| Having to go through Family Court when dealing with | | | | attorney can be appointed by the county to |
| an issue can be an extremely difficult and stressful | | | | represent your needs at no cost. To see if one |
| process. I will be doing several bogs on this topic in | | | | qualifies, an application must be filled out upon filing of |
| the future due to its enormous scope. | | | | initial petition. |
| Matters that involve going through Family Court to | | | | If one is not sure if they want to hire an attorney, |
| bring a cause of action typically involve custody | | | | or apply for one, they may represent themselves |
| matters, issues of neglect, juvenile delinquency, | | | | accordingly. After the initial filing, if the petitioner (or |
| persons in need of supervision (pins) and support | | | | respondent) decides that they do indeed need an |
| matters. | | | | attorney, that person can simply appear in court, |
| If one has an issue that is need of Family Court | | | | request an adjournment to seek counsel and the |
| intervention, the first thing they need to do is file a | | | | judge will then almost always grant such request. The |
| petition. These documents are typically "fill in the | | | | retained/assigned attorney will then likely re-submit |
| blank" so they are pretty user friendly. Simply go to | | | | the petition that you initially filed with amendments to |
| the Family Court located in the county in which you | | | | make it flow a little better and "dress it up" so to |
| or the child(ren) live in and ask for the petition you | | | | speak. |
| are in need of. The court clerks in Family Court are | | | | Once the parties meet for a first appearance, |
| usually pretty helpful in pointing applicants in the right | | | | negotiations begin to take place in terms of |
| direction. Once you fill out the proper petition, the | | | | settlement, which is key in Family Court. The ultimate |
| clerk with file it and you will then receive an | | | | goal in Family Court is for the parties to resolve their |
| appearance date in the mail. | | | | issues with as little court intervention as possible. If |
| Understandable, many individuals feel overwhelmed | | | | the parties cannot come to an amicable resolution, a |
| with this process, due to the often-emotional nature | | | | pre trial conference is set up at a later date and then |
| of the matter. If this is the case, it would be wise to | | | | ultimately a trial if needed. |
| retain an attorney who is experienced in these | | | | Stay tuned for more blogs on this topic including |
| matters and they would file the appropriate | | | | custody matters and issues of neglect. |
| documents for you. If an applicant qualifies, an | | | | |