If You Need Legal Help
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Intake for VLP Legal Services
Basic Legal Information
Help for Family Guardians and Family Caregivers Seeking Guardianship
Help for Haitian Immigrants seeking Temporary Protected Status
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Call the Legal Advocacy Resource Center for an Intake
If you have a low income and need legal assistance, contact the Legal Advocacy and Resource Center (LARC) hotline at 617- 603-1700 or 1-800-342-LAWS (5297). TTY: 617-371-1226. LARC hotline staff provide information and advice and screen cases for referral to VLP and other legal aid programs.
Eligibility for VLP Services
LARC staff will ask you questions to see if you qualify for free legal services from VLP. These questions include:
- where you live (the cities and towns VLP serves are listed below)
- what are your household's income and assets
- are you a United States citizen, and if not, what is your immigration status (this is asked because VLP's funder limits the categories of immigrants VLP can serve)
Your conversation with LARC is confidential even if you do not qualify for free legal services. If you do not qualify for VLP's services because of your immigration status, LARC can refer you to other legal aid offices that do not limit services by immigration status.
You may need to wait to speak to a paralegal or lawyer when you call LARC. Please be patient.
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Cities and Towns VLP Serves
Acton, Arlington, Ashland, Bedford, Bellingham, Belmont, Boston, Braintree, Brookline, Cambridge, Canton, Carlisle, Chelsea, Cohasset, Concord, Dedham. Dover, Everett, Foxborough, Framingham, Franklin, Hingham, Holbrook, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hudson, Hull, Lexington, Lincoln, Malden, Marlborough, Maynard, Medfield, Medford, Medway, Melrose, Millis, Milton, Natick, Needham, Newton, Norfolk, Norwell, Norwood, Plainville, Quincy, Randolph, Revere, Scituate, Sharon, Sherborn, Somerville, Stoneham, Stow, Sudbury, Wakefield, Walpole, Waltham, Watertown, Wayland, Wellesley, Weston, Westwood, Weymouth, Winchester, Winthrop, Woburn, Wollaston, Wrentham.
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Types of Cases VLP Handles
- Landlord/Tenant
- Homeownership
- Foreclosure Prevention
- Family Law
- Guardianship
- Probate (Wills & Estates)
- Bankruptcy
- Unemployment Insurance
- Masshealth (Medicaid) Prior Approval
- Criminal Record Sealing
- Consumer
- Assistance to Non-Profit Organizations
VLP does not handle criminal cases or represent prisoners on any matter whether related to their incarceration or not. If you do not have a kind of case that VLP handles, LARC can give you information or advice, and may be able to refer you to an agency that handles that kind of case.
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Haitian Immigrants Seeking Help With Temporary Protected Status
The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) has a list of places that may be able to help.
Please see MIRA's website for details
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