What is Legal Aid in Putnam County
Legal aid is a vital resource for residents of Putnam County, NY, representing a commitment to ensuring access to justice for all individuals, regardless of their financial situation. Legal aid provides free or low-cost legal services for residents who cannot afford an attorney, effectively bridging the gap between eligibility for public legal assistance and the resources to hire a private lawyer. In Putnam County, legal aid services cover a broad scope of issues, including family law, domestic violence, housing, public benefits, consumer credit, and senior citizens’ legal concerns. In a community like Putnam County, where the cost of living can be prohibitively high, and some residents struggle to meet their daily needs, legal aid helps mitigate the pressure of legal issues, which can otherwise wreak havoc on vulnerable lives. The objective of legal aid services is to deliver professional, experienced counsel to assist individuals in understanding their circumstances, navigating the complexities of the law, and seeking fair resolution of their legal issues. From family disputes to mortgage foreclosures, legal aid steps in to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to see justice served . Specific legal issues that are frequently covered by legal aid services include: Child custody and visitation, Child support modifications, Separation and divorce, Financial restraining orders, Visitation rights, Spousal support, LGBTQ+ divorce, Domestic violence, child abuse, Wills and trusts for impaired adults, Divorce impact of incapacitating illness on an estate, Power of Attorney. Public Benefits, including: Social Security Disability, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, Food stamps, Temporary Assistance, Public assistance. Consumer / Creditor Counselling, including: Guide to consumer credit issues, Debt counselling, Avoiding consumer fraud, Assistance with unreasonable collection practices, Home mortgage foreclosure defenses, Consumer bankruptcy. Real Property, including: Key rights and responsibilities of real property owners, landlords and tenants, Foreclosure and landlord-tenant issues, Asset planning and elder law, Landlord & tenant issues. Social Security Disability and SSI, Social security, Medicaid issues, Long-term care planning, including: Home care, community-based and facility-based services, Eligibility for resident restrictions, Health-related benefits, Consumer unit composition, Resources, income and trusts.
Who Can Get Legal Aid Services
Eligibility for Legal Aid Services in Putnam County, NY
To qualify for legal aid services in Putnam County, the legal aid society will request that you provide up-front financial and case information. All applicants must qualify for legal services that are provided in either civil or criminal cases. Typically legal aid services will represent clients in civil cases only if you cannot afford an attorney. The legal aid society in Putnam County, will require potential clients to provide documents that verify their financial status. If the client does not qualify for legal aid or is interested in a private attorney, the legal aid society website provides a list of helpful resources under the "Legal Aid Resources" tab. If you have been accused of a crime, you may be entitled to free legal help. A public defender will represent you if: Free legal help for civil cases is offered when the person has no other means of obtaining assistance. Legal aid services can include: representation in court, placement with law school students, telephone advice, and more. Legal aid society staff take a number of factors into consideration, like the extent of the problem, the connection to or impact on domestic violence, what other services you may be receiving, and the housing conditions.
Steps to Receive Legal Aid Services
How Utilities Are Covered in Putnam County, NY
Applying for Legal Aid Services in Putnam County, NY
Applying for legal aid in Putnam County, NY, is a relatively simple process for residents and businesspeople. Most legal aid services are not available to businesses, however, specifically those legal services available through the Legal Aid Society. You may be able to obtain legal services from other agencies within the Hudson Valley and the capital district, but only if the situation demands it.
For basic legal aid services and pro bono legal services, Legal Services of the Hudson Valley in Putnam County has several offices across the state to assist individuals and not-for-profit organizations with legal representation and advice. Whether you need pro bono representation for civil cases or advocacy and legal assistance on behalf of at-risk children and youth, you can find the help you need at each of the offices within Putnam County.
To apply for legal aid in Putnam County, you will need to complete an application. The application is available online, or at the walk-in office locations. You will need to provide the following information:
· Basic biographical information about yourself (or business entity) and a list of special needs, if any
· Income and asset information, including information about your spouse and other dependent family members
· Court case details, including representatives for opposing counsel and witnesses, if applicable
· Information about any previous legal representation regarding the same issue
Applications for legal aid in Putnam County are generally made free of charge to the applicant, although the Legal Aid Society does have sliding payment scales for income-based applications in some cases. After completing the application process, which usually involves one or more meetings with a legal aid representative, including submitting the proper forms and documentation, your financial and legal information as provided above will be reviewed in a timely manner. The approval process can take several days. Legal aid representatives are required to inform you of the result of your application within 10 days. If you have not received notification of your acceptance status after this period, or the date of the result notification may extend beyond the 10 days, contact the office that provided the notification of your application status.
Who Provides Legal Aid Services
Legal representation is an important resource for low income individuals in Putnam County who are facing criminal charges or other legal issues. As stated by Judge Priestley in Quinn v Bishop, 175 Misc2d 693, the "right to free counsel does not simply mean the right to a lawyer who works for free or cheap . . . [it] expresses a matter of principle that our society . . . provides something more than simply excluding the possibility that forces greater than the individual can exercise a coercive power against him." (emphasis in original). The following identifies the various not-for-profit legal services provider organizations, offices, and scope of legal assistance they provide in Putnam County: Westchester-Putnam Legal Services provides direct legal representation and law reform advocacy for low-income residents of Putnam County. The organization’s lawyers handle legal issues regarding subsistence, including Family, Immigration, Consumer and Landlord/Tenant law cases. In addition, attorneys assist persons eligible for Medicaid or Home Care benefits who have been deprived of their lawful benefits. Legal Services of the Hudson Valley serves as the principal poverty law firm in a six county region, including Putnam County, NY. Its mission is to overcome systemic discrimination and structural inequality in the civil justice system. The Consumer Law Project for Seniors is a pro bono project that provides assistance to seniors 60 and older with general consumer issues, such as debt collection harassment, home improvement scams, reverse mortgages and foreclosure. LawHelpNY is an online resource for low and moderate-income individuals and families in New York seeking information about their civil legal rights and responsibilities.
Typical Legal Matters Handled
The types of legal concerns often addressed by legal aid services include family law issues, such as divorce, child custody and adoption; housing issues, including homelessness and landlord-tenant disputes; consumer rights matters; public benefits issues, such as applications for food stamps and Social Security disability; as well as some components of the juvenile justice system. The non-profit law firms in Putnam County, NY, New York City and other urban areas across the state specialize in many of these same areas.
Legal aid programs focus on secus et duces—those who have good character but cannot afford legal expenses rather than those seeking legal aid due to a loss of employment or other financial difficulty. Therefore, most legal aid programs require that legal aid clients must be low income.
When available, clients pay if they can afford it, with fees often based on a sliding scale that is both need and ability based. In many cases , legal aid will not represent a client directly but will provide legal advice or information.
An example of the types of services available is that of the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York, which serves many counties hurting economically—their website states that legal aid is provided to people struggling to find employment, to keep their homes, to gain food, shelter and education for their children and to access essential health care and other needed services. More than just providing legal representation when necessary, the Legal Aid Society is also a major policy advocate for low-income non-English speaking people in the agency’s geographic area and statewide.
Putnam County residents with legal needs that are under the jurisdiction of civil courts can call Legal Services of the Hudson Valley, also based outside the county, to learn about available services.
Case Victories and Attorney Reviews
Putnam County legal aid services have had a positive impact on many lives, as evidenced by the following testimonials from satisfied clients. Miguel D. recently went through the child support modification process and said that "it was great to have the assistance of this law firm. They made this process easy to understand and carried out everything in a timely manner." Sandra M. received legal representation to obtain guardianship of her elderly aunt after her aunt’s mental acuity failed. She notes that "the attorney always looked at me and my aunt to explain what he was doing and how it would affect us." Maria P. had serious criminal charges filed against her but could not afford the legal defense she needed. As soon as the case was referred to her by the judge, attorney Carla Jaggi started working on it immediately, even before her formal appointment. "She was a godsend in what I thought was a hopeless situation." Barbara F. is the divorced mother of two children residing with their father. Both children were diagnosed with autism and she struggled with the expense of needed care. She states that "the Putnam office of Legal Aid Society obtained a substantial increase in child support for me which enabled my children to get the services they need." John S. was served with an eviction notice from his landlord since he owed several months of rent. He was afraid that he would be out on the street in a couple of days. He did not know where he would go and feared he would lose his job which required him to drive. She was encouraged to contact the society after seeing an advertisement in the newspaper. "It turned out that a previous eviction proceeding was still pending," John recalls. "After identifying the mistake in the eviction filed by the Landlord’s attorney, the attorney from the Putnam office just wrote a letter to the Court and the case was dismissed. Otherwise, I would have had to pay at least $700 in legal fees." Gregory C. was unable to see his child because the mother kept him from having any contact with the child. When Gregory contacted the Putnam office, a petition to enforce visitation was filed with the Family Court and he now regularly sees his son. "I have never seen my son happier than when he’s with me. He smiles all the time. Thanks to the Legal Aid Society’s family attorney I can play a part in my child’s life," Gregory says.
Barriers and the Future of Legal Aid
Challenges and Future of Legal Aid in Putnam County, NY
Despite the availability of legal aid services, many people do not access them. This is primarily due to a lack of knowledge about available legal resources or misinformation about legal aid services. In an area like Putnam County, where many residents are not aware of, or do not trust, the justice system, legal aid services are obviously hampered. Funding for legal aid services is also a problem, as is coordination with other agencies. Finally, while legal aid services can have a rational and reasonable impact on individual cases, the problem of securing services for large numbers of people simultaneously—without a corresponding increase in funding—cannot be addressed by a single legal services organization. Additional community partnerships are needed to meet the challenges of legal aid in Putnam County , NY. Unmet needs for legal services are enormous, and disparities between income and assets of Putnam County residents and the availability of legal services are equally large. A significant change could be made with relatively small increases in state governmental funding directed exclusively toward the provision of civil legal services. Looking toward the future, it looks bright for legal services in Putnam County, NY. An expansion of the current Putnam County legal aid services may permit improved training of volunteers and staff, better coordination between local organizations, a greater outreach program, a focus on community education on legal processes (especially for the elderly and disabled), and a program designed to unify existing legal services into one cohesive enterprise.