Legal Aid

Factual Questions
1

I’m currently looking for a source of free legal advice in Maine, however, I’m having trouble figuring out where, in part because I don’t know what category (as in what kind of specialty) it would be under.
The situation is an 18 year old who is having legal disagreements with her mother (her father does not live with her).
Can anyone help with this?

(I understand SDMB doesn’t like giving actual legal advice, thus why i left out the actual situation, so as to make clear I wasn’t looking for it. If you need more information, or if you are just that curious, just ask and I’ll post more.)

2

[QUOTE=Aserrann]
I’m currently looking for a source of free legal advice in Maine, however, I’m having trouble figuring out where, in part because I don’t know what category (as in what kind of specialty) it would be under.
The situation is an 18 year old who is having legal disagreements with her mother (her father does not live with her).
Can anyone help with this?

(I understand SDMB doesn’t like giving actual legal advice, thus why i left out the actual situation, so as to make clear I wasn’t looking for it. If you need more information, or if you are just that curious, just ask and I’ll post more.)
[/QUOTE]

I am a lawyer but I am not your lawyer, I don’t practice in Maine, standard disclaimers, blah blah blah.

You might call this place (the Maine Bar Foundation, for those who prefer not to click links). There’s a reference on the web site to assisting in providing legal services to the poor, so that might be a good starting point.

A couple general points:

“Free” legal advice is generally given, if it is given at all, by organizations and foundations that are dedicated to providing legal services to low-income individuals and families. Thus there is in almost every case an income threshhold (typically, 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, but the actual amount varies) that a person cannot exceed or they will not qualifity. Income is based on household income, so if the 18 year old lives with her mother and the mother makes a more-than-completely-crappy living, she may not qualify for low-income legal services.

Even if she qualifies for low-income legal services, many agencies provide assistance in only some areas, not all areas – typically landlord-tenant issues, family law issues (divorce, child support), and employment. This is because the vast majority of legal issues in low income families fall into these three categories. There are also some agencies that are dedicated to offering legal assistance to certain groups, like refugees or migrant workers, but access to those services is obviously contingent on belonging to the group in question.

Even if the person meets the income guidelines and is in need of the type of services that the agency offers, there is always always more demand than supply for free or low-cost legal services, and sometimes there can be a significant delay in obtaining advice or representation.

But there are organizations that try to help, and without knowing the exact problem, I would suggest your friend call the number in the link above. If they can’t help her, they may be able to tell her who can – or they may tell her she just doesn’t qualify for help.

3

[QUOTE=Jodi]
Income is based on household income, so if the 18 year old lives with her mother and the mother makes a more-than-completely-crappy living, she may not qualify for low-income legal services.
[/QUOTE]

I was hoping there would be some special rules since a dependent is looking for legal aid against the one making the money, and therefor not likely to have access to it… but i guess not, huh?

[QUOTE=Jodi]
Even if she qualifies for low-income legal services, many agencies provide assistance in only some areas, not all areas – typically landlord-tenant issues, family law issues (divorce, child support), and employment.
[/QUOTE]

That was the kind of thing I was curious about. Any idea what kind of specialty would this fall under?
… or I suppose that would need more information than i gave.

As an example of the kind of thing going on, for one thing the mother is on disability, which meant she received money from that was intended for use on my friend. My friend never new about this until very recently, and had to fight for money even for things like a jacket. In Maine winter.

I also realize that I do not know the law, and she may have handled everything legally. However, we suspect her of major things (beyond this) and are just looking for advice.

4

On a semi-related side note… what would one do if they suspected their parent of being mentally ill and unfit to hold custody of children?

Sorry for the double post, I was talking to the person I’m researching for and this thought just came up.

5

In Maine, there is also Pine Tree Legal assistance. If nothing else, they ought be able to at least direct you to an appropriate agency or institution in Maine which can help with your particular case.

6

[QUOTE=Aserrann]
I was hoping there would be some special rules since a dependent is looking for legal aid against the one making the money, and therefor not likely to have access to it… but i guess not, huh?

[/QUOTE]

I don’t think anything works this way, a good example was that I did not qualify for student loans at one point because my father made too much and I lived with him. It did not matter that he was not paying for my school.

7

Aserrann, you are going to have to call a legal aid organization in Maine, like one of the two linked to here. No one on this or any other message board is going to be able to tell you if a Maine legal aid organization can help your friend with her problems – only the organization can tell you that.

8

You might try contacting The Door a youth-advocacy group based in New York City.

Though they MOST LIKELY WILL NOT be able to assist you with a Maine legal problem, they may well know who can in your area.

Another option is to contact any nearby law school and ask if they have a “Clinic” program in Family Law (the area of law your problem seems to be concerned with). In a clinic, law students work on your case – under supervision of a lawyer. They get credit and valuable experience, you get free legal assistance.

For example, here is the contact ifo for the Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic, a service of the University of Maine Law school: http://mainelaw.maine.edu/cumberlandlegal.aspx

9

Here is a list of Legal Services-related programs in Maine:

If all else fails:

[QUOTE=from link]
The Maine Lawyer Referral and Information Service, for a $25 fee, can put people in touch with a lawyer who will provide a half-hour initial consultation. The Lawyer Referral Service has a toll free phone number to its Augusta office.
[/QUOTE]

10

[QUOTE=Jodi]
Aserrann, you are going to have to call a legal aid organization in Maine, like one of the two linked to here. No one on this or any other message board is going to be able to tell you if a Maine legal aid organization can help your friend with her problems – only the organization can tell you that.
[/QUOTE]

I knew I wasn’t going to get much… but what I did get is exactly what I wanted and hoped for. Thank you, everyone who responded.