What’s New on WomensLaw.org

We updated the courthouse website for the Berks County Services Center in Berks County, Pennsylvania on our Pennsylvania Courthouse Locations page.

We added the crime of “Taking, enticing away, or keeping of unmarried minor child by parent” to the South Dakota Crimes page and the Selected South Dakota Statutes page. 

in our Montana Divorce section, we updated the links to outside sources in Where can I find additional information about divorce laws in Montana?

We revised all of the information in our Montana Custody section. For example, we revised the question How will a judge make a decision about a parenting plan (custody)? by linking the remaining three crimes listed on that page to their definitions on our Selected Montana Statutes page.  We also re-wrote If my child was conceived from rape, can the offender (parent) get custodial rights or visitation? to include more information. Lastly, we added five related statutes to our Selected Montana Statutes page.

We updated our Mississippi Download Court Forms page.

We completely re-organized and revised our Mississippi State Gun Laws section to make it easier to read. In addition to adding a new sub-section called The Abuser is Not Supposed to Have a Gun…Now What?, we also removed the majority of the federal gun laws information so that the section focuses on Mississippi state laws. 

On our Louisiana Suing an Abuser page, we updated the links to three parishes’ websites with small claims court information.

Based on a 2018 change to Louisiana’s law, we updated the information in Where can I file for a sexual assault protective order?

In our Oregon Local Programs page, we added Domestic Violence Services, Inc. to our Morrow County section in English and Spanish.

In our Louisiana Protective Orders (for Domestic Abuse) section, we revised the question What protections can I get in a protective order? to remove information about a judge being able to order the petitioner to undergo a mental health evaluation. The change was based on a 2018 amendment to the law.

We completely revised and re-wrote our Louisiana State Gun Laws section in order to update the information based on 2018 changes to the law. We also created two new questions called What reasons would someone be denied a permit to carry a concealed handgun? and If the abuser’s gun is taken away, what will happen to it?  We also added three related statutes to our Selected Louisiana Statutes page.

We added five custody-related statutes to our Selected Louisiana Statutes page.

We translated into Spanish our recently revised general Divorce page.

In our Louisiana Custody page, based on 2018 changes to the law, we re-wrote the information in multiple questions regarding when a parent who committed violence or sexual abuse can get custody or visitation. We also created four new questions called If my child was conceived as a result of rape, can the parent (offender) get any rights to my child?, Can a parent who sexually abused my child (or another child) get visitation? Can a parent who sexually abused my child (or another child) get custody? and Can a non-parent get custody?

We revised the Oregon Custody page to make it easier to read. We also added a question called If my child was conceived as a result of rape, can the parent (offender) get custody? and we updated the links to outside resources in Where can I get additional information about custody in Oregon? All changes made in English. Spanish soon to come!

In our Minnesota Custody section, we revised the question Can a parent who committed violence get custody or visitation? to explain the legal standard of “rebuttable presumption” that affects the judge’s decision.

We added links to court forms related to custody and parenting time to our Minnesota Custody page and Download Court Forms page.

Based on changes to the law, we revised our California Divorce page in English (Spanish soon to come) to include, for example, that a judge can consider:

• a misdemeanor conviction when deciding whether an abused spouse has to pay alimony to the abuser; and 
• whether the person convicted of the crime was actually the real victim. 

In our Maine Custody section, we re-wrote the question Can a grandparent get visitation? to clarify the difference between having “standing” to file a petition and actually getting visitation and to include information based on changes to the law.  We also added a related statute to our Selected Maine Statutes page. Lastly, we added additional factors that a judge will consider (that were inadvertently left out) to the question How will the judge decide on a parental rights and responsibilities arrangement? 

We translated into Spanish our Connecticut Moving to Another State with a Restraining Order and Enforcing Your Out-of-State Order sections in the Restraining Order page. We also translated our Download Court Forms page for this state.

Based on an August 2018 addition to the law, we changed the name of the crime of “harassment by telephone” to “harassment by telephone or electronic communication device” in our Maine Crimes page and Protection from Harassment Orders page.

Based on a December 2018 addition to the law, we updated the question What documents or proof do I need to give my landlord to get out of my lease if I am a victim? in our Maine Housing Laws section.

We translated into Spanish the new information in our Florida Injunctions for Protection Against Repeat Violence, Dating Violence, or Sexual Violence section.

We added nine new crimes to our Maine Crimes page.

In our Kentucky Housing Laws section, we added two new questions under the newly-created sub-section called Protection for eviction for calling 911. We also added the related statute to our Selected Kentucky Statutes page. 

Based on 2018 changes to the law, we added information to two questions in our Kentucky Custody section about the rebuttable presumption towards joint custody and equal parenting time, as well as additional “best interest factors” that a judge must consider. We also added a related statute to our Selected Kentucky Statutes page.

We translated into Spanish the Michigan Download Court Forms page.

In our Indiana Divorce page, we updated the links for divorce forms in the question Where can I find additional information about divorce in Indiana?

On our Indiana Download Court Forms page, we added a new link to divorce forms found on the Coalition for Court Access website and added descriptions about the types of forms that can be found on the Indiana Judicial Branch website.

We translated into Spanish the Michigan Non-Domestic Stalking Personal Protection Orders page.

We translated into Spanish the Michigan Custody information page.

On our Illinois Divorce page, we added a question called What are the basic steps for filing for divorce? in English and Spanish.

On our Colorado Divorce page, we added a question called What are the basic steps for filing for divorce? in English and Spanish.

We added a new question to our Indiana Custody page called What is a “de facto custodian” and can s/he get custody?

We revised all of the information in our Kansas Protection from Stalking, Sexual Assault, or Human Trafficking Orders section based on a 2018 law that includes human trafficking victims and we added three related statutes to our Selected Kansas Statutes page. We also added two new questions: What is the legal definition of human trafficking in Kansas? and Can a minor file for an order? 

In our Kansas Protection from Abuse Orders page, we added a new question called Can a minor file for an order? and we updated the information in Am I eligible to file for a protection from abuse order? based on a 2018 change to Kansas law.

We took the brief information that we had about child support in Washington from our Custody page and moved it to a new Child Support page that we created in English and Spanish. We also added one related statute to our Selected Washington Statutes page in English.

On our Missouri Sheriff Departments page, we updated the contact information for the St. Clair County Sheriff’s office. 

We revised our general Divorce page in English, adding the questions: What happens with child custody and child support after filing for divorce? and Can I take my children out of the state once a divorce is filed? Spanish soon to come.

We translated into Spanish our Michigan Moving with an Abuse Prevention Order section in the Restraining Order page. 

We updated the link to the Kansas Judicial Council’s website to access small claims court forms on our Kansas Suing an Abuser page. 

We added three new questions to our Tennessee Custody page and revised the rest of the section to add new information to the existing questions. We also added one related statute to the Selected Tennessee Statutes page.

We updated our Tennessee Download Court Forms page and added links to parenting plan forms and to a court-issued guide to creating a parenting plan.

In Alabama, we created a new Child Support section. We also revised all of the information on our Custody page, including re-writing the information in What do I have to do to relocate my child? and adding a question called Can the non-relocating parent object to my plan to relocate my child? We also added two related statutes to our Selected Alabama Statutes page. 

We completely re-wrote our Alaska State Gun Laws page, revising all of the current information and adding two new questions. We also added seven related statutes to our Selected Alaska Statutes page.

We translated into Spanish our recently updated Divorce information in Massachusetts.

We translated into Spanish our recently updated Divorce information in Colorado.

Based on an addition to Michigan law, we added information to Will I have to face the abuser in court to get a PPO? about the possibility of appearing in court via video conferencing. in English and Spanish. We also revised the information in English in Does it cost anything to register my protection order? and added the relevant statute to our Selected MI Statutes page. 

We revised the information on our Michigan Non-Domestic Stalking Personal Protection Orders page and added a new question called Can a minor file for an order?  Changes made in English; Spanish coming soon.

We updated the links to outside sources on our Marital / Partner Rape page in English and Spanish.

We translated into Spanish our recently updated information in What protections can I get in a bond for good behavior? in our Georgia Bonds for Good Behavior section.

We translated into Spanish the recently updated Divorce information in New Mexico.

We updated the current links and added a link to new court forms on our Virginia Download Court Forms page in Spanish and English.

We created a Hawaii State Gun Laws section in English to explain the gun laws in Hawaii relating to domestic violence, orders of protection, and crimes. We also added five related statutes to the Selected Hawaii Statutes section. 

We updated the Divorce information in Illinois in English, adding information on residency, grounds and alimony requirements, and added three related statutes to our Selected Illinois Statutes page. Spanish coming soon!

We revamped our Florida Injunctions for Protection Against Repeat Violence, Dating Violence, or Sexual Violence section, increasing the amount of information from two questions to seven. All changes made in English. Spanish soon to come.

We revamped our video blog page. Each series now has a brief description in English and Spanish to help users interact with the videos.

We added the crimes of aggravated assault, aggravated battery, and aggravated stalking to our Florida Crimes page in English. Spanish soon to come.

We updated our Alabama Crimes page and added seven new crimes, including domestic violence by strangulation or suffocation, interference with custody, and more.

Based on a law that became effective in July 2018, we added a new question to our Hawaii Divorce section called Can I leave Hawaii with my child, rack up debt, or sell/transfer assets after a divorce is filed?​ We also added the related statute to our Selected Hawaii Statutes page.

In preparation for adding additional information about housing laws in Georgia, we added the law to our Georgia Selected Statutes page and linked it to the summary of the law that we created in July. 

We completely revised all of the information in our Idaho Protection Orders page.

We updated the links to protection order forms on our Idaho Download Court Forms page and linked to additional forms, such as divorce, custody, paternity, and more.

In our Massachusetts State Gun Laws section, we translated into Spanish the recently-added information about an order of suspension and surrender in two questions related to whether or not an abuser can have a gun when there is a temporary or final abuse prevention order.

In our Idaho Protection Orders page, we added information to What protections can I get in a protection order? about a judge being able to transfer a wireless phone number from an abusive partner to the victim. We also added the related statute to our Selected Idaho Statutes page.

We translated into Spanish the Extreme Risk Protection Orders page in our Massachusetts Restraining Orders section.

We added new information to three questions on our Hawaii Orders for Protection due to Domestic Abuse (Family Court) page about it being illegal to have a firearm or ammunition when an order for protection is in place and what steps law enforcement is supposed to take to get the firearms. We also added the relevant law to our Selected Hawaii Statutes page. 

We updated our New York Download Court Forms page in English and Spanish to add a link to the petition to terminate or sever one’s lease if s/he is a victim of abuse. 

Based on a law that became effective today, we created a new section in our Delaware State Gun Laws page called Order of Relinquishment of Firearms, which allows law enforcement to file for an order to remove firearms from someone who a mental health service provider believes may harm him/herself or others. We also added the five related statutes to our Selected Delaware Statutes page.

In our West Virginia Protective orders (for Domestic Violence) page, we included examples in the question What is the definition of a family or household member? to make it clear that you can file against the relative of your family or household member and not just against your own relative. 

We added the crime of criminal contempt of a domestic violence protective order to our Delaware Crimes page and Selected Delaware Statutes page.