BATON ROUGE – FEMA said that free disaster related legal advice is now available for low income flood survivors.

In a statement released Wednesday, FEMA said the service is available through a partnership with the Louisiana State Bar Association, the Louisiana Civil Center and the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division.

Low income survivors may call the legal services hotline at 800-310-7029 between 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Voicemail is available 24/7. Messages are generally returned the next business day.

Examples of legal assistance provided:

• Assistance with securing FEMA and other benefits available to disaster survivors;
• Assistance with life, medical and property insurance claims;
• Help with home repair contracts and contractors;
• Replacement of wills and other important legal documents that were destroyed;
• Assisting in consumer protection matters, remedies and procedures;
• Counseling on mortgage-foreclosure problems; and
• Counseling on landlord/tenant problems.

Assistance is not available for cases where fees could be paid as part of a court settlement.