Cook County Clerk Karen A. Yarbrough was awarded the 2023 Impact Award from the Center for Disability and Elder Law (CDEL) at their annual “Light Up The Loop” Winter Awards Benefit, Thursday evening for her key role in establishing the Recordings Legal Help Desk.
The Help Desk, in partnership with the CDEL, assists customers who have legal questions about any of the services provided by the Clerk’s Recording Operations Division, which is responsible for recording, storing, and maintaining land records and other official documents for all of Chicago and suburban Cook County.
“Thank you to the CDEL for their partnership, passion, and recognition for this helpful new service,” said Yarbrough. “This unique public-private partnership is going to greatly enhance our service by providing much-needed legal assistance so that our customers can be confident when filing some of their lives’ most important documents and save some legal fees in the process!”
The Help Desk is staffed by legal aid attorneys from the CDEL who provide pro bono legal advice for customers on matters such as:
- Deed Counseling
- Grantor/Grantee Affidavit
- Corrective Recording Affidavit
- Disclaimer of Interest Form
- Surviving Tenant Affidavit
- Transfer on Death Instrument (TODI)
- Indexing Correction Request Form
In its 39-year history, more than 30,000 people with disabilities and low-income senior citizens have been provided free legal services from CDEL, with its staff of thirteen team members, and hundreds of volunteer lawyers. Those services include adult guardianship, landlord/tenant disputes, end-of-life planning, divorce, financial elder abuse, consumer fraud, property tax, and assistance at the Pro Se Adult Guardianship Help Desk. In addition, CDEL runs workshops and assists seniors with end-of-life planning and housing preservation.
Customers interested in scheduling a Help Desk appointment can email [email protected] OR call us at 312-603-5050. You will be asked to provide your name, phone number, email address, and the category of service noted above that you need information on.
###