Special Coronavirus/COVID-19 Information:
First, to check on the status of your case, go to: MyCase it’s quick and free.
For Monroe County cases, you can also call Court Services at (812) 349-2615 with questions.
Check back to see other court closures or emergency procedures in the counties we serve, which are Clay, Greene, Hendricks, Lawrence, Monroe, Morgan, Owen, Putnam, Sullivan, and Vigo.
Second, please determine which of our programs you would like to access and see if you qualify.
Third, our Bloomington office at 120 W. 7th Street, Suite 450, Bloomington is closed, as we’re working remotely, so please don’t stop by. Correspondence can be mailed to: PO Box 8382. Bloomington, IN 47407 We want to keep our clients, our volunteers, and our staff safe during the pandemic. Please bear with us during this difficult time. We are processing cases more slowly due to all the precautionary measures, but otherwise our intake is the same. Check back for updates!
To qualify for an attorney, you must meet these requirements:
- Income
Your income must be at or less than 125% of the federal poverty level, except for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy which is at or under 150%. - Case
Your case must be in one of the counties we serve.
Your case must be civil, not criminal.
Your case’s deadline or hearing must be more than 30 days away. - Location
You do not have to live in a county we serve, but your case must be in one of the counties we serve.
Please be aware that, even when an applicant meets all of the criteria to qualify for assistance, that does not automatically guarantee we will be able to find an attorney who is willing to take the case for free. For a variety of reasons, some cases are more difficult to place than others and attorneys are not obligated to accept cases from us. Also, finding volunteer attorneys takes time, so we cannot handle emergencies or cases with hearings or deadlines in less than thirty days. You are welcome to attend one of our clinics to get help in the meantime.
Income requirements
We only take clients whose incomes are at or less than 125% of the federal poverty line or less than 150% for our Ch 7 Bankruptcy Clinic.
This also depends on how many people you must support within your household. Per US Dept of
Health & Human Service guidelines, the current (2020) federal
poverty level in the continental US is as follows:
|
ANNUAL INCOME POVERTY RATE
|
|||
| Household/ | Pro Bono | Chapter 7 | |
| Family Size |
100% | 125% | 150% |
| 1 | $12,760 | 15,950 | 19,140 |
| 2 | $17,240 | 21,550 | 25,860 |
| 3 | $21,720 | 27,150 | 32,580 |
| 4 | $26,200 | 32,750 | 39,300 |
| 5 | $30,680 | 38,350 | 46,020 |
| 6 | $35,160 | 43,950 | 52,740 |
| 7 | $39,640 | 49,550 | 59,460 |
| 8 | $44,120 | 55,150 | 66,180 |
| Add $4,480 for each person over 8 |
|||
If you’re close to this, you may still qualify. We can deduct some expenses you have to keep a job, such as child care, mileage and uniforms, to get you to the 125% level. Also, it may be that not everyone you live with is a member of your household, if you don’t have a legal obligation to support them.
We also ask about other resources you may have, such as bank accounts, trusts, stocks or non-residential real estate.
Case requirements
We only take civil cases. We do not take criminal cases.
We also cannot take cases with hearings or deadlines within less than thirty (30) days. This is because we rely on volunteer attorneys to fit these cases into their schedules. It is unlikely, if not impossible, to find an attorney who can prepare for your case within less than thirty (30) days.
Location requirements
We only take cases in the following counties:
- Clay
- Greene
- Hendricks
- Lawrence
- Monroe
- Morgan
- Owen
- Putnam
- Sullivan
- Vigo
Counsel in the Court
Family & Selected Law Help
Beginning August 17th, 2020, Counsel in the Court will change intake style and hours.
Our services include: child custody, parenting time, support, paternity, divorce, guardianship, and name change, and landlord-tenant issues.
The legal assistance provided is brief advice and help with forms. The attorneys cannot provide counsel or representation beyond your session. The help is not a substitute for full representation by an attorney, and it is wise to hire an attorney if you are financially able to.
To be eligible for our services, you must:
- Be of financial need. Time is limited, and best used for the many who truly cannot afford any legal help.
- Not already have an attorney.
- Be a party to or intending to file a family or consumer case in one of the following counties: Clay, Greene, Lawrence, Monroe, Morgan, Owen, & Putnam.
For Greene, Lawrence, Monroe, Morgan, Owen, & Putnam Counties: Monday through Friday, 9am to 4pm. Call (812) 269-6463 Please leave a message with your name, number, and email and we will return your call. Also, you can let us know if you prefer a phone or Zoom consultation after the initial determination
Clay County: All Fridays, 9am to 11am, call (812) 316-5262 Attorney and intern will call back between 15 minutes and 3 hours.
After signing in by telephone, your place in line will be held, and we will get back with you as soon as possible.
We’re on Facebook!
Click through and like the Facebook page for your county to get news and keep up on what District 10 is doing in the community.
Please do an intake for bankruptcy by calling (812) 855-2390 and leave a voice mail, and an intake worker will call you back at their earliest convenience. It may take more time than normal for someone to get back to you because we are closed at this time due to the Coronavirus. Please note that we only do Chapter 7 bankruptcies.
|
ANNUAL INCOME POVERTY LEVEL
|
|||
| Household/ | Pro Bono | Chapter 7 | |
| Family Size |
100% | 125% | 150% |
| 1 | $12,760 | 15,950 | 19,140 |
| 2 | $17,240 | 21,550 | 25,860 |
| 3 | $21,720 | 27,150 | 32,580 |
| 4 | $26,200 | 32,750 | 39,300 |
| 5 | $30,680 | 38,350 | 46,020 |
| 6 | $35,160 | 43,950 | 52,740 |
| 7 | $39,640 | 49,550 | 59,460 |
| 8 | $44,120 | 55,150 | 66,180 |
| Add $4,480 for each person over 8 |
|||
Housing and Evictions Resource Table: (For Monroe County only)
Keep checking back for updates as information changes.
The State page for following CDC Guidelines in their eviction moratorium is here:
Indiana Courts Housing and Eviction During Covid-19
To apply for rental assistance funds, please check here, and keep coming back as new funds are slated to become available:
Indiana Housing Now
Visit these sites for more information and resources:
Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority
Please call Court Services at (812) 349-2615 with questions.
Intake for placement with an attorney (for Clay, Greene, Lawrence, Monroe, Morgan, Owen, Putnam, Sullivan, and Vigo counties):
Counsel in the Court is best suited for if you have an immediate question. We also offer intake services to possibly provide you with a pro bono attorney for your case if you qualify financially, which usually means that you are at or near the 125% of federal poverty guidelines. However, we must prioritize cases for placement with a pro bono attorney because there are so few pro bono attorneys available. We might be able to place you with a pro bono attorney if the case:
- is not scheduled to be heard less than 30 days from now AND
- involves abuse or neglect of you or a dependent
- is a Chapter 7 bankruptcy
- involves a non-contested guardianship for children or disabled adults (non-contested means all relatives of the kids or adults agree you should be the guardian)
- is an adoption by a grandparent or step-parent
- is a power of attorney, do-not-resuscitate directive, living will, or will
- involves financial loss of more than $6,000
This isn’t a definitive list of cases we can help with, and you may call our Intake Line at 812-339-3610 if you have questions about whether we can help. It’s also best to call the Intake Line if you think you might be just over the financial qualifications, as some things, such as expenses to keep a job, child support, and insurance, may be subtracted to qualify you.
Important disclaimer for getting help with a pro bono attorney: If your case looks like one that might be eligible for placement with an attorney, and you qualify financially, unfortunately, that still doesn’t mean we can get you a pro bono attorney. Here are other things you should know:
- We’ll let you know within two weeks by letter or email after your intake whether your case is one that we think we can place with an attorney. We may need to call you for more information before we can let you know.
- It can take 30 days to 3 months, in some cases even longer, to find an attorney who can help you for free. This is because we have to call around to find an attorney who has the expertise for your case, and who can fit it into their schedule. In some small counties, there may not be an attorney available who can help. Pro bono work isn’t mandatory in Indiana for attorneys, and there are relatively few attorneys who work with us.
- If we accept your case for placement, you should feel free to email at dist10probono@gmail.com to ask for updates on your case, if your case changes in the meantime, or if you are able to find an attorney elsewhere.
Here are instructions for doing intakes: Please call 812-339-3610 Tuesdays from 5 to 7pm and Thursdays from 11am to 1pm. If prompted, please leave a message.
For Hendricks County only
Please go to https://www.hendrickscountybar.org/legal-aid/ and follow directions on the website.
Mission
Wabash Valley Survivors Legal Assistance provides legal support to survivors of domestic violence who cannot afford an attorney. We provide legal advice, legal assistance, and in some cases legal representation for people experiencing domestic violence. We partner with the Terre Haute-based Council on Domestic Abuse (CODA), Clay County Family Support Services, and other local domestic violence resources. We also do some direct intake.
Get Help
To be eligible for assistance, your case must be located in Vigo, Clay, or Sullivan County. Currently the best way to get advice and apply for services is to work with CODA or Clay County Family Support Services. You can also contact us directly at: wvsurvivorslegal@d10probono.org or call: (812) 316-5262 to schedule an intake.
Support
Wabash Valley SLA is a project of the District 10 Pro Bono Project and Pro Bono Indiana, funded through the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute and the federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) grant: 2020 VOCA 000285. Wabash Valley SLA and District 10 Pro Bono can currently only meet the need of a fraction of the people who qualify for our services. If you would like to support Wabash Valley Survivors Legal Assistance specifically, you can donate to D10 here and write in the “Notes” section that you would like your donation to go to SLA. In many cases, timely legal assistance is a decisive factor in a person suffering domestic abuse with children being able to leave! You donation will make an actual difference in terms of more hours to help another client!
Who We Serve