Legal service offices are nonprofit agencies that provide free legal assistance, including representation in court cases and administrative hearings, to eligible individuals.
Who is eligible?
Individuals, who in their current living situation have income below 125 percent of the federal poverty level or who are at least 65 years of age, may apply for legal assistance with the legal services (or legal aid) offices within their communities. Legal service offices are unable to serve everyone who requests assistance, so they have been required to establish case-acceptance priorities based upon the type and severity of the legal problem. Applicants for assistance are notified of the assistance that will be made available to them. The most common areas in which legal service offices provide assistance include family law, public benefits, housing, consumer law, education, probate law, and individual rights.
Several other sources of free legal assistance are available. Your local pro-bono lawyer referral service provides free legal assistance to low-income and elderly individuals through volunteer private attorneys. Paternity establishment and child support enforcement cases that do not involve custody disputes typically are handled by local child support enforcement offices in Florida. These offices do not charge for their services. Criminal law cases are handled by public defender offices, which also do not charge.
What do the services cost?
There is no charge for legal assistance or for court costs from legal services and legal aid offices.
How do I apply?
You may request free legal assistance by calling the legal services or legal aid office in your community. Assistance may also be available from your local probono lawyer referral service and, for appropriate cases, your local child support enforcement office and public defender’s office. Phone numbers should be listed in your phone book for the first two services in the “attorneys” section. The latter two services should be listed in the “county government” section. The phone numbers also are listed in the Florida Bar Journal Directory, which is distributed to all Florida courts, law offices, and law libraries.
