MO Seniors' Legal Helpline

The Missouri Seniors’ Legal HelpLine was developed with a grant from the U.S. Administration on Aging. The goals of the HelpLine project are to coordinate access and enhance existing legal services for Missourians 60 and over.  The Area Agency on Aging’s Information and Assistance network responds to phone and email contacts to provide legal information and screen referrals for legal advice.  The website has Missouri-specific information on senior legal issues such as benefits, financial and estate planning, consumer protection, guardianship and a glossary of common legal terms. The HelpLine can be contacted at 800-235-5503 (toll-free) and at www.moaging.com/legalhelp. 

Attorneys can register on the HelpLine site to provide pro bono and reduced fee services to seniors needing brief legal advice or assistance. Attorneys may also register by selecting the HelpLine on The Missouri Bar website pro bono affiliate “volunteer opportunity” list.  Referred seniors are screened for economic or social need. Legal issues are limited to civil matters (no criminal or traffic violations). Referrals are made to volunteer attorneys via fax. The attorney’s name is not given to the senior until the attorney accepts the referral. The site also allows sign up to offer (and to access) mediation, mentoring and community education. A volunteer attorney has the option to take a temporary leave, choosing the dates and length of time to be removed from the list.

HelpLine stakeholders are planning professional training (CLE courses) to reward current volunteers and recruit other attorneys. Proposed topics are assessing mental capacity of your elderly client and identifying undue influence or financial exploitation; civil remedies for financial exploitation; and when seniors divorce – the effects on estate planning and benefits and on dependents with disabilities.

Project staff applied for grants to underwrite the costs of CLE courses on collaboration of legal services and aging network professionals on elder abuse at the Aging Summit pre-conference on August 22, 2012 at Capital Plaza, Jefferson City.

For more information contact Marta Fontaine at 573.526.3246 or marta.fontaine@health.mo.gov or Cindy Deegan at 573.356.6496 or cindy.deegan@health.mo.gov