The Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia (LASEVA) is fighting a virtuous but daunting battle. In Virginia (according to The Virginia Bar Association), low-income folks share just one legal aid lawyer for every 6,184 people. So how helpful could Legal Aid be with your Virginia divorce?
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The Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia
LASEVA started in 1966 with lofty goals. All legal aid societies strive to provide impoverished and low-income people with adequate legal representation in all types of civil matters:
- Civil rights
- Discrimination
- Landlord/tenant disputes
- Public benefits
- Domestic violence
- Family law
- Consumer law
- Collections
- Estate planning
- Education rights
No Legal Aid Society handles criminal law. But even without the burden of criminal law, that list of civil matters is a wide-ranging mandate. The work is noble and necessary in a state with high income inequality such as Virginia.
The U.S. Census Bureau pegs Virginia’s poverty rate at an astounding 10.2 percent, even with a median income of $80,615. The need for competent, compassionate legal help for low-income Virginians is keen and obvious.
Yet, with only 21 attorneys and four paralegals, LASEVA is spread thin. It operates out of offices in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Hampton, Williamsburg and Belle Haven. It almost always has full caseloads for staff and volunteer attorneys.
Your Odds
Virginia has no shortage of attorneys. For the general population, the Commonwealth has one lawyer for every 349 Virginians. If you are a low-income resident, you probably assume you cannot afford a family law attorney. So, of course, you look to Legal Aid.
You face long odds of getting adequate legal representation through Legal Aid, if only because you will have to wait, and wait, and wait, and wait to see one of the providing civil law services through LASEVA.
Given the initial long odds of even getting in to see a Legal Aid attorney, you also have to consider limitations to their work:
- If your income exceeds federal poverty levels, Legal Aid cannot help you
- In deciding to accept you as a client, Legal Aid can consider your outstanding debts such as childcare, medical bills, and other unsecured debt
- Exceptions to income limits are sometimes made for clients such as senior citizens, victims of domestic violence, or HIV-positive citizens
Federal Poverty Levels
Most middle-class Virginians are astonished to learn how truly poor a “poor” person must be to tap various state and federal resources. The federal poverty levels for 2023 look like this:
- Family of 1: $14,580
- Family of 2: $19,720
- Family of 3: $24,860
- Family of 4: $30,000
The guidelines continue, with $5,140 added for each additional family member. Compare the family of 4 poverty threshold of $30,000 with the Commonwealth’s median income of $80,615. Or, consider that a couple with no children operating at the federal poverty level would be netting only $1,643 a month for rent or mortgage, food, clothing, vehicle, gasoline, and all other living expenses. That’s living on just over $54 a day. For two people.
If you do not meet these low income figures, Legal Aid cannot afford to use its scarce resources on your case. Stir into this dilemma the moral question: if you can afford legal representation, are you being fair to tap Legal Aid and displace someone else who cannot afford to pay an attorney?
So What Are Your Options?
Are better options available to you? Yes. Lower income Virginians seeking divorce who do not meet Legal Aid’s income limits can seek out experienced family law attorneys. Schedule an initial consultation and be candid with the lawyer about your financial constraints.
You may need to dip into your modest savings to establish a retainer, but your attorney will work with you. Legal expenses can be paid over time, in most instances.
The legal advice your attorney provides will be correct, efficient, and compassionate. It will also be highly personalized, since law firms specializing in family law do not take on more clients than they can effectively manage.
For most Virginia divorces, a no-fault, uncontested divorce is the most affordable way to break the bonds of matrimony. If you and your divorcing spouse agree on the major aspects of your divorce, the process can be affordable and relatively fast.
The divorce cannot begin until you contact The Firm For Men today. You may also telephone our Virginia Beach office at (757) 383-9184. We work with Virginia’s men to provide affordable, helpful, caring counsel.