Legal Question in Family Law in Minnesota
divorce
Can you offer me any assistance? I have been searching assiduously for some sort of representation with consideration for the position I now find myself. I have contacted the low income services and others whose names were given to me only to find that I don't qualify because I - didn't report the abuse to authorities, aren't bicultural, aren't residing in the metro area, etc. I am scheduled for court in June and I still have no attorney! My exiting husband does and by taking money out of our account to finance it without my knowledge he got us ( my three younger children and I) evicted because I then bounced the rent check. He's now sitting on a $30,000 (?) inheritance and refuses to use any of it to pay our old bills.These are predominately medical bills for our sickly or accident prone children - none are credit card related and they don't total $5,000. Our four children have been diagnosed with various conditions such as ; severe asthma, severe allergies, A.D.H.D., ob/comp disorder, op/def/disorder, anxiety disorder, and short term memory loss. They've had a broken shoulder, a broken elbow and Lyme's disease. One of them was run over a year ago. All of these combined, four times over, has necessitated my constant monitor
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: divorce
Thank you for your question regarding access to legal services.
As you have already discovered, finding a lawyer if you are "low income," but not impoverished, can be very difficult. Most legal aid services are provided to people who are either on public assistance, or have income at or near the "poverty line." Further, legal aid can be reluctant to get involved in some cases that will consume a disproportionate share of their resources -- custody cases, for example.
The time required by a case does not necessarily have anything to do with the size or complexity of the martial estate. Cases with very little money at stake can take as much time to resolve as those with complicated pensions and real estate, and custody cases are especially time consuming. This can make it very difficult to find an attorney.
It is possible that your husband can be ordered to contribute to the payment of your attorney's fees, provided he has the resources to do so. If you believe that is the case, I would suggest you consider bringing a motion to request an award of attorney's fees so that you can retain an attorney for trial. An attorney may be willing to assist you for the limited purpose of bringing such a motion.
It is also possible that you can find an attorney to provide some limited representation that may be of assistance -- reviewing documents and assisting in the preparation of trial exhibits, etc. -- although many attorneys will not wish to become involved on that basis. I am familiar with, and practice in, your county, and understand there are few local attorneys who will get involved.
Please contact me if you have additional questions or concerns.
Good luck.
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