Legal Aid of Nebraska

Legal Aid of Nebraska gives free civil legal help to low-income residents. It handles housing and eviction, family law, public benefits, consumer problems, and debt. To apply, call the AccessLine at 1-877-250-2016. You can also request help online through the LawHelpNE portal instead of calling. Staff confirm whether you qualify when you reach them.

The AccessLine keeps set hours. It takes applications Monday and Wednesday from 8:30 to 11:30 in the morning. It also takes applications Tuesday and Thursday from 1:00 to 3:00 in the afternoon. Times are Central. If you cannot get through during those hours, you can apply online through the LawHelpNE portal any time.

Know Nebraska's eviction timeline, because it is not what many people think. Nebraska has no 3-day pay-or-quit notice for unpaid rent. Instead, state law gives you 7 calendar days after written notice to pay before the landlord can terminate the lease. This comes from Nebraska statute 76-1431. So you have a short window, but it is longer than three days.

Other lease violations follow a different clock. For a breach that is not unpaid rent, you have 14 days to fix, or cure, the problem. If you do not cure it, the landlord can end the lease no sooner than 30 days after the notice. Knowing which clock applies to your case helps you act in time.

Legal Aid covers the problems that keep a family stable. That means housing and eviction, and public benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, unemployment, Social Security, and veterans benefits. It also means family law and debt matters. Services are for people with limited income and assets, so if money is tight, apply rather than assume you earn too much.

There are extra lines for some callers. Nebraskans 60 and older can use the ElderAccessLine at 1-800-527-7249. A disaster line runs at 1-844-268-5627. Call the day an eviction notice or court paper arrives, since deadlines are short. You can also dial 2-1-1 for local rent funds that may clear a balance before a case grows worse.