Family Court: Fill & Download for Free

The single greatest flaw in the court system is the fact that litigants in family court do not have access to counsel. In a criminal matter, the right to counsel is a Constitutional requirement pursuant to the 6th Amendment. In a civil matter, counsel is more readily available due to the fact there is no ethical prohibition on handling a matter on a contingency fee basis.In family court, lawyers are ethically prohibited from being retained on a contingency fee basis. This puts family court litigants in a quagmire. They have serious legal matters that affect custody of their children, child support, division of property & assets they may have built up over a lifetime, alimony, visitation of children, etc. The litigants are dealing with matters that are nearly equally as emotional and serious as criminal matters & where the consequences are almost as severe.But they don't have the money to pay a lawyer hourly nor can they negotiate a contingency fee. So they are left in a space where they must navigate these treacherous legal matters on their own. Almost like being in a Boeing 747 & the pilot & all his crew are killed & your life as well as your childrens’ lives depend upon you landing the plane yourself.Out of all the courts I've been in, family court is the saddest.Shalom aleichem lchaim.Some things are just too precious not to protect.

Can my aunt take custody of me if I am in foster care (she has a clean house, her husband has a job, plenty of food and room for me, never been arrested and so on)?No, she can’t just take custody of you. You are a ward of the state right now and the state is your guardian. Nothing can happen without the state’s permission.But your aunt can certainly speak to your CPS caseworker and begin the process of being approved to become your foster parent. The requirements vary by state but BOTH your aunt AND her husband will have to pass various background checks (physical, financial, psychological, criminal), there will have to be a home check (and various safety features that most of us don’t have in our homes, like an escape ladder from a second-floor bedroom), they’ll have to take CPR and first aid classes, foster parenting classes, and so on. Your caseworker can guide them through this.Then, your aunt and uncle can apply to Family Court to become your foster parents/guardians. Since they are blood-relatives, the Court will likely approve the request. It gets you out of the system and back with family, which is the normal goal of Family Court.

Judge Judy as a judge in New York family court was rather well-respected. I do not know if she was a good judge back then.Judge Judy as a “judge” on TV, is not a good judge. She ignores the law when she feels like it. She cuts people off and does not allow them to offer evidence when they should be allowed to do so.Judge Judy is not trying to be a good judge though, if you ask me. She is trying to be good entertainment. Apparently she is very good at that.