Legal Assistance for Seniors in North Carolina

  1. Legal Assistance for Seniors in North Carolina
    1. Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Senior Law Project. Provides free civil legal help to North Carolinians who are 60 years of age or older. The project can serve seniors of all income levels, but they prioritize clients with the greatest need.

The Senior Law Project helps with:

  • Wills and powers of attorney
  • Public benefits: Medicaid, food stamps, Supplemental Security Income Program, Social Security Disability Insurance, and more.
  • Abuse and neglect
  • Unemployment compensation
  • Housing: foreclosure, eviction, subsidized housing, repairs, utilities, etc.
  • Consumer issues
  • Wrongful repossession
  1. North Carolina Senior Legal Helpline. The North Carolina Senior Legal Helpline provides free legal advice and information to seniors aged 60 and older. The helpline can address a range of legal issues, including wills, powers of attorney, and consumer protection. Call 1-877-579-7562 to access the helpline.
  2. Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs). North Carolina has a network of AAAs that offer information and assistance to older adults. These agencies provide guidance on available resources, benefits, and services for seniors in their respective regions. They can connect seniors to local programs that offer financial and legal assistance. In North Carolina, the AAA’s are located within Regional Councils of government.
  3. North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services. This state agency oversees programs and services for seniors in North Carolina. They provide information on various resources, including financial assistance programs, long-term care options, and legal services. Call their telephone number: 919-855-3400. 
  4. Legal Assistance for Seniors in South Carolina
    1. Senior Citizens Legal Services. South Carolina Legal Services (SCLS) provides qualified low-income South Carolina residents who are citizens of the United States with free, fundamental legal services in civil (non-criminal), non-fee-generating legal cases. Call South Carolina Legal Services at 1-888-346-5592 or visit the website www.sclegal.org or www.lawhelp.org/sc
    2. South Carolina Legal Services. Provides legal services to seniors who cannot afford a private attorney and is given access to legal services in non-criminal cases. Evictions, bankruptcies, health care issues, education, mortgage foreclosures, social security disabilities, job issues, some restricted divorce and custody concerns, and food stamp and welfare issues are just a few of the legal services that might be provided. Legal Services programs do not handle criminal law cases. For those with low incomes who qualify, legal services are provided without charge; however, clients are requested to cover any necessary court charges. To know if you’re qualified, call the Legal Aid Telephone Intake Service (LATIS) at 803-744-9430 in Richland or Lexington counties or 1-888-346-5592 from other areas of the state.

Financial Help & Government Programs for Seniors (INTRO PAGE)

What they say about aging — it’s not for sissies — remains incontrovertibly true, and we didn’t need two years of an epidemic that targeted seniors remorselessly to know that.

But being courageous, determined, and resourceful in the face of mounting years doesn’t, by any stretch of the imagination, mean going it alone. There is help for seniors struggling with debt. Various government and nonprofit agencies offer programs that will take some of the financial tarnish off your golden years.

There may be shortages elsewhere, but one thing America has in abundance is seniors in debt, and worried about it. Among the chief concerns of retirees and, especially, those about to retire, is having enough money, according to a Senior Living study from late 2021.

Four-in-10 people 55 and older fear high medical bills. One in four worries they’ll never pay off their debt, and 22% are afraid they won’t be able to afford rent or will need help with mortgage payments.

This is not idle fretting, according to the National Council on Aging and Consumer Finance.

A follow-up study published in April 2021 using data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York suggests the trend has continued. Part of the problem: is that seniors are taking on student loan debt. In 2019, adults in their late 70s often had higher shares of credit card and student loan debt than those 50-74.

Something else to lose sleep over, notes Lyle Solomon, a consumer finance litigator and the principal attorney at Oak View Law Group outside Sacramento, Calif.: “People nowadays are buying larger, more costly houses with less down payment and, as a result, carrying larger mortgages into retirement, which can push them toward a massive financial problem if they aren’t vigilant.”

Great. Even the American dream is a problem!

Meanwhile, more than 15 million adults aged 65+ are classified as economically insecure, with incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level.

Then, getting older doesn’t always mean things are getting better. Here is a list of resources to tap if you need some help.