Stateside Legal Self-Help Cell Phone Service Contract Termination Packet Interview A2J Author Script

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1 Stateside Legal Self-Help Cell Phone Service Contract Termination Packet Interview A2J Author Script A2J AUTHOR INTERVIEW OVERVIEW INTERVIEW TITLE: Self-Help Sample Letter Packet - SCRA - Eviction 1 INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION: This packet helps individuals with military connections (IMC) draft a sample letter to a servicemember's landlord that explains the protections provided to active duty servicemembers against eviction provided by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). 2 JURISDICTION: Federal (United States of America) NATIONAL SUBJECT MATTER INDEX CODES (NSMI): Housing: Landlord/Tenant (Non-Federal Housing Programs):Leases:: Veterans/Military: Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act:: LANGUAGE: English AVATAR: Tan DEVELOPER: Vincent Morris ALLOW USER FEEDBACK: Yes (kcaldwell@ptla.org) VARIABLES: 24 SCREENS: 21 TEMPLATE ID (A2J): A2J_2071 TEMPLATE LINK (A2J): TEMPLATE ID (associated HotDocs file): 5504 TEMPLATE LINK (HD): STATESIDE LINK: INTERVIEW STEPS 0. STATESIDE LEGAL (INTRODUCTION) 1. DO YOU QUALIFY? 2. DO YOU AGREE? (TERMS OF USE) 4. YOUR INFORMATION 5. FINISHING UP 1 This is the A2J interview title as seen by the user upon arriving at the resources on the LawHelp Interactive (LHI) Server. See the following link: 2 This is the A2J interview description as seen by the user upon arriving at the resources on the LawHelp Interactive (LHI) Server. See the above link. Page 1

2 STEP 0: STATESIDE LEGAL (INTRODUCTION) QUESTION 0:00-INTRODUCTION: STATESIDE LEGAL Welcome to the Stateside Legal Self-Help Sample Letter Packet for Eviction Protections under the Servicemember's Civil Relief Act. Click "Continue" to get started. LEARN MORE What is Stateside Legal? The Stateside Legal Project has been created to help individuals, families and advocates with Military Connections to identify legal information and legal resources. Initial funding for this project has been provided by the Legal Services Corporation To learn more about Stateside Legal click here. QUESTION 0:01-INTRODUCTION: STATESIDE LEGAL The sample letter generated at the end of this interview is written to your landlord and explains protections provided for active duty servicemembers against being evicted from your home. These protections are provided by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). LEARN MORE What is the SCRA? The purpose of the SCRA is to provide protection to service members who have difficulty meeting their financial and legal obligations because of their military service. This letter is based on 50 U.S.C. App. 331 of the SCRA. You can view the entire act here. LINK: QUESTION 0:02-INTRODUCTION: STATESIDE LEGAL Please enter your name, rank and military branch below. FIRST/LAST: BRANCH: RANK: QUESTION 0:03-INTRODUCTION: STATESIDE LEGAL Please select your gender. NEXT PAGE: Begin Step 1.0 (QUALIFICATION) Page 2

3 STEP 1: DO YOU QUALIFY? QUESTION 1:00- QUALIFICATION: The SCRA provides some protections against eviction. Click continue to determine if your situation qualifies for this benefit? QUESTION 1:01- QUALIFICATION: [Service Member Rank TE] [First/Last Name], are you an active duty service member? QUESTION 1:02- QUALIFICATION: Are the premises used by you, your children or other dependants? QUESTION 1:03- QUALIFICATION: Does the rent exceed $3,217.81? LEARN MORE If the rent is over this amount then the SCRA will likely not apply, however this number increases periodically. This is the amount as of - this limit may increase. The rent limit is based on the Consumer Price Indexes (CPI). The CPI-adjusted maximum rental rate for 2014 is $3, QUESTION 1:04- QUALIFICATION [Service Member Rank TE] [First/Last Name], YOU QUALIFY to use this resource. Please answer the following questions to generate your Self-Help Sample Letter Packet. QUESTION 1:05- QUALIFICATION: EXIT [Service Member Rank TE] [Service Member Name] I am sorry, but one of your responses indicated that you do not qualify to use this interview. You may still qualify for SCRA protections however, but not to use this form. You can review the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) by clicking the link below. If you determine you do qualify then come back to this interview. Or you can exit the interview by clicking the Exit button. Click here to view the entire Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. NEXT PAGE: Begin Step 2.0 (DISCLAIMER) Page 3

4 QUESTION 2:00- DISCLAIMER: DISCLAIMER: This sample form packet is given to you as a guide to help you generally understand the way legal matters are handled. Local courts interpret things differently. We do not intend this information to be legal advice. We do not intend it as advertising or solicitation. By providing this information, we are not acting as your lawyer. We are providing this information as a public service. We try to make it accurate, but we cannot promise that the information is always up-todate and correct. Sometimes the laws change. Do you accept the Terms of Use? QUESTION 2:01- DISCLAIMER: EXIT [Service Member Rank TE] [Service Member Name], I am sorry, but you must accept the terms of use to continue with this interview. You may still qualify for protections under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) however, but not to use this form. You can review the SCRA (See Title III of the Act) by clicking the link below. If you determine you do qualify then come back to this interview. Or you can exit the interview by clicking the Exit button. Click here to view the entire Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. NEXT PAGE: Begin Step 3.0 (INFORMATION) Page 4

5 QUESTION 3:00-INFORMATION: Is your landlord attempting to evict you by one of the following methods? I received a letter or other written notice I was told about the eviction A lawsuit attempting to evict me has been filed Some other type of eviction None of the above DRAFT CONTENT: VERSION 2.0 QUESTION 3:01-INFORMATION: The SCRA does not stop the landlord from evicting you, but it does demand that he or she go through the court system to do it. The law requires landlords, in all states, to obtain a court order before evicting a servicemember or their dependents during a time of active duty service. You stated that there is already a court action filed by your landlord to evict you. The law has some protections for servicemembers in this situation that you may want to use. Click the Continue button. QUESTION 3:02-INFORMATION: You indicated that your landlord is not attempting to evict you through the court system. The SCRA does not stop the landlord from evicting you, but it does demand that he or she go through the court system to do it. The SCRA has some protections that you may want to use. QUESTION 3:03-INFORMATION: The SCRA requires landlords, in all states, to obtain a court order before evicting a servicemember or their dependents during a time of active duty service. At the end of this interview you can print a personalized letter providing your landlord notice that the attempt to evict and/or dependents without a court order is in VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW. LEARN MORE - Examples of how the landlord may be attempting to evict you by not using the court system would be if the landlord notified you by letter or verbally told you about the eviction. QUESTION 3:04-INFORMATION: If there is an action filed against you then you may be able to file a Stay of Proceedings for 90 days or longer. Would you like to use the Stateside Legal Interactive Form Packet to help you draft this request? QUESTION 3:05-INFORMATION: You must use another interview to use the resource you requested. Click on the Begin Interview when you are ready to start using the Stateside Legal Interactive Form Packet to help you request a Stay of Proceedings. QUESTION 3:06-INFORMATION: You indicated that you DO NOT want to use the resource to stay the eviction action. Would you like to continue with this interview? Page 5

6 QUESTION 3:07-INFORMATION: PLACEHOLDER SCREEN QUESTION 3:08-INFORMATION: Let s begin drafting a letter that provides notice to your landlord that the attempt to evict you and/or your dependents from without a court order is a VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW. QUESTION 3:09-INFORMATION: Your landlord must go through the court system to evict an active duty servicemember. In fact, if the landlord attempts to knowingly evict you in violation of the SCRA it is a criminal offense. Click continue to use the Stateside Legal Interactive Form Packet to help you draft a letter informing the landlord of your SCRA rights and protections. QUESTION 3:10-INFORMATION: When will you mail this letter? QUESTION 3:11-INFORMATION: What is your address? LEARN MORE - This should be the address that your landlord is trying to evict you from. QUESTION 3:12-INFORMATION: LANDLORD'S FULL NAME: QUESTION 3:13-INFORMATION: LANDLORD'S MAILING ADDRESS: NEXT PAGE: Begin Step 4.0 (FINISHING UP) Page 6

7 QUESTION 4:00-FINISHING UP: [Service Member Rank TE] [Service Member Name], you have finished the interview. Click "Submit" when you are ready to print your Legal Self-Help Sample Letter Packet for SCRA Eviction Protections Thank you for your military service Page 7