The North Carolina Bar Association is partnering with the American Bar Association, FEMA and Legal Aid of North Carolina to operate a Disaster Legal Services Hotline for those impacted by Hurricane Matthew in Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Columbus, Cumberland, Edgecombe, Hoke, Johnston, Lenoir, Nash, Pitt, Robeson, Wayne and Wilson Counties.

This toll-free legal aid hotline allows callers to request the assistance of a lawyer in a variety of legal issues, including:

• 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 destroyed in the disaster
• Assisting in consumer protection matters, remedies and procedures
• Counseling on mortgage-foreclosure problems
• Counseling on landlord/tenant problems

The hotline is available weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Those in need of assistance should call 1-800-662-7407 , identify that they need help with a matter related to Hurricane Matthew, ask for Disaster Legal Services, and identify the county in which they are located. Individuals who qualify for assistance will be matched with North Carolina lawyers who have volunteered to provide free, limited legal help. Survivors should be aware that there are some limitations on disaster legal services. For example, assistance is not available for cases that will produce a fee (i.e., those cases where fees are paid part of the settlement by the court). Such cases are referred to a lawyer referral service.

More information is available in the full press release.