tennessee

‘Tennessee Justice Bus’ to bring legal advice to rural communities

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Tennessee Supreme Court has a new program to bring legal help to rural and disadvantaged communities through the Tennessee Justice Bus.

The bus is filled with computers, a printer, internet access, video displays, and other office supplies.

Lawyers and volunteers will be able to provide on-the-spot access to legal help and meet Tennesseans where they are to address the technology gap many rural and disadvantaged citizens face.

Access to Justice has been one of the Tennessee Supreme Court’s top priorities.

They said contrary to popular belief, people are not guaranteed access to an attorney when they encounter civil legal issues.

People who can’t afford an attorney are left to handle a variety of legal issues on their own like evictions, child custody, debt and credit issues, and unfair labor practices.

The bus will help fill the gap.

The Tennessee Justice Bus will officially launch Monday morning in downtown Nashville.

The Tennessee Justice Bus will travel the state to provide pop-up legal services where needed. These legal clinics and community events are commonly held in conjunction with legal aid providers, churches, nonprofit organizations and public service providers

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TN flood insurance to increase by up to $100 a month

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tennessee homeowners could soon pay more out of pocket for flood insurance

FEMA recently changed the way it calculates flood risk. For some, this will mean paying less, but the vast majority of residents living in flood zones will pay more, according to LendingTree.  

“We have seen a 163% increase in the last 20 years in the number of natural disasters, and a lot of those have been floods. So even if you don’t believe in climate change, that doesn’t matter, your insurance company does,” said Nick VinZant, Senior Research Analyst at QuoteWizard by LendingTree.  

Although this new system will mean some will pay more, VinZant said it’s ultimately a more equitable way of determining rates.  

“What FEMA is really doing is they are shifting the burden of flood insurance. Before, everybody kind of paid for everybody equally. Now people who have the riskiest properties are going to be paying the most. And if you’re not facing a lot of risk, you’ll be paying a lot less,” VinZant said. 

Unfortunately, VinZant doesn’t see Tennessee flood insurance costs going down anytime soon. He added that Tennessee has

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