Family Law Facilitator / Self Help Center

Are you going to represent yourself in your family law case?

Most family law cases involve serious and, often times, complex legal issues. You should consider consulting with a family law attorney before you make the choice to represent yourself. Many family law attorneys charge only a nominal amount or nothing at all for an initial consultation.

DOING IT YOURSELF

If you decide to represent yourself, you may be able to fill out the forms for your family law case anywhere you have access to the internet and a printer. Shasta County Superior Court and many other courts participate in an online program called EZ Legal File that can walk you step-by-step through filling out the forms needed to start, respond to, and finish most simple family cases. The program will ask you some simple questions and fill out the forms based the answers you give. You can access EZ Legal File.

PERSONAL HELP

Shasta County Superior Court also has a program in place to provide personal assistance to self-represented persons in family law cases. The program is the Family Law Facilitator/Self-Help Center. The Family Law Facilitator/Self-Help Center is operated under the supervision of attorneys. It does not give legal advice as one could obtain from a privately retained attorney.

The program provides services to both parties, or if there is a joinder, to all parties in the case. It does not represent any party in the case. No attorney-client relationship is created between a party and the program attorney as a result of any information or services provided to a party by the program. The emphasis of the program is to provide legal information and education, not legal strategy and advice. The services of the program are available to all self-represented parties as there is no income qualification prerequisite. The staff of the program will provide information about procedure, substantive law and choices litigants may have, thereby allowing people to make informed decisions about their case.

Services Provided

The Family Law Facilitator/Self-Help Center provides several services that include the following:

• Providing educational materials to parents concerning the court process of establishing parentage and establishing, modifying and enforcing child and spousal support
• Distributing necessary court forms and voluntary declarations of paternity, assistance in completing the forms
• Preparing support schedules based upon statutory guidelines
• Providing referrals to the local child support agency, family court services and other community resources that provide services for parents and children
• Providing assistance on child support issues
• Providing assistance to parties in filing for a divorce
• Providing assistance to parties in finalizing their divorce (obtaining a final judgment)
• Providing assistance to parties in initiating and responding to Orders to Show Cause and Notice of Motion for issues other than child and spousal support (How to get interim orders for control of property, use of vehicles, assignment of responsibility for the payment of debts, etc.)
• Providing assistance to parties in initiating and responding to Change of Venue Motions; and
• Providing information to parties on how to proceed with summary dissolution (How to obtain an uncontested divorce)

Location, Hours and Contact Information

Assistance is available on a first-come, first served basis. A limited number of appointments are also available for the Family Law Facilitator. Telephonic information about schedules and services may be obtained by calling the phone numbers on the "Contact Us" link below.

More Information

For further information on Family Law - See the Civil Department - Family Law Division.