 A senior facing divorce keeps her housing voucher and avoids evictionDiabetic and living on social security, 74-year-old “Sandra” lived in Section 8 housing and was divorcing her husband. The Section 8 voucher was in her husband’s name. Though he planned to move into senior housing and had no use for the housing voucher, he refused to put it in his wife’s name. Without it, Sandra couldn’t stay in her home after he moved out. The husband also had refused to contribute to rent or expenses for the apartment in which they were currently living. Sandra was behind in rent and facing eviction. LAS’s elder law attorney convinced the landlord to delay eviction proceedings and secured rental assistance to cover the back rent through a Metropolitan Family Services’ client fund. Our attorney also obtained an order from the judge in Domestic Relations Court requiring the husband to pay a set amount each month towards the rent and household bills while he lived there. The judge further recommended that Sandra’s husband give her exclusive possession and ownership of the Section 8 housing voucher when he moved.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE – “SANDY” Sandy is a 12-year-old girl whose mother had to get an order of protection against her father. Sandy’s mother came to the Legal Aid Society after she tried to collect child support from Sandy’s father. The father filed a petition asking for custody of Sandy in retaliation. Thanks to the efforts of the Legal Aid Society, the judge dismissed the father’s petition for custody and ordered him to pay all the back child support owed to Sandy and her mother and to continue paying support on a regular basis. ELDER ABUSE – MS. POWELL At 83, Ms. Powell was living in her own home but suffering from dementia. Relatives became concerned when they noticed her neighbors going into her home and using her car. The police referred the case to the Metropolitan Family Services’ Elder Abuse Team. Working together, the Legal Aid Society elder law attorney and the Elder Abuse Team established a formal guardianship, naming a reliable family member to manage Ms. Powell’s finances. They also created a service plan that included a caregiver visiting her four days each week. These actions allowed Ms. Powell to stay in her own home, free from financial exploitation, and receive the care she needed.
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