Legal aid ?
how much can you earn before you cant get legal aid how do you get it and how much do you have to be on to get it ? please help !
Answers:
There are two types of legal aid. One is provided for by the county - public defenders and will only be given if you meet the income standards set by the county (it is different for each county, but usually is some % of the federal poverty level. I have seen it go as high as 250% of the poverty level - that is for free services). If you do not qualify for free services they will use a sliding scale as to how much you will be charged. However, public defenders are only provided for criminal offenses (when you are arrested).
I'm going to assume you are looking for legal aid for a private civil matter. In the private context, there are private legal aid organizations - such as Prairie State Legal Services, Inc. in Illinois, that will review/take your case if you meet their eligibility requirements (low-income). But, there is a high demand for such services and even if you qualify, they may not be able to take you as a client. As for if you are eligible, you are going to have to contact them directly, each legal aid organization has their own critiera. Again, they will usually have a sliding scale in place if you do not qualify for free services and their full rates are probably lower then a private attorney.
Your first step should be to call a legal help line - usually provided by the same legal aid organizations. They will instruct you as to the best course of action to take. You can do an internet search under "legal aid organizations" for your state. Hope this helps.
The guidlines are based upon family size. You can find the legal aid organization in your area at www.nalda.org. Most will prescreen you on the telephone for qualification. After that you will typically go to a community clinic or an office for initial interview. Then the organization will decide wether or not they can staff your case. There is a huge demand for civil legal aid and few resources, so the priority is put on cases where peoples safety are threatened.
basically if you have $4 dollars in your bank account i would be scared.
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