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Legal Aid: Free Law Help in all 50 States!

Legal Aid: Free Law Help in all 50 States!

Legal aid can help you with family law, debts, evictions and so much more. If you’re struggling to get by, you need to know about these resources. After all, legal aid can be a low income lifesaver. When you’re struggling to get by, it can be downright impossible to spend hundreds of dollars per hour to retain the services of a professional attorney.

That’s why these services exist. These organizations provide free or low-cost legal services to low income individuals. They can also help families who need but can’t afford legal assistance.

You never know when you might need legal assistance. An unexpected divorce, death, CPS call, lawsuit or even a landlord-tenant conflict can leave you in a lurch, stressed out and desperate and unsure where to turn. You could also need legal assistance for day-to-day issues.

Fortunately, there are agencies in all 50 states that can help. We’re compiling an easy-to-use list right here, so you can bookmark this page and never have to worry about finding local law help ever again!

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What is legal aid?

If you’ve been accused of a crime, then you’re entitled to free help from a public defender. However, this is not true if you’ve been sued for a debt, facing eviction from a landlord, filing a divorce or engaged in another civil law matter. You either have to pay out-of-pocket for an attorney or face this potentially disastrous legal debacle entirely on your own!

That’s why legal aid exists. It’s basically free or low-cost legal assistance. You may have heard people refer to this as free legal representation, pro bono legal services, or free law advice. It’s all the same thing: affordable low-cost legal advice from a qualified professional. Many of these law professionals also provide services as part of community outreach.

How can legal aid help me?

If you need free legal representation, then you need help from one of these organizations. They can assist you with family law cases, such as divorces and custody battles. They can also assist you with lawsuits, disability applications, landlord-tenant issues, domestic violence issues, sexual assault issues and so much more. It never hurts to get a little free legal advice, no matter what situation you’re wrestling with!

Who qualifies for legal aid?

Typically, these organizations limit their assistance to low income members of the population. They may also have income guidelines, but they vary by organization. Some organizations are even more specific and limit their services to seniors, domestic violence survivors, immigrants or other demographics. Fortunately, we’ve found several organizations in each state so you should be able to find one that is able to help you.

Wait! Have you heard of SoloSuit?

Attorneys can be expensive and legal aid can be difficult to find. If you’ve been served with a lawsuit, SoloSuit may be able to help you file your answer faster, easier and cheaper than an attorney can.

SoloSuit has an easy-to-use format that will guide you through the process of filing an official Answer to the court. I’ve used it myself. All you need is the Summons and Complaint you were served with, and you’ll be able to answer all of the questions. At the end, the SoloSuit system will generate an answer that you can send to the court.

The basic service is free but for a small fee you can also have them mail the Answer to the Court and the Plaintiff. I highly recommend this service because it’s so much easier than printing and delivering the copies yourself. Again, I’ve used that service – and paid that fee – myself. It’s very effective!

Where can I find a local legal aid office?

That’s the question we’re here to answer. To include all the nationwide free legal resources we’ve found in this post, we’d need over 13,000 words! That’s why we’ve divided this post into helpful sections, depending on which state you’re located in.

Just select your state from the list below to see what free legal resources are available in your area! You might also be able to find additional ways to get legal help.

This information is currently being compiled. If your area hasn’t been finished yet, please check back in a few weeks. If you need urgent assistance and would like us to expedite the research for your area, leave a comment below.

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia 

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana 

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Missouri

Mississippi

Montana

Nebraska

 New Hampshire

New Jersey

Nevada

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

Washington, D.C.

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

We’ve found even more help for you here!

Nicole is the owner and lead researcher for Low Income Relief. She has over 20 years of professional research and writing experience, and she has been solely dedicated to investigating low income topics for the last 10 years. Nicole started Low Income Relief after a personal experience with poverty. When her husband was medically discharged from the US Army, their family experienced tremendous financial hardship. Nicole was able to gather help from multiple community agencies and move into a nearby low income housing unit in just two weeks! Since then, Nicole has been dedicated to helping low income families in crisis. She regularly spends hundreds of hours combing through countless resources to make sure that Low Income Relief has the most comprehensive and complete resource directories on the internet today. Prior to starting Low Income Relief, Nicole worked as a novelist, journalist, ghostwriter and content creator. Her work has been featured in various print and online publications, including USA Today, The Daily Herald, The Chronicle and more. Her work has also been featured by Google for Publishers and other leading industry publications.

Nichole

Saturday 18th of January 2020

I need help now . . .I need to find a lawyer some one help I have six kids

Riley Thomson

Monday 20th of January 2020

Nichole, Here is the link to our legal aid directory. Be sure to follow the links within the article for more information. I hope this helps. -Riley

Barb Morton

Friday 29th of March 2019

CPS is after your kids. They have no morals and do not care about what trauma they are causing you or your children. They are not even acting in the best interest of the children. They lie on a continuous basis and have no accountability to their lies. They get court orders based on false information and lie on stand. As a parent you have no rights and less rights then a criminal. They do not look for the truth or try to understand the truth. There is no conversation. AS stated any thing you do say will be changed and used against you. If you jump through their hoops they are likely to make more. If they mandate it they are supposed to pay for it. Do not sign a release other than attendance to a service. They will often stick people in therapies then want the progress notes to know what is said so they can use it against you. even if it is benign it will be manipulated. Do not offer any information. They will hold whatever helps them keep your kids. even when the information is proven inaccurate they will use it. South Carolina

Riley Thomson

Tuesday 23rd of April 2019

Barb, I'm so sorry! Thanks for sharing. -Riley

Steven Baker

Wednesday 20th of March 2019

Looking for a lawer against cps an possibly first civil rights against police department in Wisconsin please email back it's possible.

Riley Thomson

Thursday 21st of March 2019

Steven, Here is a link to our legal aid directory. I hope this helps. -Riley

Joy Feaster

Monday 5th of November 2018

I am a victim of a sad case of dv3 with my husband of 10 yrs.. dss has my 3 young children in a safety plan almost 4 months. Dss has stop talking to me and has told the school not to release info on my 3 children to me and all communication has stop with the grandmother with the help of dss.. My children are not being cared for correctly and are failing in school... what can I do.. I was told by a lawyer they could do nothing because there is no case..

Riley Thomson

Saturday 10th of November 2018

Joy, I am so sorry to hear about what you are going through. That must be really hard. We are an informational website. A lawyer would be better able to answer any questions you may have. And you could ask another lawyer to see if he may have a different opinion than the first lawyer you spoke with. Or you can try 211.org for more resources. I hope this helps. -Riley

Kathy Kalb

Saturday 13th of October 2018

My son is fighting DCF in Kansas! They accused him and his dad with abuse! They lied to the court to remove the kids! Nick was living with his dad! The allegations were false but while they investigated both of them Nick had to move out! This broke my son! There still on going investigation on Nick! He gets visitation but I'm afraid they will find a way to keep the kids! I could not live with this!

Riley Thomson

Tuesday 16th of October 2018

Kathy, I'm sorry that your family is going through this hard time. We are still working on researching Legal Aid in Kansas. I can suggest that you could reach out to 211.org for more resources in your area. Also, if it fits your situation, look into kinship care so that you can care for the kids if they are removed.

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