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For those among us with
"family values", this page connects you to relevant law, professional
associations and family law experts, document preparation, and federal
and state child support enforcement programs. For RVCC students, this
page contains a tutorial on the use of specialized legal software in the
preparation of NJ Case Information Statements & Child Support Guidelines.
A family law paralegal
assists her employer in delivering family law services to clients. Effective
paralegals working in this area of law will know something about custody,
divorce, tax & finance law, adoption, and even the social services
available in the area. Because many matrimonial matters end up in court,
a working knowledge of litigation and family court rules is essential.
These paralegals will need to anything from filing motions or pleadings
and preparing discovery to searching financial or tax records and arranging
mediation. The para-professional here will likely be the liaison person
between the client and the attorney; someone able to handle not just the
legal side, but also the human, emotional aspect of this type of practice.
Family
& Divorce Law
The following sources
provide an overview of this area of law:
- FindLaw
for Legal Professionals
www.findlaw.com/01topics/15family/index.html
Geared for legal professionals, includes a guide to attorneys who specialize
in this area of practice, databases, articles, software, forms, discussion
groups and related websites.
- FindLaw
for the Public
Geared for the non-professional,
these two sites include overviews on divorce, support and custody, prenuptial
agreements, and the financial aspects of managing property after marriage.
Self-help guides to filing your own divorce & legal advice from
family law attorneys (for a fee of $39.95) are also available. Look
in both sites for different things!
- American
Bar Association www.abanet.org/family/familylaw/tables.html
summarizes family law for all 50 states, including divorce, custody,
visitation, property division, adoption and more.
Government
Child Support Services
Both federal and state
agencies exist to assist in the collection of child support. Some of these
government services will even assist the litigant directly, without the
need for counsel.
- Federal
Office of Child Support Enforcement
www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cse/index.html
This agency helps track, locate and prosecute those who fail to pay
child support. The FAQs section is particularly helpful to the layman,
while their Virtual Library of Training Materials links to an excellent
practice guide called "Essentials for Attorneys in Child Support
Enforcement." The federal parent locator system www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/newhire/
is another useful tool. Finally, the site summarizes child support law
in all 5o states, including statutory citations, support calculations
and paternity rules. Look at this site http://ocse3.acf.hhs.gov/ext/irg/sps/selectastate.cfm
for the interstate roster and just click on the state you want to search.
- New
Jersey Child Support Enforcement www.judiciary.state.nj.us/probchild/index.htm
Although child support in NJ is county-based, this site provides a state
hotline phone number, available 24 hours a day that provides information
concerning services available, visitation, emancipation, custody, as
well as how to apply for child support. It also links to each county
office, with phone numbers, and provides a guide to state enforcement
information. Check out www.judiciary.state.nj.us/csguide/index.htm
to read NJ’s child support guidelines verbatim.
Professionals
& Professional Associations
Many different professionals
may be needed to effectively handle a family matter, from marriage counselors
to mediators. Local professionals can always be located through the State
Bar Association www.njsba.com the yellow pages of your local phone book,
or the NJ Lawyers Diary. The following sources will help you find family
law professionals in any area of the country:
- Technical
Advisory Service for Attorneys
www.tasanet.com
for experts in all areas of law nationwide
- The
Legal Pages www.lawdiary.com
a comprehensive
directory of goods and services for NJ legal professionals, it provides
local connections to experts in all disciplines, and even investigators,
marriage & family counselors, mediators and more.
- Family
Law Section of American Bar Association www.abanet.org/family/home.html
links family legal
professionals to discussion groups, practitioners in all 50 states, and
has a General Public Resources link that is helpful to laymen and professionals
alike. This site also links to family law publications like
Forms
& Documents
Family law is governed
by state statutes, and as such, all forms are state-specific. Software
can be purchased at a relatively low cost to handle most family law matters…and
the software even does the math calculations! For example, RVCC uses EasySoft
Legal Software www.easysoft-usa.com for preparation of family case information
statements, calculation of child support both within and outside the Child
Support Guidelines. The software also includes custody & visitation
plans, sample orders and other documents. Not many family law forms can
be found on-line and for free, but you can check out:
- www.legaldocs.com
contains a few family practice-type documents like parental waivers,
spousal consents and child care authorizations.
- With uslegalforms.com
you can find complete divorce packages, separation agreements and even
links to support and alimony calculations. Some forms are free, while
others are available at a cost ranging from $5.99 to $89.99.
- www.judiciary.state.nj.us/forms.htm
is an excellent NJ-specific site for forms. This page links you to a
few family practice forms like the case information statement, economic
mediation, case management orders, and an entire packet of forms on
enforcing an existing support order. Some of these forms are interactive
& can be filled out right on your computer; others must be printed
and filled out the old-fashioned typewriter way.
- www.lexisone.com/store/catalog?action=rootFreeCategory
This site has available over 6000 free forms in various areas of practice,
and a lot more forms you can pay for! Check out the different areas,
including domestic relations, and the state sources too.
Tutorial
for RVCC Students
You must be a currently
enrolled RVCC student with an assigned WebCT ID and Password to access
this secure area at http://webct.raritanval.edu/SCRIPT/tops/scripts/serve_home.
After logging in to
the Home page, please use the icon labeled "Family Law".
For technical support, please contact
online@raritanval.edu.
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TOPS
- The On-line Paralegal
Source
Family Law