Prior to the late 1990s, California consumers were left with three options when it came to handling a family law case. They could retain an attorney, they could hire a legal document preparation service, or they could stand in line at the court clerk’s office to get blank forms to fill out themselves. There was no one at the courts to help people who were self represented.

Enter the Court’s Self Help Legal Services Initiative. California pioneered the national trend to develop self-help programs to increase fairness in a justice system that was originally established only for people who could afford a lawyer. Some of the major aspects of the Court’s Self Help Legal Services Initiative include:

• Self help workshops and clinics for basic cases.
• The Family Law Facilitator – a licensed attorney employee providing legal information, education, and guidance to self-represented litigants for child support, parental relationships, and health insurance. They are not your attorney and do not represent you. There is no attorney-client relationship.
• EZLegalFile – allows parties to complete forms on the court’s computers and also online from the court’s websites. These forms can be printed to complete manually or completed electronically.
• Expanded services and collaboration with outside agencies to provide limited self help with divorce, guardianships, conservatorships, landlord-tenant issues and other basic cases.

Even though the millions of dollars invested in the court sponsored self help legal services have made a positive impact in the needs of the self represented, there are still many limitations which include:

• Self help legal workshops and clinics: These services are available on a limited basis. Most are scheduled during the day, Monday through Friday only.  The classes typically rotate a few times a month, so you may have to wait several weeks or more to participate in the workshop you need. The locations of the workshops are at the court, or close to the court, making it very inconvenient if you live in a rural area.

The staff at these classes are there to provide form packages, which are pre-assembled. They may or may not include specific forms that you may need in your cases. Further, since the court staff here are not attorneys, other than providing the forms and some general tips on what to include in the forms, they cannot provide any direction of what you should included in these forms. And many will quickly realize that the staff cannot answer any questions about your case, as this could be construed as legal advice.

Further, the staff is not there to check the completeness or accuracy of your forms. This means that a person could spend all day in a workshop only to then go to the court clerk to file, and have their documents rejected because they are missing information, or the forms are not complete. Even more disastrous is when the forms are filled out wrong and then filed, making your case start off with a mess that will have to be corrected later causing the outcome to be delayed.

• The Family Law Facilitator:  The facilitator’s schedule is very busy meaning you might not get in right away to talk to them. People are usually seen on a first-come, first serve basis. Also the amount of time you get to spend with the facilitator is limited. Their services are very basic.

While the presumption might be that since they are an attorney working at the court, they must be the most qualified to help. This might not be true. They can provide general direction and common information, but how much can a family law facilitator really help in complex cases with custody, support and major assets when they only meet with you for a few minutes. They are limited in what they can do. Relying on them for more than what they can do might put someone’s situation at risk. The family law facilitator’s office can be a good place to turn to for having general and procedural questions answered, and to start a very simple case.

• Online Forms: The court offers many forms online. They are grouped into sets for different types of basic cases. You might not need all the forms in the set or you might need a form that is not in the set. The sets don’t have local forms which each particular court has and is different from the other courts. You won’t know exactly which forms are required for the court unless you talk to the facilitator or an attorney. The forms are can be very technical, meaning any little mistake could have a negative impact on your case.

As we saw on the other types of self help above, you could complete the forms wrong, not include the proper forms, or include other forms that could move the case in a different direction. It is not the court clerk’s job to give advice. Unless the clerk sees something that is procedurally incorrect to file or that a document is missing that is supposed to be included or attached, they will file whatever is given to them to file.

This is especially true when it comes to the judgment phase. The judgment is the final set of documents to complete the case and have a judge sign making orders in your case. Missing even one form, or not addressing the issues on the forms the way the state law requires could mean a rejection. The court can send back all your forms and tell you to revise them. In many cases they can’t provide details and you are left to guess and try again….and again, all the while wasting time and not moving your case any closer to completion.

The court’s self help legal services does not substitute the advice or representation of a private attorney, or the professional services of a bonded, registered and experienced legal document assistant. Any person who plans to represent themselves in a legal matter is ultimately and solely responsible and should research all alternatives before deciding which solution is best for them.

An important consideration on a case would be to meet with professionals to understand your options. While the court does offer free services, the old saying “you get what you pay for” often rings true.

For complex cases, attorneys offer free consultations and can explain the process, the potential outcomes and importantly your rights and responsibilities in a case.

For standard and simple cases, a bonded and registered legal document assistant can explain the court procedure and complete and file all documents at a flat rate, ensuring that you are not wasting time at the court going around in circles.

Jumping into the free option could be the worst mistake if it isn’t the best option for you. Understand all your options and consider the downside of each to fully know what may be the best for you. After all, free services might not be that great if you have to make multiple trips to the court, fill out forms, stand in long lines, only to have them rejected and potentially have your case take 2-3 times longer than if you would have paid a flat fee for a professional service. How much is your time worth?