By Lidia G. Rincón, Esq.
I want to take the opportunity to thank the community for its support of Nevada Legal Services. For those readers not quite familiar with who we are and what we do, Nevada Legal Services (“NLS”) is one of several non-profit legal services organizations in Nevada. What sets NLS apart from the other legal services providers is that NLS is the only statewide firm. With offices in Las Vegas, Yerington, Elko, Carson City, and Reno, NLS provides free legal services to the seventeen counties in Nevada. Funded primarily by the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), a non-profit organization that disburses funds appropriated by Congress to civil legal services, in addition to other grants, NLS strives to make legal services available to Nevadans who otherwise cannot afford them.
To provide help in the most variety of legal issues, NLS has numerous in-house law projects and dedicated attorneys that assist with specific legal issues. For example, Core Services attorneys primarily handle landlord-tenant disputes including termination of subsidized housing while the Consumer Law Program handles consumer disputes, debt collection, and bankruptcy, among other things. Perhaps the program readers of this newsletter and residents of the rural counties of Northern Nevada are most familiar with, is the Senior Law Project. The Senior Law Project, better known as SLP, is a bit different than the other NLS projects because SLP is dedicated to helping Nevadans 60 years and older only regardless of their legal issue. While the most popular area of law among seniors is estate planning[1], the SLP attorneys can provide counsel and advice on other subjects that might be affecting the senior population, such as debt collection. Something else that sets the SLP apart is that the SLP brings the legal services to the community on a regular basis. At least once a week, an SLP attorney conducts consultations at a community senior center outside Washoe County. Bringing the legal services to the community is a way SLP honors the NLS mission of ensuring fairness and providing equal access to justice.
While SLP is currently working with the communities to devise the upcoming 2025 schedule of visits to Senior Centers, below is the list of centers visited this year:
- Lyon County: Silver Springs, Yerington, Fernley, Dayton
- Churchill County: Fallon
- Mineral County: Hawthorne
- Pershing County: Lovelock
- Humboldt County: Winnemucca
- Elko County: Carlin, Wells, Elko, West Wendover
- Eureka County: Eureka
- White Pine County: Ely
- Carson City
As we are getting close to finalizing next year’s schedule, we want to take this opportunity to provide some helpful tips to help streamline the sign-up process.
How to sign up: Sign-ups for the consultations are on a first come, first served basis and are handled by each Senior Center. Each center maintains a sign-up sheet and seniors interested in having a consultation should sign up early as there are only five to six[2] available appointments per visit and the time slots fill up fast.
Requirements: Must be over 60 years of age and a resident of Nevada. When signing up, a working phone number and or valid email address must be provided, in addition to a brief note about the legal issue.
What to expect prior to the appointment: Each individual will be contacted by Nevada Legal Services by telephone in advance of the appointment for an intake to be completed. In the event an intake cannot be completed in advance, the same intake will be completed at the appointment. (Ideally, intakes should be completed before meeting with the attorney to avoid cutting into the consultation time and to determine whether your issue is one SLP can assist with.)
What to expect at the appointment: The SLP attorneys will exert their best efforts to provide counsel and advice about the issue being consulted about, keeping in mind that Nevada Legal Services / SLP does not handle criminal law or Trusts. Depending on the complexity of the issue, NLS has the discretion to decide whether further legal assistance beyond counsel and advice can be provided.
What to bring to the appointment: Any documents or paperwork relevant to the issue you are consulting about.
While NLS and SLP try to maintain the visits as scheduled, we all know that the unpredictable Northern Nevada weather might have other plans for us. In the event a visit needs to be cancelled due to weather or reasons beyond our control, SLP will do everything possible to reschedule the visit or handle the consultations over the phone.
It is our hope that this information proves helpful and that it encourages more seniors to sign up for a free legal consultation this coming year. We look forward to helping you.
For more information, please visit the Nevada Legal Services website at www.nevadalegalservices.org or contact one of our offices. For specific questions about the Senior Center visits, contact Danielle Blaine in Elko or Lidia Rincón in Reno.
Happy Holidays!
[1] It should be noted that NLS does not provide advice on, nor does it create revocable or irrevocable Trusts.
[2] The number of appointments varies per location.