Release Date:
October 7, 2020
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Free help with disaster-related legal concerns is available to eligible wildfire survivors in Butte, Lake, Monterey, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties.
Survivors may seek no-cost aid with wildfire-related legal issues by calling the disaster legal services hotline at (888) 382-3406. Help is available in several languages. The program is a partnership between FEMA and the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division.
Types of free legal assistance that may be available from a volunteer lawyer include:
- Help securing FEMA and other government benefits available to disaster survivors;
- Assistance with life, medical and property insurance claims;
- Help with home repair contracts and contractors;
- Replacement of wills and other important legal documents destroyed in the wildfires;
- Assisting in consumer protection matters, remedies and procedures;
- Counseling on mortgage-foreclosure problems;
- Counseling on landlord-tenant problems;
- Referral to other attorneys and organizations for help with additional legal matters; and
- COVID-19 resources.
Free disaster legal services are not allowed for cases that will produce a monetary award.
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