Legal Assistance – Alabama Department of Senior Services
The Legal Assistance Program is a statewide system of legal professionals who assist older adults with personal legal issues. These legal professionals provide advice and counseling, legal representation, legal research, preparation of legal documents, negotiation, legal education, and community outreach to Alabama’s older adults. The Legal Assistance Program works on a non-fee-generating basis and strives to protect and secure the rights, beneﬁts, and dignity of adults age 60 and older.
Older adults, especially those living in poverty, are less likely to seek the advice of an attorney because they may not have ﬁnancial resources to pay for legal services, or they do not realize they have a legal issue.
The top services provided by the Legal Assistance Program in Fiscal Year 2020 were:
Decision-Making and Individual Rights for End of Life Planning
Medicaid Eligibility and Access to Beneﬁts
Contract Disputes/Debt Collection.
In Fiscal Year 2020, the COVID-19 Pandemic greatly impacted the legal providers’ ability to engage in face-to-face meetings for most of the year. However, the providers continued to serve seniors by meeting with clients remotely so that the legal services would not be disrupted.
For legal assistance contact your local Area Agency on Aging (AAA) and Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC) at 1-800-AGE-LINE (1-800-243-5463).