# how to get a D lawyer when broke?



## The bubblerum (Oct 28, 2013)

I love on disability, my wife cheated and if I leave I won't hae enough money to pay for an attorney, and I am afraid that I will get slaughtered and not be able to see my kids much. Her dad is a judge in california and I live in Arizona. I bet he would run right over here to gelp her. So what do I do? How to I protect myself if the reconciliation does not work?


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## cdbaker (Nov 5, 2010)

I bet your state offers a free or discounted legal services program of some kind for those with low income. Here in Kansas for instance, we have kansaslegal.com which is basically a pro-bono arm of the Kansas BAR association. Lawyers in Kansas are required to do a certain % of their work pro-bono in order to remain members of the organization, so they help people find attorneys who might be able to help them. There are also more local organizations that can often help, some receiving funding from local charities like United Way.

If all of that fails, you can certainly just go through the phonebook/google listings and call every lawyer you can find. Then just directly ask them. 1. Do you have any room in your caseload for pro bono work at this time? 2. Or can you offer discounted hourly rates on a payment plan?

In my case, I unfortunately made too much money to get any kind of legal aid, but I was dirt broke because, before my wife left, we had two incomes paying our mortgage, bills, two car payments, etc. and then suddenly it was just my income alone paying all of that (including her car payment because she wouldn't) by myself and we never ever intended for that. So my choice was sell the house asap at a huge loss and move my daughter and I to a tiny 2-bedroom apartment that would only save a couple hundred dollars a month, or run a big monthly deficit, even after taking a 2nd part time job. I ended up finding an attorney who would help me at only $75/hour, a $500 retainer and the rest on payment plans. That's a STEAL by the way, unfortunately.


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