Domestic Relations
and Family Law
Legal Aid Society’s Domestic Relations Program provides legal representation for low income individuals with family law cases such as divorce, paternity, custody, and guardianships. Individuals seeking help with a family law case should contact Legal Aid for an initial eligibility screening. Potential clients are then sent an application form. Applications are reviewed by staff attorneys. There is a client fee for domestic relations cases based on household income relative to the federal poverty rate.
Domestic relations cases are assigned to an attorney/paralegal team and the assigned team conducts an intake interview, prepares appropriate pleadings, and files them with the court. Oftentimes, temporary orders of custody, child support, health insurance, possession of the home, spousal support, etc. are needed while the case is pending in the courts. In that event, the attorney files an appropriate motion and represents the client at the hearing to obtain temporary orders.
During the case, the legal staff completes necessary discovery for information and then the attorney negotiates a settlement, the parties mediate a settlement, or the case is set for pre-trial settlement conference with the court. If the case cannot be resolved, the attorney represents the client at trial.
Bridge the Gap
Legal Aid Society’s Bridge-the-Gap program literally bridges the gap between the DVVA and the Domestic Relations programs. The purpose of this program is to make a direct assignment of income-qualified domestic violence clients who need representation in a divorce or paternity action to the domestic relations program without having to get on a waiting list or go through the domestic relations application process.
Legal Aid found that too many domestic violence clients were going back to an abusive relationship because of economic and emotional pressures. By starting the domestic relations case immediately and getting orders of financial support, custody, and possession of the residence, victims are given the motivation to follow through with the break from their abuser. In most
Bridge-the-Gap cases, the respondent is served with the legal papers at the protective order hearing.
