---
title: "List what a legal-aid applicant stated, before any eligibility decision"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/not-for-profit-charities-and-associations/advise-a-legal-services-charity-on-an-ai-triage-tool/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A35-B6-5-US"
practice_area: "Not-for-Profit, Charities & Associations"
tier: "red"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# List what a legal-aid applicant stated, before any eligibility decision

> List the income, assets, and household facts the applicant stated, and quote the words in which the applicant asked for help. Mark whether those words ask for advice or representation for a named person.…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/not-for-profit-charities-and-associations/advise-a-legal-services-charity-on-an-ai-triage-tool/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Not-for-Profit, Charities & Associations](https://ailawframework.com/practice/not-for-profit-charities-and-associations.md) |
| Human involvement | Red: Lawyer writes; AI may check, clarify or collect data |
| How AI is used | List the income, assets, and household facts the applicant stated, and quote the words in which the applicant asked for help. Mark whether those words ask for advice or representation for a named person. Write no eligibility finding, no priority decision, and no advice. |
| What the lawyer must review | You, or the recipient under its policies, decide financial eligibility and priority. The tool does not. A Legal Services Corporation recipient may provide legal assistance supported with LSC funds only to individuals whom the recipient has determined to be financially eligible (45 CFR § 1611.4(a)). Assistance wholly supported by non-LSC funds is outside that sentence if it is otherwise permissible. Under § 1611.4(b), the recipient may determine an applicant financially eligible if the applicant's assets do not exceed the recipient's asset ceiling, or the ceiling has been waived, and either the applicant's income is at or below the recipient's annual income ceiling, or the income exceeds that ceiling and an authorised exception in § 1611.5 applies. Section 1611.5 was not opened. Under § 1611.4(c), the recipient may determine eligibility without an independent income or asset determination where the applicant's income is derived solely from a governmental program for low-income individuals or families, if the governing body has determined that the program's income standards are at or below 125 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines and that the program has an assets test. Section 1611.3(a) requires the governing body to adopt financial-eligibility policies and to review them at least once every three years. Section 1611.3(b) requires the policies to specify that only individuals and groups determined eligible under those policies and the LSC regulations may receive legal assistance supported with LSC funds. A case, under 45 CFR § 1620.2(a), is a program service in which an attorney or paralegal provides legal services to one or more specific clients, including advice, brief services, and transactional assistance. A matter, under § 1620.2(b), contributes to the delivery of program services but does not involve direct legal advice to or representation of one or more specific clients. Section 1620.3 requires the governing body to adopt a written statement of priorities that determines the cases and matters that may be undertaken. ABA Formal Opinion 512 requires independent verification of a tool's output. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Advise a legal-services charity on an AI triage tool](https://ailawframework.com/practice/not-for-profit-charities-and-associations/advise-a-legal-services-charity-on-an-ai-triage-tool.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: List the income, assets, and household facts the applicant stated, and quote the words in which the applicant asked for help. Mark whether those words ask for advice or representation for a named person. Write no eligibility finding, no priority decision, and no advice.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- An income figure above the recipient's ceiling is not decided here. The exception path is 45 CFR § 1611.5, which was not opened.
- Do not apply a family-law merits test or a mediation-privilege rule. Neither was opened. The list is the applicant's stated facts and the case-or-matter question only.
- The 125 percent figure in § 1611.4(c) is a finding the governing body must have made about a governmental program. It is not a universal income ceiling for every applicant.

## Sources

- [45 CFR § 1611.4, financial eligibility for legal assistance](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/45/1611.4) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [45 CFR § 1611.3, financial eligibility policies](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/45/1611.3) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [45 CFR § 1620.2, definitions of case and matter](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/45/1620.2) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [45 CFR § 1620.3, establishing priorities](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/45/1620.3) (checked 2026-10-22)

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*