1-1 How to Get Started

• For each lesson, we’ll provide helpful links, hints, and resources here.
• If you want to start or file a NEW divorce, legal separation, or dissolution of domestic partnership, start with Section 12.
• If you want to respond to a new divorce, legal separation, or dissolution of domestic partnership, start with Section 12.
• If you want to start or file (or respond to) a new case related to child custody or child support, but you are NOT in a marriage or domestic partnership with the other party, start with Section 17.
• If you want to start or file a new case in an emergency situation, start with Sections 2 or 3.
• If you want to respond to someone who filed a request for an emergency order, go to Sections 2 or 3.
• If you want to go to court on an already existing case, start with Section 4, and also look at any other relevant sections (such as Section 5 for Child Custody, etc.).
• No matter what kind of case you have, Section 11 on Service will always be relevant, so make sure you watch that.

How to Get Started in Family Court

Hi, thanks for using My Court Coach. I’m Sarah, and I’ll be your instructor today as we talk about how to get started with My Court Coach.

In front of you, you can see that I’ve put together an index of all the different chapters of topics that My Court Coach offers with respect to family law matters.

What Do You Need to Do in Family Court?

You need to first start off by trying to figure out: What is your overall goal? What is it that you’re seeking?

If you’re seeking a domestic violence restraining order, you might want to start with section 3.

On the other hand, if you want to file a divorce or legal separation, start with section 12.

Or if you want to file either a petition to establish paternity or a petition to establish custody and support, start with section 17.

Once you’re there that will provide you with the forms and guidance that you need to get your case started.

If you need any sort of temporary orders thereafter, then I suggest you start with section 4. That’s your request for order and responding to a request for order forms.

What Orders Do You Want from Family Court?

Then I would also suggest you think about what sort of relief (or order from the judge) you want and what is it pertaining to – what issue it’s pertaining to.

So for instance, if you want orders regarding child custody, I would divert your attention to section 5. That’s child custody.

Or if you want orders regarding support, then you might want you to look at or checkout section 6: support.

If you’re asking for any sort of other financial orders, such as attorney fees, then you might want to check on either section 10 or section 20.

If you need help figuring out how to get information from the other party, then you would want to check out section 18 that’s discovery, which I always refer to as the formal request for disclosure and information from the other party.

If you need any sort of emergency order, if there’s any sort of imminent harm in your case you can check out section 2. That has to do with emergency also known as ex parte orders.

If you have made or had your hearing in the case and need to figure out how to prepare the order, you can check out section 7 or 8; those are findings in order after hearing.

If you have figured out a total agreement to your case and want to submit a final judgment, then you should check out section 15.

But you first want to figure out what the main purpose of using this program is, and then start from there and then you can check out all these other chapters that will assist in some of the smaller issues perhaps having to do with your case.

I hope you found this helpful. Good luck.