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New Indigency Standards

By Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries

The US Department of Health and Human Services issued new Federal Poverty Guidelines in the January 23, 2008 Federal Register, which will affect the determination of indigency in Massachusetts courts.

One definition of indigency under MGL c.261, s.27A is "a person whose income, after taxes, is one hundred and twenty-five per cent or less of the current poverty threshold...", and so the Supreme Judicial Court has put a helpful memo on their site which provides a table of 125% of the current poverty threshold by family size. This is linked from Affidavit of Indigency and Related Documents, which also includes requisite forms "used to request waiver, substitution or payment of court fees and court costs by the Commonwealth."

Full post as published by Massachusetts Law Updates on February 21, 2008 (boomark / email).