Q: Divorce for disabled person
Client is blind, paralyzed and has filed for divorce. He is in Rossmoor care facility and needs assistance to proceed.
Lawyers, want to be a Justia Connect Pro too? Learn more ›
- California
- (916) 704-3009
- View Profile
- Answered
A:
Your situation requires careful consideration to ensure proper legal representation and support throughout the divorce process. Being in a care facility should not prevent you from exercising your legal rights.
You can request accommodations from the court to help with your disability needs. The court must provide reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which may include allowing telephone appearances, providing documents in accessible formats, or permitting assistance with paperwork completion. The facility's social worker might help coordinate these accommodations.
Consider reaching out to your local legal aid organization or the California Courts' Self-Help Center, as they often provide free assistance to individuals with disabilities. They can help you understand your rights, complete necessary paperwork, and potentially connect you with pro bono attorneys who handle divorce cases. Additionally, if you receive SSI or SSDI benefits, it's important to understand how divorce might affect these benefits, so consulting with both legal and benefits counselors would be wise.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
