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Family FAQs

Family Forms & Filing FAQs

How to Submit Filings to the Clerk's Office

Records/Case Files FAQs

You can view the Register of Action online by visiting the Case Information Portal.

  • To view your case in person, see directions, addresses and business hours on the Family Justice Center Courthouse page.
  • For a parentage case (case number has a “CP” prefix) filed before January 1, 2023, it is a confidential paternity file and can only be viewed in person by the people who are part of the case and their lawyers, after they show a picture ID. If you want to look your court file, you need to:
    • Bring a driver's license or government identification card with you
    • Go to the Records Department of the Family Clerk's Office at the Family Justice Center Courthouse.
    • If your case was sealed, no one can see your files without a court order.

  • To obtain copies of your Family Court file:
    • Go to the courthouse and ask for a copy in-person. Directions to the Courthouse, business hours and mailing address can be found on the Family Justice Center Courthouse page.
    • Send a request through the mail:
  • Records Fee
    • See the "Preparing a copy of any record, proceeding or paper on file" in the "Records Related Fees" section of the current local fee schedule.
    • There is an additional charge for a certified copy. See "Certified copy of marriage or domestic partnership dissolution record (requested by any other applicant)" in the "Records Related Fees" section of the fee schedule.

To locate your divorce papers, the Court will need the case number. If you do not know your divorce case number, you can try looking up your case online by doing an index search on the Court's Case Information Portal, searching for your or your spouse's name ("party name") at the time of the divorce. Generally, divorce records for the last 10 years are on this website.

If you cannot find your case online, the Court can look up this information for a small fee. See "Searching records or files, for each search longer than 10 minutes" in the certification and copy fees section of the local fee schedule for the current amount of this fee.

Emailing Family Court

If you are unable to find the answer to your Family Court-related question after reviewing the pages in our Family Self-Help section of this website, the Family Division pages, and the Frequently Asked Questions above you can contact the Self-Help Center via email by filling out one of these two forms:   

If your question is not covered on the Court's websites, we will do our best to respond to your question within 48 hours.

Legal Assistance

We cannot give legal advice, only legal information. Please refer to our Free & Low-Cost Legal Help page, and consider contacting our Self-Help Center/Family Law Facilitator's Office.

Limited Scope Representation (LSR)

What are some examples of LSR?

You and the lawyer can agree that you perform some of the work in your case and the lawyer will do others. For example:

Example 1: You can just consult a lawyer and get legal information and advice about your case when you need it

Example 2: You can hire the lawyer to represent you on certain issues in your case (such as child support and/or custody) while you do the rest yourself

Example 3: You can hire the lawyer to prepare the forms and other court documentation but file them yourself and represent yourself at the hearings

Example 4: You can hire the lawyer to coach you on how to represent yourself at the court hearings and help in the preparation of evidence that you will present in court

Example 5: You can hire the lawyer to help you with the more complicated parts of your case, such as discovery and legal research, while you do the simpler tasks yourself

If you chose to handle your case this way, remember that communication and teamwork is the key to success in limited scope representation cases. You must make sure to discuss your legal matter with the attorney in detail and ask questions about issues that are not clear to you.

Remember that you and your attorney must have a clear understanding of each others’ assignments.

What are the benefits of LSR?

The benefit to you is that you can use your litigation budget best by doing the simpler parts of the case yourself and focusing the attorney’s time on the complicated tasks that you do not think you can do effectively yourself. This way you keep greater control of your case that if the attorney was handling the entire case.

Remember that the attorney has had the education and experience to work on the more technical parts of your case, guide you throughout the court process, and spot important legal issues that you may not see on your own.

Do courts accept this type of legal assistance?

The courts accept this type of legal assistance because it can help self-represented litigants get as much assistance that will protect their rights.

An attorney at your side in a limited scope manner will give you an opportunity of covering all bases when you present your case.

What forms and contracts should I know about?

There are special forms and service contracts that have to be used by you and your attorney when you agree to limited scope representation. You can always agree to increase or change the scope of representation between the two of you at any time.

A special notice has to be filed in the case to inform the court and the other party of the limited scope representation if the attorney is going to appear in the case for you, State Form FL-950, the Notice of Limited Scope Representation.

How do I find a lawyer who can help me do LSR?

To find an a lawyer who is willing to help you in a limited scope manner, you may contact the Local Bar Association's Lawyer Referral Service.

If you already know a lawyer that you would like to hire, ask him/her about a limited scope representation arrangement.

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