OT:Low Cost/Free Legal Help

[jboysen]

Ok Disers I'm in need of some advice. My uncle is in the process of getting divorced from a woman with many addictions and mental problems. He has been with her for over 15 years helped her raise three kids that were not his and had twins with her. He has put her through rehab atleast 3 to 5 times. The last straw was when the 8 year old mentioned that he's seen his mom do drugs in front of the babie(the twins) to his teachers. Human services were called and the kids, all 5 were taken to fostercare. They were all tested the twin girl tested positive for meth in her system. This was two years ago. That was the last straw for my uncle. They do not have alot of money so they just seperated instead of actually divorcing. My uncle retained custody of the kids. She proceeded to fight and eventually the Duluth MN courts awarded her joint custody, they are trying to give her full custody of the kids, even though she has been caught since with drugs. Just recently, she left the 15 year old home by himself for 10 days while she went to Strugis bike rally in SD. My other aunt called the police on her for leaving the boy by himself. Right now she has all the kids and refuses to let my uncle see them. Duluth won't help him at all, his lawyer dropped him because her mom has momey and is paying for all her legal fees.

So, here's the question, does anyone know of any legal council for free or low cost to help my uncle get these kids away from this woman? She is abusive mentally to the kids. She is still using and for what ever reason the courts see her fit enough to have these kids. IT'S CRAZY.

Sorry so long, but my family just doesn't know what to do anymore. My aunt and uncle are going to allow my uncle and the kids to live with them for as long as they need to, he just can't afford a good lawyer, whose willing to fight for him. Any suggestions you may have are greatly appreciated.

TIA

 

[Darcy03231]

The best thing to do is for your uncle to call the Bar Association in the state he lives in. Free/reduced rate services are assigned/monitored through them. Different states have different programs. Just keep in mind that the guidelines for the programs are for really low/no income people.

 

[jboysen]

well he is definitely low income. That is why his lawyer drpopped him. Has anyone ever used a law school student? This was suggested, I'm wondering how it works?

 

[*pixie*dust*]

well he is definitely low income. That is why his lawyer drpopped him. Has anyone ever used a law school student? This was suggested, I'm wondering how it works?

For something as important as this, using an inexperienced law student would be a bad idea. You have complex custody issues, divorce, abuse and neglect. Too much for someone that hasn't dealt with it before.

 

[Darcy03231]

well he is definitely low income. That is why his lawyer drpopped him. Has anyone ever used a law school student? This was suggested, I'm wondering how it works?

Just because his lawyer dropped him doesn't mean he's low income. The guidelines that are established usually go hand in hand with the poverty/state/federal assistance guidelines. If he's receiving state assistance for food, housing, etc. he may very well qualify. If not most likely he won't. There just aren't a lot of attorneys out there who do pro bono (free) legal work.

 

[stacy6552]

Could he use family services to get her custody stripped from her rather than sueing her for custody? If the kids were taken away from mom, family services would go to him first to place the kids.

 

[Disney1976]

For something as important as this, using an inexperienced law student would be a bad idea. You have complex custody issues, divorce, abuse and neglect. Too much for someone that hasn't dealt with it before.

The other thing to consider that while a law student MIGHT be able to handle the drafting of the paperwork (and that's a big maybe) they're not licensed, so they couldn't sign any pleadings or appear in court -your uncle would still be pro se.

I would check with the State/County Bar Association. I know here, we have a lawyer referral service that works on a "sliding scale" (I used to take those family law cases) with rates as low as $100 an hour.

He needs an experienced family law attorney for this matter from the facts you've provided, no doubt.

 

[Sandi S]

See if you have Legal Aid services in your state. (Look them up in the phone book.) If they take your case, you don't pay anything. You have to go through an intake process that can be a bit of a hassle, but we had a great experience with them when we had to get a matter relating to unemployment compensation handled (and were very low on income at that moment). They saved our butts!

 

[jboysen]

Could he use family services to get her custody stripped from her rather than sueing her for custody? If the kids were taken away from mom, family services would go to him first to place the kids.

This is what he has been trying to do, and they keep giving her more and more custody. Social services there thinks it's best for the kids to be with the mother even though she is a drug addict and very negeltful of the kids.

 

[jboysen]

Just because his lawyer dropped him doesn't mean he's low income. The guidelines that are established usually go hand in hand with the poverty/state/federal assistance guidelines. If he's receiving state assistance for food, housing, etc. he may very well qualify. If not most likely he won't. There just aren't a lot of attorneys out there who do pro bono (free) legal work.

His lawyer said to him, you have no money, she does (her mother is paying for all her legal expences) you are s o l. My uncle is on disability, his wife inherited 400 thousand dollars and blew it in three months when they were seperated. On drugs and such. He can not qualify for assistance because they are legally still married.

 

[jboysen]

The other thing to consider that while a law student MIGHT be able to handle the drafting of the paperwork (and that's a big maybe) they're not licensed, so they couldn't sign any pleadings or appear in court -your uncle would still be pro se.

I would check with the State/County Bar Association. I know here, we have a lawyer referral service that works on a "sliding scale" (I used to take those family law cases) with rates as low as $100 an hour.

He needs an experienced family law attorney for this matter from the facts you've provided, no doubt.

They need to work under their law professers license, we would actually need to talk to a law professer, and he would have his students do the reseach and it would an assignment. I was just wondering if anyone has done this before? It was suggested to us.

 

[jboysen]

See if you have Legal Aid services in your state. (Look them up in the phone book.) If they take your case, you don't pay anything. You have to go through an intake process that can be a bit of a hassle, but we had a great experience with them when we had to get a matter relating to unemployment compensation handled (and were very low on income at that moment). They saved our butts!

thanks we will look into that.

 

[Tiggerish]

A law school cllinic is a good place to try. The students work under the supervision of a lawyer and most of them are very dedicated and interested in trying to help so they put in extra time and work very hard.