Self Help
Every superior court in California has legal help available in family law and in small claims cases and, in some cases, other legal issues as well. For example, the Los Angeles Superior Court has legal help available for people who are representing themselves in the following areas of the law
- Family Law
- Probate
- Domestic Violence
- Conservatorship and Elder Abuse
- Guardianship
- Landlord / Tenant
Below is an overview of court services provided by the Los Angeles Superior Court:
- Family Law Facilitators
Offered in each California court, a family law facilitator is a lawyer, or a paralegal supervised by a lawyer, with experience in family law who gives free legal help with child, spousal and partner support problems. Although the family law facilitators can't represent you in court, they can help you in preparing your own court forms and can give you general information. For hours and locations of the Los Angeles Superior Court's Family Law Facilitator Offices, click here. - Self-Help Centers
Supervised by attorneys and provide assistance with the completion of court forms and court procedures related to a variety of legal problems, Los Angeles Superior Court's Self-Help Centers also offer free legal workshops for divorce, paternity, probate, guardianship and conservatorships. For hours and locations of the Los Angeles Superior Court’s Self-Help Centers, click here. - Small Claims Advisors
Provide free legal advice and assistance to individuals and businesses suing or being sued in a Los Angeles County Small Claims Court. Small claims advisors can assist you with court forms and court procedures. - Family Court Services (FCS)
Provide mediation services to help divorcing and separating parents resolve disagreements about the care of their children.
STATE JUDICIAL COUNCIL APPROVED FORMS
When you are involved in a court case, you must file legal documents explaining to the court what the dispute is and what you are asking for. To make sure your court documents have the information the court needs, the California courts have created a set of court forms called Judicial Council Forms which can be used in every Superior Court in California.
Judicial Council Forms provide you with an easy "check-the-box" format and are available for many civil, family law and criminal cases. The first step in completing a Judicial Council form is to see if the California Courts have developed a form for your specific legal problem. To view a complete list of Judicial Council forms, click here.
The California Courts also provide information and instructions about how to complete court forms in order to make a specific request in your case. Find your legal topic and related Judicial Council forms by clicking here.
Most Judicial Council forms are "fillable" and can be downloaded to a local computer and filled out. You can also print out any form and fill it out by hand. For help understanding how to use fillable court forms, click here.
LOCAL SUPERIOR COURT FORMS
In addition to Judicial Council forms, each Superior Court adopts court-specific "local forms" that you may need to start your case or as your case continues. To view a list of Los Angeles Superior Court local forms, click here.
FILE AT HOME FORM PROGRAMS
Fill out court forms online using the LA Superior Court's user-friendly forms completion programs. Programs available for Divorce, Child Custody & Visitation, Child Support, Domestic Violence, Civil Harassment, Guardianship, Limited Conservatorship, Evictions, Name Changes and Small Claims. To access the forms completion programs, click here.
PLEADING PAPER TEMPLATE
If you cannot find a Judicial Council Form for your exact legal problem, then you will need to create your own legal document on 28-line pleading paper in a very specific format. For pleading paper formatted for the Los Angeles Superior Court, click here. The California Rules of Court, starting with Rule 2.100, tell you what is required for any document you file with the court. You can find samples of legal documents created on pleading paper at the Library. A good starting point is Litigation by the Numbers or a form book set such as California Forms of Pleading and Practice.
You must file your lawsuit and associated documents at the proper courthouse. There are a number of factors that determine the appropriate filing location. Some of these factors include:
- the amount of your lawsuit
- the court with jurisdiction for your case
- the proper venue for hearing the case
The term jurisdiction refers to the authority a court has to decide a case. The term venue refers to the correct location of a court that may hear your case. To learn more about venue and jurisdiction and whether your case belongs in in California Superior Court, click here. For help in determining whether you can file your case in federal court, click here.
Each of California’s 58 counties has at least one court location that handles small claims, limited and unlimited civil cases. If you are not sure what type of case you have, click here. For help locating your county’s court website, click here. If you do not know your county, you can also search by city or zip code and you will get a link to your county’s superior court.
Many California counties, including Los Angeles County, have more than one courthouse. If you do not know which courthouse handles cases like yours, use the Filing Court Locator on the Los Angeles Superior Courts website and search by city or zip code. For the address, hours, parking information and directions for each courthouse in Los Angeles County, click here.
Contract Law: How to make an agreement legally binding (through formation of a contract), and what happens when one side doesn’t perform as agreed (breach of contract).
- LA Law Library Online Class, Know Before You Sign on the Dotted Line: Reading & Negotiating Business Contracts (Business Series): https://www.lalawlibrary.org/hidden-classes/1533-business-series-know-before-you-sign-on-the-dotted-line-reading-negotiating-business-contracts-online
- Los Angeles County Department of Business and Consumer Affairs: https://dcba.lacounty.gov/contracts/
Credit, Debt & Money Issues: A legal process to protect a person or business who cannot pay their debts, and ensure that creditors are treated fairly.
Bankruptcy - A legal process to protect a person or business who cannot pay their debts, and ensure that creditors are treated fairly.
- Public Counsel Bankruptcy Clinic (in Spanish & English): https://publiccounsel.org/services/bankruptcy/
- The COVID-19 Corona Virus and your bankruptcy case: Frequently Asked Questions: https://upsolve.org/learn/covid-19-faq/
- U.S. Bankruptcy Courts, California Central: https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/court-website-links/court-orders-and-updates-during-covid19-pandemic#bankruptcy
Credit & Debt - Money that is owed such as credit card bills, loan payments, etc., and the rights of the person who owes the money (debtor) and the person to whom it is owed (creditor).
- LA Law Library, Online Class, Dealing with Debt: Where You Begin: https://www.lalawlibrary.org/hidden-classes/1522-dealing-with-debt-where-you-begin-online
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: https://www.fdic.gov/coronavirus/index.html
- Find Help: https://findhelp.org/
Auto Loan Payments - Payments relating to the purchase of an automobile or other vehicle.
- Car Payment Relief During Coronavirus: https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/coronavirus-car-payment-relief-programs.html
- Coronavirus: Information for Consumers and Businesses, Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA): https://dcba.lacounty.gov/coronavirus/
Student Loans - Money borrowed by students to pay for or support their education. Federal student loan borrowers may be entitled to COVID-19 related relief.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/what-you-need-to-know-about-student-loans-and-coronavirus-pandemic/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=wc&utm_term=April12020
- Coronavirus and Forbearance Info for Students, Borrowers, and Parents: https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/coronavirus
- LA Law Library, Online Class, Understanding Your Student Loan Debt: https://www.lalawlibrary.org/hidden-classes/1570-student-loan-pbw2020
- Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA): https://lafla.org/stories-events/lafla-coronavirus-response/
- Understanding Student Loan Forgiveness https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation
- The Biden-Harris Administration’s Student Debt Relief Plan Explained https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief-announcement
- Do You Qualify for Student Loan Forgiveness or Discharge? https://mygreatlakes.org/educate/knowledge-center/know-your-options-forgiveness.html
- ON DEMAND: Federal Student Loans: Repayment and Cancellation Options https://www.lalawlibrary.org/hidden-classes/1952-federal-student-loans-repayment-and-cancellation-options
Tax Filings / Tax Breaks
- California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, Office of Appeals Tax Hearing Information: https://cuiab.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/documents/cuiabHearingInfoEnglish1.pdf?emrc=50ccb1
- California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, Office of Appeals Tax Hearing [Spanish]: https://cuiab.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/documents/cuiabHearingInfoSpanish.pdf?emrc=fc1299
- COVID-19 Tax News and Information, American Bar Association (ABA): https://www.americanbar.org/groups/taxation/resources/covid19-taxnews/
- IRS Materials also available in Korean, Mandarin, Russian, Vietnamese: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/find-tax-help-in-several-languages-on-irsgov
- IRS (Spanish): https://www.lalawlibrary.org/pdfs/COVID19/CoronavirusReliefSpanish.jpg
- IRS Find a Location for Free Tax Help: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/find-a-location-for-free-tax-prep
- IRS Low Income Taxpayer Clinic List: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p4134.pdf
- IRS, Recovery Rebate Credits and Economic Impact Payments: https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/economic-impact-payments
- State of California Unemployement Insurance Appeals Board Forms and Publications: https://cuiab.ca.gov/forms-and-publications/
Criminal Law: Laws that are punishable by imprisonment and the procedures for enforcing them.
- LA Law Library, Online Class, Facing Charges? Release and Bail Reduction Services: https://www.lalawlibrary.org/hidden-classes/1621-bail-reduction-pbw2020
- LA Law Library, Online Class: Know Your Rights When Interacting With Police: https://www.lalawlibrary.org/hidden-classes/1579-interacting-with-police-pbw2020
- LA Law Library, Online Class: Access to Police Personnel Files: https://www.lalawlibrary.org/hidden-classes/1566-access-to-police-personnel-files
- LA Law Library, Online Class, On Demand: Holding Public Officials Accountable to the Rule of Law: https://www.lalawlibrary.org/hidden-classes/1684-holding-public-officials-accountable-to-the-rule-of-law
Cleaning Criminal Records - Certain misdemeanors can be changed to "expunged" on your record showing the case was effectively dismissed.
- Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA): https://lafla.org/get-help/expungement/
- National Resource Center for Reaching Victims: http://reachingvictims.org/
- ON DEMAND: Cleaning Your Criminal Record: Where You Begin https://www.lalawlibrary.org/hidden-classes/1866-on-demand-cleaning-your-criminal-record-where-you-begin
- California Courts-Legal Help For Clearing Your Criminal Record https://www.courts.ca.gov/42521.htm?rdeLocaleAttr=en
- California Courts-Legal Help For Clearing Your Criminal Record;https://www.courts.ca.gov/42521.htm?rdeLocaleAttr=en
- County of Ventura- Public Defender- Expungement clinic: https://vcpublicdefender.org/expungement-clinic/
- Superior Courts of the County of Orange - Clearing up your record https://www.occourts.org/self-help/criminal/cleaningupyourrecord.html
Prisoners' Rights and Prison Release Protocols: Prison inmates' civil rights and procedures for obtaining release from incarceration.
- Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office: https://da.lacounty.gov/media/news/district-attorney-jackie-lacey-directs-deputy-district-attorneys-help-reduce-jail
- The Marshall Project: https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/03/17/tracking-prisons-response-to-coronavirus
Public Defender:
- California Public Defender and Legal Aid Contact List https://www.clearmyrecord.org/county-contact-list/#los-angeles
- California Office of the State Public Defender- Resources https://www.ospd.ca.gov/resources/
