Disaster Legal Services Available to California Residents After the Recent Storms and Flooding

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Homeowners and renters in disaster-designated counties affected by the recent severe winter storms and flooding may now have access to free legal advice for disaster-related legal issues. Residents can call a Disaster Legal Service hotline at 888-382-3406 or go to http://freelegalanswers.org.

Callers may be asked to leave a message and a specialist will get back to them as soon as possible. Callers should identify their storm-related issue and the county where their storm-damaged property is located.

Some of the issues the legal service can provide help with include:

• Insurance claims for medical bills, loss of property, and loss of life.
• New wills, powers of attorney, and other legal papers lost during the disaster.
• Home repair contracts and contractors.
• Problems with landlords.
• Proof of home ownership.
• FEMA appeals.

The hotline is run by the Disaster Legal Assistance Collaborative, a coalition of nonprofits, legal aid organizations, government entities and law firms in California working together to offer free legal services to communities in the aftermath of natural disasters.

FEMA provides funding to the collaborative but the attorneys are not FEMA employees. The services they provide are confidential and they do not share information with FEMA.

For the latest information on California’s recovery from the severe winter storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides, visit FEMA.gov/disaster/4699. You may also follow twitter.com/Cal_OES, facebook.com/CaliforniaOES, @FEMARegion9/Twitter and Facebook.com/FEMA.