Legal Aid

[zoe4me]

My boyfriend has lots of medical debt due to a car accident. He wants to file bankrupcty as he already has one wage garnishment in place and just received another warrant in debt notice. The wage garishment will take at least 2 years to pay off. We are really having trouble just paying household expenses as we share a home and things just continue to rise as we all know. Legal Aid turned down his application for services even with his wages being garnished. They asked no questions like rent amount, electric cost, heating cost, food cost,phone, etc., they asked how much money he spent in gas getting to and from work. What about the cost of a car payment, insurance or keeping that car running. He can't afford a lawyer to file and thought they could help maybe getting a reduced rate anyway, he didn't expect not to pay anything for their service. It seems unfair that living expenses are not considered through Legal Aid. Do they make their own rules and are there any other services out there that can help? Thanks so much!

 

[ndragon]

I don't know what the requirements for legal aid are so I can't offer suggestions on that.
I have filed a bankruptcy in the past though so I may be able to help in that area. Call around to a few bankruptcy attorneys. They sometimes offer competitive pricing for filing. Is he planning to file chapter 7 or chapter 11? Do some research online to learn the difference between the two.
I only had to spend $300 on my filing. That should not be too hard to come up with. Just find a lawyer that will do it for that much or less. They are around.
Good luck.


-Nick

 

[presutin]

Call the local bar association and see if they can help you with referrals for pro-bono attorneys. Also, consult with your church and social groups that you belong to so you can find out if they can help you with legal aid from one of their members.