Memorial Day takes on a special meaning for CARPLS this year as we celebrate the successes of our newly established civil legal aid hotline for the Illinois Armed Forces Legal Aid Network (IL-AFLAN). The IL-AFLAN hotline ensures lawyers are available to Illinois veterans, military members, and their families statewide through a partnership funded by the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation.
Since the hotline began in August 2017, we have helped on over 1,000 cases covering hundreds of different legal topics. More than half of the veterans we have served experience a disability. The counsel of an experienced attorney has made a critical difference to veterans seeking advice in the areas of family law, particularly related to child support issues.
Family law matters pose extra challenges to military families due to stress, deployments or other lengthy separations. Child support can become especially complicated, when a veteran has a child support case in another state other than where they currently reside. Unaware of the state laws that apply, veterans can have a higher threshold of unpaid child support than a civilian noncustodial parent.
Problems can also arise for veterans who owe child support when payment amounts are determined at an earlier point in their lives, such as before periods of unemployment, medical treatment, or rehabilitation after a service-related injury.
Falling behind on payments leads to a variety of penalties that make it even tougher to climb out--such as driver's license suspensions, removal of funds from bank accounts, damaged credit, garnishing of any new income, or even incarceration for contempt.
In turn, the consequences of unpaid child support create significant barriers for veterans in getting back to work or simply maintaining their housing, and further hindering their ability to make back payments.
The IL-AFLAN hotline is an essential program to enable veterans and military members to get ahead of their legal troubles before they become insurmountable crises.
"On the IL-AFLAN hotline, our goal is to help the veteran get a handle on the child support obligation including getting copies of court orders and an accounting of what is supposedly owed. Once the facts are known, we can put the veteran on the path to addressing the arrearage," says Pat Wrona, CARPLS' Legal Director.
Our attorneys take great pride in connecting each client with solutions to successfully support their families and themselves. You can reach the IL-AFLAN hotline at 855-IL-AFLAN (452-3526).