There are legal resources for low-income individuals and family law issues in the Pittsburgh and Allegheny County areas of Pennsylvania. These resources include: The Divorce Tracker is a free automated program that guides individuals through the divorce process in Pennsylvania and generates the necessary forms for a simple and uncontested divorce prosecution. Free online information is available on the Pennsylvania Courts website to support the growing number of Pennsylvanians who wish to file their own family law cases in state courts. Standardized court forms for divorce proceedings can be found on this page of the Pennsylvania Unified Court System website. If you live in Pennsylvania and need help with a legal matter, but can`t afford to pay for an attorney, the following groups can help: For the client: Clients who need free legal advice can find help in several ways: Services include discounted lawyers for women, divorce, custody and/or support issues; Referral Law Line Services offers a list of lawyers who have agreed to provide a free initial consultation to people with legal problems. Individual legal advice – Women can speak with LRW`s director, a licensed attorney, to ask general legal questions. In addition, LRW regularly organizes seminars on various legal topics. Services include: youth, adoption, immigration, wills and trusts, divorce, custody and support, workplace discrimination, and more. Neighborhood Legal Services provides legal assistance to low-income individuals. They also run a monthly family law clinic where clients can consult with a volunteer and lawyers on family law matters. Click on the title of the document to partner with LawHelp Interactive, where you can prepare a fee waiver application that allows you to ask the Pennsylvania court for permission to file free legal documents. This form can be used in most types of court cases in Pennsylvania. Approval of the fee waiver is not automatic.
You must ask the court to approve your application. The instructions are attached. PLEASE NOTE: This does NOT fill out the blank form; You must answer the questions when you are connected to the Internet. IMPORTANT: To use this form, you must use Internet Explorer as your browser and Microsoft Word to print your documents. Read more information from Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Services, Inc. about divorce proceedings and the rights of divorce parties. Content Details Philadelphia Legal Assistance has launched Make Your Case, a series of legal self-help videos. With a grant from the Legal Services Corporation, APL lawyers developed three self-help videos for self-represented individuals in detention, support and protection from abuse cases in family courts. Available in English, Spanish, French, Vietnamese and Indonesian, the video series is a valuable legal resource for people with limited English proficiency. Videos from the Make Your Case series are also available on PaLawHelp.org under the themes of child custody and guardianship, child support and paternity, and domestic violence and protection from abuse under the main heading Children and Families. Sometimes the bureaucracy doesn`t want to listen, especially when it makes a mistake.
A grandmother with limited income was informed that she had received an overpayment of $1,100 in her Social Security benefits and was ordered to pay it back. At that time, the woman was struggling to pay for a new roof and stove for the old house where she cared for her granddaughter. One of our legal aid membership programs, North Penn Legal Services, has appealed on his behalf. In the end, it was decided that the overpayment was Social Security`s fault, and the claim for reimbursement was withdrawn. Without legal assistance, the woman would have been unjustly punished. This program provides low-income parties with legal representation in simple divorce cases (one count with no property or support issues, no alimony, custody or PFA). Support and child care workshops are offered regularly. Select a problem below to begin your search for helpful resources about your legal rights, the law, and the courts, and ask for legal help and forms that can help you resolve your issue. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources County Pro Bono Map Extraordinary Pro Bono Service: Lawyers Make the Difference IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers` Escrow Accounts) Pa. Information from the Discipline Committee for lawyers seeking to provide pro bono services PBA Pro Bono Related Committees Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network (PLAN) Pro bono award per month of volunteering or donation Gabriele Miller-Wagner, Administrative Assistant, PBA Pro Bono Department, received a 2021 PLAN Award of Excellence. Allegheny County Bar Association Indigent Divorce Program – 412-402-6714 Low Income Family Law Assistance in Armstrong, Indiana and Westmoreland Counties The Emergency Rent Assistance Program (ERAP) was created to help tenants overcome financial hardship related to the COVID-19 pandemic. For eligible households, the program helps pay for rent, outstanding rent balances, utilities and home energy costs.
Learn what the program offers or find your county program to apply. Pennsylvanians who need help with rental or utilities have several options. September 2020 report shows equity gap Watch the video that impressively shows the problem. Chief Justice Max Baer and PBA President Wilkinson call on lawyers to support pro bono service Pennsylvania Chief Justice Max Baer has partnered with PBA President Kathleen Wilkinson to encourage all lawyers to commit to providing pro bono service through direct representation and financial support. Read the letter to nearly 75,000 registered lawyers in Pennsylvania. Through this program, PBA members review cases and handle cases free of charge in their areas of practice or expertise for the poor of Pennsylvania. The PBA Pro Bono Office and the Public Legal Services Committee coordinate the program. Welcome to the Pennsylvania Bar Association`s Pro Bono Program This connects you to LawHelp Interactive, where you can prepare a “contempt of support petition” that you can use if you are a party to an outstanding support order and the other party violates the order. If you also want to change the support order, you must submit a petition to change support in addition to a petition for non-compliance with child support. The website will ask you a series of questions about your situation and then create a petition for YOU based on YOUR ANSWERS. The petition can then be printed and submitted to your district court. PLEASE NOTE: This is NOT a form to fill out.
Learn more For forms and local information for your county, click the title to view the SELF-HELP FORMS AND INFORMATION subtopic. Counties are listed alphabetically based on a few common forms, or you can set your location on the page to display only those forms that apply to that location. Content details “Service is the rent we pay for life. It`s not something you can do in your spare time; This is the true meaning of life. Marion Wright Edelman, Founder, Children`s Defense Fund The Home Energy Assistance for Low-Income (LIHEAP) program helps low-income families pay their heating bills. LIHEAP is a grant. You don`t have to pay it back. The program is open from October 8, 2021 to May 6, 2022.
You can apply online through Compass or through your local district help desk. Assists low-income self-represented claimants in preparing applications for submission to a family court judge. Family Law Section Pro se pro bono project – 412-350-0237 Child Advocates Support Center (267) 546-92001617 JFK Blvd., Suite 1200Philadelphia, PA 19103Divorce, Criminal and Family Law The Pennsylvania Bar Association launched Pennsylvania Free Legal Answers in partnership with ABA Free Legal Answers. Questions from clients and volunteer lawyers are welcome on the site. Effective January 6, 2018, a new public access policy will go into effect in Pennsylvania courts. This policy requires anyone submitting court documents to trial and appellate courts to require them to protect the information contained in the documents they submit. Pennsylvania courts have released this series of videos explaining the judge`s new policy on protecting confidential information and the necessary steps you must take to protect that information when filing documents with the courts.