Eligibility & Case Types for Free Legal Services

SCLO Legal Services

We offer the following free legal services to seniors age 60 and over:

Healthcare: improper medical billing and patient protection from collections, health insurance disputes, denials of coverage, and advice about Medicaid and Medicare programs; Veterans Affairs; health care powers of attorney.
Public benefits: Help with food stamps, Medicaid, Veteran’s benefits, Social Security retirement and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
Housing: Foreclosure defense and prevention, eviction defense and prevention, landlord-tenant problems, public and section 8 housing assistance, and reverse equity mortgage.
Advance directives: Health Care and Financial powers of attorney, and cremation authorizations.
Financial Well Being: Financial exploitation prevention and defense, consumer matters, scams and ID theft, financial powers of attorney, debt collection, identity theft and prevention, Social Security retirement, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Veterans affairs, civil service retirement benefits, and other public benefits programs.
Guardianships: Respondent’s attorney to provide representation and advocacy for persons under guardianship or persons being placed under guardianship. SCLO does not assist with the court process to place a person under guardianship.
Consumer Support: debt collection, repossession, unfair trade practices, lemon law car issues, billing disputes, predatory lending.
Long Term Care: protecting the individual rights of nursing home and assisted living residents.

SCLO does not take cases related to:

Family disputes
Restraining Orders
Grandparent visitation disputes
Grandparent guardianships or adoptions (please contact Pegasus Legal Services instead)
Domestic relations including divorce, alimony and enforcement of divorce decrees
Criminal defense
Medical malpractice
Car accidents
Neighbor disputes

If you are a New Mexico resident and between age 55 – 59, you may call the Legal Resources for the Elderly Program (LREP) at 505-797-6005 or visit their website: https://www.sbnm.org/For-Public/Legal-Resources-for-the-Elderly

To receive free services from SCLO, you must meet all of the following requirements:

60 years of age and over;
Live in Bernalillo, Sandoval, Torrance, or Valencia counties;
The services you need fall within the legal counsel we provide;
Your case may demonstrate the vulnerability of all seniors to core issues of concern; and
Your income level is within the limits stipulated by our donors

NOTE: SCLO determines a client’s eligibility for our free legal services after we interview the client either in person or over the telephone.

SCLO also accepts direct case referrals from the Bernalillo County/Metro Area Agency on Aging.