See if you meet our requirements.

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.
• 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.

This also depends on how many people you must support within your household. For example, 125% of current federal poverty level for 2017 in the continental US is as follows, per year:

• 1 person: $15,075
• 2 persons: $20,300
• 3 persons: $25,525
• 4 persons: $30,750
• 5 persons: $35,975
• 6 persons: $41, 200
• 7 persons: $46,425
• 8 persons: $51,650

If there are more than 8 people in the household, then add $4,675 for each additional person.

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