Texas Legal Aid For Child Custody

Texas Legal Aid For Child Custody

Child custody cases are some of the toughest cases you can ever go through especially if they are caused by a contested divorce. You cannot handle such cases on your own because any orders given in such cases have a long lasting impact on the parents and the children. However, parents can agree to negotiate and reach an agreement that is fair, and that protects the children involved. Such negotiations can only be fair if there is a lawyer involved because the lawyer knows the legal implications of every decision made in those negotiations. 


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Legal Aid For Child Custody

People who cannot afford to hire a child custody lawyer to help them in a child custody case can get legal aid in many forms. They could be referred to family lawyers that offer affordable representation or limited scope representation. There are also lawyers that can agree to take your case Pro Bono, which means that you will not have to pay them anything. Lawyers take on Pro Bono cases to gain experience and to fulfill expectations from the American Bar Association (ABA). The ABA requires a lawyer to provide at least 50 hours of Pro Bono legal services every year. 

Sometimes Pro Bono lawyers are unable to take on your case because of their caseloads and lack of time. You should also know that not all Pro Bono lawyers have experience dealing with child custody cases, and that may or may not affect the outcome of your case. The reason for this is that Pro Bono lawyers often take cases that are not their specialty. For example, a Pro Bono lawyer that specializes in immigration law may offer Pro Bono services for people facing a child custody case.

Another legal aid option is Legal Aid organizations that can assign a lawyer to your case without asking for payment. These organizations can take your case depending on whether they have enough funding, your income, and the complexity of your case. Your income must be at 125% or below the Federal Poverty guidelines to be financially eligible for legal aid. You can still be eligible if your income is greater than 125% and under 200% depending on your economic situation. Most of the time, Legal Aid Organizations don’t have enough funding because of the huge demand for free legal services. 

Should You Get A Pro Bono Lawyer

If the other party in your child custody case has hired a lawyer, you may want to level the playing field by hiring a lawyer that is experience and skilled in handling child support cases. You should also consider whether you are comfortable with your Pro Bono lawyer, because for your case to succeed there must be unhindered communication with your lawyer. You can determine all this by interviewing Pro Bono lawyers before accepting their services.

You may also be interested in Father’s Rights Attorneys, or Texas Adoption Lawyers.

How To Get Legal Aid For Your Child Custody Case

You can contact a program that specializes in providing Pro Bono lawyers, if you want a Pro Bono lawyer. Just know that there is no guarantee that you will get a Pro Bono lawyer if you go to a free legal clinic. You should do research online if you have no idea what Pro Bono lawyers program you should contact in your area.