We provide help with consumer issues, school problems, domestic violence situations, family law problems, health benefits issues, housing issues, public benefits issues, taxes, utility issues, employment issues, and other problems. SEOLS also helps groups of low-income people and other community partners to improve the lives of low-income people and families.
Southeastern Ohio Legal Services does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, or age in admission, treatment, or participation in its programs, services and activities, or in employment.
Consumer
SEOLS represents clients with the following consumer issues:
• Credit card or other debt collection cases
• Bankruptcy
• Payday loans
• Car title loans
• Home repairs
• School debt cases
• Mortgage foreclosures
• Tax foreclosures
• Car sales and repairs
• Other consumer issues
View Consumer resources
Education
SEOLS provides help on education issues, including:
• Special education
• School suspensions
• Getting a school to follow an Individualized Education Program (IEP)
View Education resources
Domestic Violence & Family
SEOLS addresses civil legal issues dealing with the family. These include:
• Domestic violence and obtaining civil protection orders
• Divorce
• Child support
View Domestic Violence & Family resources
Fair Housing
SEOLS has a project, the Appalachian Ohio Fair Housing Center, that provides help on fair housing issues including discrimination based on:
• Disability
• Race
• Color
• Religion
• Sex
• Familial status (including having children)
• National origin (including the language you speak)
View the Appalachian Ohio Fair Housing Center's website
Health Care
SEOLS provides help on issues involving health care, including:
• Medicare
• Medicaid
• Your insurance company not providing help or treatment you think you need
• Your insurance company not paying for services you think you need
View Health Care resources
Housing
SEOLS provides advice and representation for tenants who live in private or subsidized housing. Our goal is to preserve and improve the quality of the tenant’s home. Legal services are provided in the following areas:
• Evictions
• Fair housing
• Security deposits
• Issues with the condition of rental properties
• Section 8 Voucher terminations
• Mortgage foreclosures
• Tax foreclosures
View Housing resources
Public Benefits
SEOLS provides legal advice and representation for people who have issues with their public benefits, including:
• Food stamps
• Medicaid
• Medicare
• Long-term care facilities, including nursing homes
• Hospital Care Assurance Program (HCAP)
• Medicare Savings Programs
• Medical debt lawsuits
• Disability Financial Assistance (DFA)
• Ohio Works First (OWF)
• Social Security Benefits (SSI and SSDI)
• Title XX Child Care
• Unemployment Compensation
• Veterans Benefits
• Prevention, Retention, and Contingency (PRC)
View Public Benefits resources
Seniors
SEOLS provides advice and counsel for seniors in the following areas:
• Simple Wills
• Powers of Attorney
• Advance Directives
• Issues with long-term care facilities, including nursing homes
• Survivor & Transfer on Death Deeds
• Defending against guardianships
• Social Security
• Medicare
View Seniors resources
Tax
The Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) of SEOLS represents low-income taxpayers who are involved in tax controversies with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). SEOLS represents clients with the following tax issues:
• Tax returns being audited or examined
• Tax deficiencies
• Lien on property or wage garnishment
• Bills from the IRS for taxes from a joint return
• Earned Income Tax Credit
• Tax debt
View Tax resources
Utilities
SEOLS provides help on the following issues involving utilities:
• Your landlord turning off your utilities
• Your landlord not paying the utility bill
• Electric or gas service being turned off when it will cause a medical issue for you
• Electric or gas service being turned off because you cannot afford the payments
View Utilities resources
Work
SEOLS provides help on the following issues involving employment and work issues:
• Unemployment benefits
• Wage garnishment
• Sealing a criminal record when it is keeping you from getting a job
• An employer not paying you for work you did
*Special announcement for Athens County and nearby residents – We will be offering a “Clean Slate Clinic” in Athens on July 24, 2018, where we will be offering assistance with criminal record-sealing and Certificates of Qualification for Employment. Apply online to register!
View Work resources
Access to Courts
SEOLS provides resources on several issues that deal with accessing the court system, including:
• How to represent yourself in a civil case
• Getting into court and using the court system
• How to file an Answer to a Complaint
• How to ask the court for more time
• How to handle witnesses when you are representing yourself
• How ask for an attorney in a civil case when charged with contempt
• How to dismiss a lawsuit you filed
• How to fill out a poverty affidavit
View Access to Courts resources
Other Cases
SEOLS provides help on the following issues involving:
• Applying to seal a criminal record
• Filing a replevin action to have personal property returned to you
• Legally changing your name
• Legally changing the name of your minor child
View Other Cases resources
