Air Force website offers legal assistance

6/8/2010 - SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- Next time clients need a will, power of attorney or just have a legal question, they can visit the new Air Force Legal Assistance website at https://aflegalassistance.law.af.mil. The website is designed for active-duty and reserve component members, retirees and dependents.

Officials created the website to increase efficiency and track client satisfaction with the Air Force legal assistance program. Because it is a public site, clients may access the site's features from the comfort of their homes without a common access card.

The site's features include:

--Legal topics: Short papers on common legal-assistance topics such as wills and family law issues. It also contains links to other helpful sites.

--Legal worksheets: Access to online questionnaires for wills, living wills and powers of attorney. After completing the online worksheet, the website provides each client a unique "ticket number." Data entered by clients is secure and may be accessed only after clients visit their local legal office and provide their ticket numbers to legal office officials.

--Online survey: Following a visit to the legal office, clients are encouraged to provide feedback concerning the professionalism and helpfulness of our legal professionals.

Many clients have visited a legal office to obtain a will or other legal document and realized, after arriving, that they needed to gather more information or documents from home. Sometimes clients have realized they needed to speak with their spouse about an issue.

Completing an online worksheet will help minimize these multiple visits. By filling out an online worksheet, clients will be able to consider critical issues prior to visiting the legal office.

After receiving a ticket number, clients bring it to the legal office. An attorney or paralegal will then access a client's data with the ticket number and prepare the appropriate legal documents.

While the website increases convenience for clients, everyone should note the following:

--Information on the website is for educational and informational purposes only. The website cannot replace consultation with your local Judge Advocate General, and Airmen should never rely solely on the website when making decisions.

--Clients will not have the ability to print a legal document from the website. Clients will need to visit the legal office and provide their ticket numbers in order to obtain their legal documents.

--The website is designed for client convenience, but no one is required to use the website prior to visiting the legal office.