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Military and Veterans Unit

The Houston metro area is home to the nation’s second-largest veteran population and Texas’ largest. Our Military & Veterans Unit (MVU) provides free civil legal services to low-income United States military veterans, their dependents, and surviving spouses throughout the State of Texas.

We can help with:

  • Veterans Benefits, including discharge upgrades, character of discharge review, service connected disability, non-service connected pension, survivor’s benefits, and education benefits (GI Bill and Hazelwood Act);
  • Bankruptcy, including Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 for home and asset protection and debt discharge;
  • Expunctions & Non-Disclosures of misdemeanor and felony cases;
  • Custody & Child Support, including enforcement, establishing and modification of child support ;
  • Consumer Issues, including consumer debt defense, contracts & warranties, home repair, and lemon law;
  • Divorce & Family Issues, including termination of parental rights, adoption, acknowledgement of paternity, guardianship;
    Education, including special education disputes, school discipline, IEP;
  • Employment, such as unemployment claims, wage theft issues, wrongful discharge;
  • Housing, such as eviction defense, foreclosure defense, repair and remedy actions, affidavits of heirship, and homeownership matters like mortgage and contract for deed disputes;
  • Public Benefits, including Social Security Disability Appeals, Medicare & Medicaid; and SNAP benefits (food stamps);
  • Wills & Probate, such as small estate affidavits, independent/dependent Administration, determination of heirship, and estate planning documents like wills, powers of attorney, appointment of guardian; and
  • Crime Victim Services, such as crime victim compensation, impact statements, protective orders.

How to apply:

  • Call toll-free, Monday through Friday, 8am to 4pm, by phone: 1-844-400-VETS;
  • Apply online here;
  • Apply by email here; or
  • We will ask you to give us a copy of the veteran’s DD-214 or a military or dependent ID card to verify veteran connection or status. If you do not have a copy of the veteran’s DD-214, we can help you get one for free.

Who can receive help:

  • You:
    — have served in the United States military, or
    — you are married to a veteran or are the surviving spouse of a veteran, or
    — are the child or other dependent of a veteran and currently depend on the veteran for support;
  • Your legal problem is a civil issue;
  • You live within LSLA’s service area; and
  • You meet income and asset-based criteria. We serve people who have low incomes and limited assets.

Check us out on social media for updates.

https://www.facebook.com/MVU.TX/ and https://twitter.com/LSLAMVU

Lone Star Legal Aid’s Military and Veterans Unit is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Texas Veterans Commission Fund for Veterans’ Assistance, which provides grants to organizations serving veterans and their families. For more information on the Texas Veterans Commission, visit www.tvc.texas.gov.

This program is made possible in part by a grant from the Bob Woodruff Foundation, which is dedicated to ensuring that impacted post-9/11 veterans, service members, their families, and their caregivers thrive long after they return home.

This program is also made possible by grants from the Texas Access to Justice Foundation and Night Court.

Important Information for Former Military Services Members. Women and men who served in any branch of the United States Armed Forces, including Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, Reserves or National Guard, may be eligible for additional benefits and services. For more information, please visit the Texas Veterans Portal at https://veterans.portal.texas.gov/.

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