April is Fair Housing Month!

The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, familial status or disability in the sale or rental of housing. If you are a Montanan who has experienced housing discrimination, there is help. You can: Contact Montana Fair Housing at: (406) 782-2573 / 1-800-929-2611   Montana …

Fair Housing is Your Right: Use It!

April is Fair Housing Month. Incited in part by the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., one week prior, Congress passed Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act in 1968, known as the Fair Housing Act. The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, …

Dispatch From Cambodia: New Beginnings for Street Youth

This is a blog post from Caroline Riss, MLSA Staff Attorney, who is in Cambodia on exchange to assist with a legal organization.According to the Consortium for Street Children, in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, “there are an estimated 616,023 working children aged between 5 and 17 years and 2,000 street children. A further 15,000 …

National Roof Over Your Head Day

This Saturday, December 3, is National Roof Over Your Head Day, a day of appreciation for the things we have, including the roof over our heads.  As Montana enters the winter season, shelter from the cold, ice and snow becomes increasingly important.  Helena residents are currently planning a “Longest Night” event on December 22 to …

Part Three of MLSA’s Foreclosure Series: Your Options: Leaving Your Home

By Beth Hayes, Staff Attorney, Montana Legal ServicesYou might be in a situation where it is not realistic for you to keep your home. There are still options available to you to avoid foreclosure and prevent further damage. Assumption: Assumption is an option for a third party to take over your loan. When a mortgage …

Part Two of MLSA’s Foreclosure Series: Your Options: Keeping Your Home

By Beth Hayes, Staff Attorney, Montana Legal ServicesThe first thing to consider is whether or not you want to keep your home, and whether you are realistically able to do so. If you want to keep your home, and are realistically able to do so, there are many retention options available to you: Forbearance: Forbearance …

Part One Of MLSA’s Three Part Foreclosure Series: Foreclosure Procedure in Montana

By Beth Hayes, Staff Attorney, Montana Legal ServicesForeclosure is when a mortgage lender sells a borrower’s property to satisfy an unpaid debt on a mortgage. Foreclosure happens when a homeowner defaults on the mortgage. Default is another way of saying you are behind on your payments. About 15 days after you default, the lender will …