Navigating Kentucky’s legal waters may be a little easier for the average citizen. The Kentucky Access to Justice Commission has launched the Fayette County Legal Help Center, which is the first of its kind.
“This is going to be a game changer in the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Michelle Keller said.
The new center is designed to point Kentuckians in the right direction for legal help in civil matters like child support, divorce, small claims court and other similar issues.
If you can’t afford an attorney in a civil court case, this could be an option
“So many of our citizens struggle to access our courts of justice due to economic and other disadvantages,” Keller said.
The Legal Help Center is located in the basement of the Fayette County Circuit Court. There, you’ll find volunteers like Sylvia Lovely.
“I know that we’ve been getting a lot of probate questions. For instance, mom died, people don’t know how to go to court, maybe they inherited a house,” Lovely said.
Lovely and other volunteers have already helped 100 people figure out what can be a complicated system. They can’t give legal advice, but they can help them fill out the necessary paperwork and if need be, link them to an interpreter through a phone.
What it does, is alleviate pressure on the court room,” Lovely said.
Understanding legal jargon or procedures may have gotten a little easier for the average person.
“The whole mission of the Kentucky Access to Justice Commission is exactly what it says, access to Justice,” Lovely said. “Which means explaining it to people and once you explain it to them they may still be like, ‘what? I have to do all of that?’ But it’s important.”
The Fayette County Legal Help Center is open on Thursdays in the Law Library, located in the basement of Circuit Court.
https://www.wkyt.com/2022/07/12/first-its-kind-legal-help-center-opens-fayette-county/
