Q: I need help finding a pro bono attorney to help open my father's estate and file elder abuse charges.
I live in Honolulu, Hawaii but my father was living in Detroit Michigan (Wayne County). I need an attorney located in Michigan.
A:
You're talking about a subject that can be criminal or civil. For criminal charges, you'd need to present the facts to the prosecutor's office (typically done through the filing of a police report); the prosecutor decides whether to pursue charges - you cannot compel them to criminally charge someone. The other avenue is civil, and would likely take the form of a wrongful death lawsuit if your father's death was the result of this abuse. For that, you'll absolutely need the assistance of an attorney, and you would find no shortage of attorneys willing to take on that case if the facts are such that there could be a substantial monetary award.
What you will likely not find is an attorney willing to do all this pro bono. Something like this is considered fee-generating, and so legal aid programs would not take such a case. A private attorney would likely be unwilling to do so unless there is a decent chance of a monetary recovery.
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