state. Stateside Legal — the first website in the country to focus solely on federal rights and legal resources important to veterans — is funded by an LSC Technology Initiatives grant. This free service provides military families and veterans with access to a wide range of legal information and support. The Department of Veterans Affairs has published a policy encouraging the use of the site as part of homeless veterans` services. If you currently receive financial assistance through other public assistance programs such as SSI/SSP, Food Stamps Program, County Relief, Older Americans Act, and Developmentally Disabled Assistance Act, you may be eligible for additional free legal services in your state. And even if you qualify for free legal aid, you may have a hard time finding a free legal aid agency that can handle your case – especially if the agency has limited staff and resources, or if your legal problem is not part of what the agency covers. Our lawyers handle civil cases.

We do not deal with criminal matters, accidents or personal injury. Here are the types of cases we usually assume: If you can`t afford a lawyer, but believe you qualify for free legal aid, the following can help you move in the right direction. However, be sure to check with your local court or local legal aid program for more detailed information about admission. CMLS determines customer eligibility based on a number of factors. However, the best way to determine your eligibility is to complete an intake. LSC has a long history of supporting victims of natural disasters. LSC has built a national network of experience and expertise — including legal service providers and national organizations such as the American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) — to help programs better assist disaster victims. Your eligibility for free legal aid depends on a number of factors, such as your income, health, safety, location, and whether your problem is civil or criminal. Note: ILS has many special projects with funding and case type guidelines that differ from the information provided below. For example, our low-income tax clinic is authorized to represent individuals whose household income does not exceed 250% of federal poverty (and in some cases more) and regardless of their wealth, as is our LGBT project. If your income is currently below the national average for the number of people in your household, you may be eligible for free legal aid.

Most legal aid clinics and pro bono lawyers (private lawyers who offer free legal aid) serve people whose household income is less than 125% of the government-recognized poverty line. The exceptions are Alaska and Hawaii, which have higher income thresholds. Some legal aid organizations and clinics offer free legal assistance to individuals and non-profit or not-for-profit organizations seeking to improve the economic, cultural, social or environmental well-being of disadvantaged or underserved communities. Community problems can include neighbourhood deterioration, inadequate housing and homelessness, unemployment, substance abuse, racial discord and crime. Check with your state`s individual Community law programmes for specific admission and admission requirements. Clients must comply with CMLS guidelines for financial eligibility. These guidelines are based on the federal poverty guidelines regarding the number of people living in your household. The best way to determine financial eligibility is to register by phone or online. CMLS assists clients in a wide range of civil law matters. We do not assist in criminal cases, child protection cases or immigration applications.

CMLS regularly assesses the needs of its clients when deciding what types of cases our lawyers can accept. You may be entitled to free legal aid from a court-appointed lawyer or public defender if your freedom is threatened (in other words, you must go to prison). A public defender is a lawyer who represents defendants who cannot afford a lawyer, and the Constitution guarantees the right to legal assistance in certain cases. CMLS is funded by Legal Services Corporation, which has certain rules and regulations that must be followed by our organization, who we can help and what legal issues we can help. U.S. veterans with mental and physical disabilities may be eligible for free legal assistance on issues ranging from rent assistance to child visitation issues. For eligibility criteria, check with your local veterans` association to see if you or a member of your household is eligible for free legal aid for a range of services. Private lawyers, legal aid clinics and advocacy groups with lawyers often handle cases that fall within their particular area of interest. For example, you might be able to get free help from a lawyer for a wage discrimination lawsuit against an employer if it has the potential to become a larger class action lawsuit. There are several HIV/AIDS legal counselling programs that provide free legal assistance to low-income clients infected with HIV or AIDS in areas such as estate planning, employment or housing discrimination, insurance difficulties, family law issues and other legal issues. (a) A beneficiary may provide legal assistance supported by LSC funds only to persons whom it has deemed financially eligible for such assistance.

However, this Part prohibits a recipient from providing legal aid to a person, regardless of income and assets, if the legal aid is funded entirely by funds from a source other than LSC and is otherwise authorized by applicable laws and regulations.