When do I need legal assistance?

The California Justice Gap Survey found that 55% of Californians experienced at least one civil legal issue in their household in the past year and 13% experienced 6 or more. The rate was higher for those living in lower-income households. The main legal issues identified were:

• Health
• Finance
• Employment
• Eviction
• Family Law (divorce, custody, visitation, alimony)
• Probate

Even more striking, 85 % of all Californians received no legal help, or inadequate legal help, for the civil legal problems they experienced

For many legal problems, there were two gaps – a knowledge gap and a service gap. For many problems, people simply do not know that the issue they are experiencing has a legal component or remedy, and/or do not know where to look for legal help — this is the knowledge gap. The service gap occurs when people who seek legal assistance for their problems do not receive adequate help to resolve their issues. These justice gaps exist at ALL income levels.

Those living in households with a person with disabilities experienced an average of three times as many, and
survivors of domestic violence or sexual assault experienced eight times as many, legal problems as others. Preparation of legal documents accounted for  41% of legal assistance needed, and legal information and advice accounted for 33% more.

This means that nearly 75% of legal remedies needed to help these people dealing with legal issues can be fulfilled by lower-cost organizations such as C4 Legal Assistance, and do NOT require putting an attorney on retainer and spending thousands of dollars. Many Californians who do not qualify for legal aid based on their income may not be able to afford a private attorney, who have average hourly rates of $323 in California. However, C4 Legal Assistance offers affordable, professional legal assistance and can help you prepare and file legal documents, create legally binding agreements, establish your will and trust, protect your family against probate, and so much more. Call us today for your free consultation!  805-585-3828