What the guidance says
The Self-Direction Guidance lists legal fees among excluded items. That covers the ordinary case of paying a lawyer out of a Self-Direction budget.
Guardianship is a distinct question
Family Support Services names guardianship and legal costs among its own categories, and FSS is considered after OTPS, IDGS, and FRR have been explored and denied, or as emergency reimbursement. Whether a particular cost fits is decided on the request and the governing ADM, not on the general question.
Kit will not tell you whether a legal matter should be pursued. That is a question for a lawyer, not a funding route.
What Kit can do
Kit can research which route an expense belongs to, preserve the sources it relies on, and prepare a draft request for your review. It cannot approve anything, and neither a Kit page nor a provider listing is an OPWDD or Fiscal Intermediary decision.
One useful answer
Does an appeal of an OPWDD decision count differently?
The exclusion is about paying legal fees from the budget. How to challenge a determination is a separate process, and the Housing Subsidy guidance, for example, sets out its own written notice and appeal steps.
Where this comes from
- OPWDD Self-Direction Guidance (March 2022), p. 30 — OTPS exclusions
- OPWDD FSS Family Reimbursement FAQ (ADM 2022-02R)
Kit quotes the governing document. OPWDD and your Fiscal Intermediary decide your request.