Legal Resources by State

Each state has different laws and even then, each county in a state can have significant differences.  Below is a list with links of some resources by state that can help you in family court.  Beyond this, I encourage you to search the following to see what additional resources are available to you.

STATE JUDICIARY

The state judiciary is just another way to describe the judicial branch of the government for your state.  Most judiciaries have a comprehensive website with forms and information.  Depending on where you live, the state judiciary may have very general information, but those will usually have links and resources to more county-specific forms and information.  Quite often, the state judiciary will have self-help forms that are family law specific.  To find information on your state judiciary, simply do an internet search for your state's judicial branch.  For example:  "[state] state judiciary."

COUNTY RESOURCES

Courts are organized by county, and each county may have differences in operations, procedures, and paperwork.  Links on the county court website will typically be more specific.  You can search for "[your] county family court" or [your] county family law resources."

 

LEGAL AID CENTERS

Legal aid centers are a fabulous resource for anyone going through a divorce or custody dispute.  Often, if you meet income qualifications, you may be eligible for a no-cost attorney.  In addition, they have amazing resources for survivors of domestic abuse.  Attorneys they provide may be in-house or may be private attorneys who accept pro bono (no charge) representation.  In fact, I usually have at least one pro bono matter.  Beyond that they have a wealth of forms, resources, workshops, and the like.  Search for your county or state legal aid center to see what options are available to you.  I tried to link as many as I could in the chart below.

LAW SCHOOLS

The law schools in your state can be a wonderful resource as well.  Since they are based in academia, they often have information of the case laws and statutes that will apply to your divorce or custody dispute.  Some offer clinics and presentations by law students and law professors to help you fill out paperwork, understand basic concepts, and make sense of the laws.  Search "[law school] family law resources" to see what is available to you.

STATE BAR ASSOCIATIONS

Each state has a state bar association that is both the regulating authority for that state's attorneys.  Often they have a plethora of resources for the general public as well.  They may have information regarding legal aid services near you, attorneys who specialize in family law, and attorney referral services.  Some have form libraries as well.

Below you will find a chart of readily available free online resources organized alphabetically by state.  As mentioned above, this list is in no way comprehensive, and you should investigate the search topics listed above as well.

Alabama	https://legalservicesalabama.org/
Alaska	https://courts.alaska.gov/shc/family/selfhelp.htm
Arizona	https://www.azcourthelp.org/
Arkansas	https://www.arlegalservices.org/node/1041/self-help-forms
California	https://www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp.htm?rdeLocaleAttr=en
Colorado	https://www.courts.state.co.us/Forms/Index.cfm
Connecticut	https://ctlawhelp.org/en/home https://www.jud.ct.gov/selfhelp.htm
Delaware	https://delcopa.gov/courts/selfhelpcustody.html https://courts.delaware.gov/help/legalassistance.aspx
Florida	https://www.flcourts.org/Resources-Services/Court-Improvement/Self-Help-Information
Georgia	https://www.georgialegalaid.org/court-info
Hawaii	https://www.legalaidhawaii.org/self-help-centers.html  https://www.courts.state.hi.us/self-help/help
Idaho	https://www.idaholegalaid.org/node/2207/self-help-idaho-interactive-forms  https://courtselfhelp.idaho.gov/
Illinois	https://www.illinoislegalaid.org/get-legal-help/lshc-directory  https://libguides.law.illinois.edu/c.php?g=575272&p=4178596
Indiana	https://www.in.gov/courts/selfservice/
Iowa	https://www.iowalegalaid.org/issues/self-help/family-law-self-help-forms-and-instructions
Kansas	https://www.kansaslegalservices.org/topics/2047/self-help https://www.kansasjudicialcouncil.org/legal-forms
Kentucky	https://kycourts.gov/Legal-Help/Pages/default.aspx
Louisiana	http://www.familycourt.org/main/inside.php?page=self-help_resources  https://www.lsba.org/Public/FindLegalHelp/SelfRepresentation.aspx  http://probono-no.org/self-help-resource-center
Maine	https://www.ptla.org/  https://www.justicemaine.org/about/providers/
Maryland	https://mdcourts.gov/family/familyselfhelp
Massachusetts	https://www.mass.gov/topics/courts-self-help https://www.masslegalhelp.org/children-and-families/probate-and-family-court
Michigan	https://michiganlegalhelp.org/self-help-tools/family
Minnesota	https://www.mncourts.gov/selfhelp/
Mississippi	https://www.mslegalservices.org/help
Missouri	https://www.courts.mo.gov/page.jsp?id=5240 https://www.familylawselfhelpcenter.org/self-help/getting-started/representing-yourself-in-court/risks-and-tips
Montana	https://courts.mt.gov/selfhelp/ https://www.missoulacounty.us/government/civil-criminal-justice/district-court/divorce-parenting/missoula-self-help-law-center
Nebraska	https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/self-help  https://www.legalaidofnebraska.org/how-we-help/resources/
Nevada	https://www.familylawselfhelpcenter.org/
New Hampshire	https://www.courts.state.nh.us/selfhelp/ https://nhlegalaid.org/about/legal-advice-and-referral-center
New Jersey	https://www.njcourts.gov/selfhelp/index.html https://www.familylawselfhelpcenter.org/self-help/getting-started/representing-yourself-in-court
New Mexico	https://www.nmcourts.gov/self-help/self-help-guide/ https://libguides.law.unm.edu/c.php?g=244026&p=1625816
New York	https://ww2.nycourts.gov/COURTS/nyc/family/selfrepresented.shtml https://www.nycourts.gov/courthelp/Family/index.shtml
North Carolina	https://www.lawhelpnc.org/issues/family-and-juvenile/custody?channel=know%2Dyour%2Drights&category=self%2Dhelp%2Dforms https://www.legalaidnc.org/get-help/self-help-clinics/child-custody-and-visitation-clinic
North Dakota	https://www.ndcourts.gov/legal-self-help  http://www.legalassist.org/?id=104
Ohio	https://www.ohiolegalhelp.org/  https://www.courtreference.com/Ohio-Courts-Self-Help.htm
Oklahoma	https://oklaw.org/issues/family  https://www.okbar.org/legalresources/#:~:text=Legal%20Aid%20Services%20of%20Oklahoma%2C%20Inc.&text=AIDS%20Legal%20Resource%20Project%20provides,at%20866%2D817%2D8151.
Oregon	https://www.courts.oregon.gov/programs/family/selfhelp/Pages/default.aspx https://oregonlawhelp.org/resource/oregon-family-law-facilitators
Pennsylvania	https://www.palawhelp.org/issues/children-and-families/self-help-pro-se-forms-and-information?channel=court%2Dinformation&category=pennsylvania%2Dcourts%2Dself%2Dhelp%2Dcenters%2Dinforma&location=all
Rhode Island	https://www.helprilaw.org/ https://www.helprilaw.org/
South Carolina	https://www.sccourts.org/selfhelp/  https://guides.law.sc.edu/c.php?g=315443&p=7645225
South Dakota	https://www.statebarofsouthdakota.com/page/legal-resources#:~:text=For%20assistance%2C%20please%20call%3A%201,%2D866%2D228%2D9119.&text=A%20private%2C%20non%2Dprofit%20that,civil%20liberties%20in%20South%20Dakota. https://www.sdlawhelp.org/
Tennessee	https://www.tncourts.gov/programs/self-help-center  https://www.courtreference.com/Tennessee-Courts-Self-Help.htm
Texas	https://www.txcourts.gov/programs-services/self-help/
Utah	https://www.utcourts.gov/selfhelp/ https://legal.utah.edu/_resources/documents/Utah%20Legal%20Resources%2011-27-2018.pdf
Vermont	https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/self-help  https://dcf.vermont.gov/resources/legal
Virginia	https://selfhelp.vacourts.gov/ https://www.valegalaid.org/
Washington	https://www.courts.wa.gov/newsinfo/index.cfm?fa=newsinfo.displayContent&theFile=content/selfhelp https://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/
West Virginia	https://legalaidwv.org/legal-information/guided-self-help-forms/ https://wvlawyerreferral.org/pages/resources-legalaid
Wisconsin	https://www.wicourts.gov/services/public/selfhelp/ https://wilawlibrary.gov/topics/shc.php
Wyoming	https://www.courts.state.wy.us/legal-assistances-and-forms/  https://equaljustice.wy.gov/