Understanding the complexities of today's legal system can be a daunting task for anyone, but it can be especially overwhelming for Service members who are preoccupied with mobilization or deployment preparations. To help Service members, their families, and other eligible clients, DoD provides the Legal Assistance Program. Legal Assistance Attorneys within the Program can assist eligible clients with some personal legal matters and provide legal advice on a variety of topics to ensure that Service members, their families, retirees, and DoD civilians are prepared and protected under their legal rights.
The following are Frequently Asked Questions about Legal Assistance programs and services. Please click on the question and the answer will appear. Click again to hide the answer.
Legal assistance is a service provided by the military to help Service members, their families, retirees, and, in some cases, DoD civilians and contractors with various legal matters. Although the Legal Assistance Program focuses on helping Service members get their legal affairs in order before they deploy or mobilize, the Program's attorneys also provide advice and services in other areas, such as domestic legal issues and civil suits. Legal Assistance Attorneys are not allowed to provide assistance on all legal matters and, in most circumstances, cannot represent clients in civilian courts of law.
Not necessarily. Legal Assistance Attorneys may or may not be military Judge Advocates. The JAG is the judicial arm of military, and it encompasses all legal aspects of the military. Staff Judge Advocates (SJA) perform all of the legal functions of the military to include defense and prosecution of military law covered under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). A Legal Assistance Attorney can be a military Judge Advocate or a civilian attorney who is authorized by the JAG to perform the legal assistance functions, such as advising clients on personal legal affairs.
The Legal Assistance Offices aboard military installations can provide eligible clients with a wide range of services, but these services are subject to availability of resources and the expertise of the Legal Assistance Attorneys. Specific services offered by the Program may vary from installation to installation. Typically, Legal Assistance Attorneys offer advice and/or services on the following topics:
wills, testamentary trusts, advanced medical directives (living wills), and estate planning
domestic relations to include divorce, legal separation, marriage annulments, child custody, and paternity cases
adoption and legal name changes
notarization of documents
financial nonsupport and indebtedness issues to include communication, correspondence, and negotiations with collection agencies, lawyers, or other parties
immigration and naturalization issues
basic tax advice and assistance on federal, state, and local taxes
review of landlord-tenant contracts and leases
civil suits to include preparation of legal correspondence, documents, and, in limited cases, preparation of pleadings
Service members' rights and responsibilities under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act
general advice on misdemeanor criminal matters or traffic offenses
Additionally, the installation Legal Assistance Offices may provide advice and/or services related to power of attorney, real estate, bankruptcy, contracts, and consumer affairs.
Generally, the answer to this question is no, but some branches of Service do offer a program known as the Expanded Legal Assistance Program (ELAP) that allows for in-court representation under limited circumstances. This service is usually only provided to active duty Service members and their families who could otherwise not afford legal representation. Even in cases in which the Service member is deemed eligible for ELAP, in-court representation is not guaranteed due to limitations on the Legal Assistance Attorneys' time and the Program's resources.
Yes. Any information provided to, or files held by, the Legal Assistance Offices are private and privileged under law and professional rules of conduct and guidelines. Information or documents related to a client cannot be disclosed to anyone unless the client provides specific permission to do so or the Legal Assistance Attorney determines that disclosure of the information is authorized or required by law or professional rules of conduct.
The United States Armed Forces Legal Assistance website provides a Legal Services Locator that allows people to search for military legal offices by branch of Service, proximity to a zip code, or by state. The Legal Services Locator returns addresses, phone numbers, websites (when available), maps, and driving directions to all Legal Assistance Offices meeting the selected search criteria.
MilitaryINSTALLATIONS provides maps, directions, and contact information for the programs and services offered aboard over 250 military installations worldwide. Contact information for installation Legal Assistance Offices can be found under "Legal Services/JAG."
