Nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes, according to Benjamin Franklin, but he should probably have added needing legal advice to his list.
While most people never stand in a courtroom, matters of law will confront us all at some stage. Births, deaths, marriages and the undoing of them, having a job or renting a property can all require legal input.
Central Otago Rural Education Activities Programme (Reap) and the Dunedin Community Law Centre are bringing workshops to Alexandra next month to unravel some of the legal tangles we may end up in.
Legal education co-ordinator Jessie Musgrove said she and a family lawyer from the law centre would hold a day of free workshops at Alexandra Community House on October 14.
People could attend as many or as few as they wanted, Miss Musgrove said.
Legal problems often start with misunderstandings and the workshops aim to help people know where they stand.
Topics to be covered range from wills and end-of-life preparations to consumer rights and family law.
There will also be sessions on tenant and employee rights.
"The purpose of it is just to make sure that people know their legal rights and to help them before issues start up.
"We often find one of the main barriers to getting legal advice and help is misunderstanding or lack of understanding the processes, or just having absolutely no idea where to start. So, we’re just trying to bridge that gap a bit."
Law centre lawyers held clinics in Alexandra and Wanaka once a month and they wanted to be sure their education programme was reaching people in those communities, she said.
People can make clinic appointments through the Dunedin office or at Alexandra Community House.
Topics people had raised at the clinics included employment and criminal law. About 15 people people sought advice each month, Miss Musgrove said.
Their aim was to help those who could least afford legal advice and questions would be asked when making an appointment to make sure those most in need got help, Miss Musgrove said.
However, the workshops next month are free to all and anyone can attend.
Each session is limited to 25 people so bookings are necessary and can be made at Alexandra Community House.
