There’s help available for legal issues
January 31, 2020
By: Doug Sheaffer
Email: doug.sheaffer@dshs.wa.gov
Legal stuff. Depending on your exposure to lawyers and the whole legal system, the response could be anything from “interesting”, to “No more, please”, or “Tell me more”.
Regardless of past experiences, we all deal with legal issues throughout our lives, whether it be something as innocuous as the required costs of our license tabs or the sales tax or something as extensive as estate planning.
Note that I steered clear of the criminal stuff. This was on purpose, since in this space and for our clients, we deal with civil/non-criminal issues.
We’ve talked about the Senior Legal Advice Clinics (SLAC) in this space often, and a lot of people have accessed them. For those who have not, let’s take a look at what they are—and take note that other options are also now available.
SLAC is designed to provide free legal services for 60+ individuals regarding non-criminal matters. The majority of the information and guidance deals with wills, Powers of Attorney (including Durable Powers of Attorney), landlord/tenant law and the like. Other topics may include Social Security problems, transfer of assets, etc.
Both of our offices (Long Beach and Raymond) are entry points for SLAC and the clinics are once/month. A call to our offices results in scheduling an appointment with a local attorney at our office. Keep in mind, since these are free consultations, the calendars fill-up quickly–in Long Beach, they are currently booked out until May.
Another option that might work is the Pacific County Legal Advice Clinic held monthly in South Bend at the County Courthouse. The flyer states it’s “A free family law advice clinic” and they occur the last Thursday of the month, beginning at 5 PM, by appointment only.
To determine eligibility, call 360 705 8194, or toll free at 844 211 6916.
Also, there’s a website that offers information and free download of documents at www.washingtonlawhelp.org. The site is easily navigated and provides quick search links to specific areas.
Finally, another free legal resource: CLEAR and CLEAR Sr.
CLEAR Sr is for people 60+ and the number is 1 888 387 7111. CLEAR is designed to assist low-income clients and the number there is 1 888 201 1014. Call between 9:15 and 12:15, leave your contact information and what your issues is, and they will return your call with an attorney knowledgeable in that particular area.
So—legal help is available for free. Why not give it a shot?
Information & Assistance
Long Beach: 360 642 3634/888 571 6558 Raymond: 360 942 2177/888 571 6557