This page is for court self-help center staff, legal aid agencies and advocates who assist self-represented litigants. If you are a self-represented litigant, please visit California Courts Self-Help Center or your local court website for information and resources.
LawHelp Interactive is an online platform administered by a nonprofit organization, Pro Bono Net, which provides access to HotDocs document assembly programs developed by the Judicial Council. Document assembly programs use an interview format to ask litigants, or those assisting litigants, questions that are used to populate Judicial Council forms. The programs determine which forms are needed based on a litigant’s particular situation. In California, HotDocs programs are offered at no cost to court self-help centers, nonprofit legal services agencies and other court partners that serve self-represented litigants.
If you are new to HotDocs and want information on getting started, jump to Getting Started with LHI and HotDocs.
Litigants who need to fill out form FL-150 Income and Expense Declaration may now do so using a standalone HotDocs program, which is available in both English and Spanish. This form is already included in most family law and domestic violence restraining order HotDocs programs for petitions and responses and is now available as a standalone program for use in assisted self-help settings. Court self-help centers that are interested in offering this program may contact Diana Glick to request the inclusion of customized local court information.
Income and Expense Declaration
If you are looking for a link to a program developed specifically for your county, jump to County Programs.
Courts that want to provide links to HotDocs programs on their local court websites should copy the specific program links below onto internal self-help center or public sites. This will allow litigants to go directly to LawHelpInteractive.org.
Please do not publish links to the Equal Access site (these informational pages) as it is intended for court self-help center staff.
The following programs are available for use in any county—to enable a program for your county, please contact us at HotDocs@jud.ca.gov to provide venue and court address information and for assistance with disseminating and displaying links to the programs.
Program Name and Description | Intended User/Setting |
---|---|
Answer to Governmental Child Support Complaint
|
Staff/Workshop SRL/Remote Assistance |
Child Support Modification Request
|
SRL/Remote Assistance |
Civil Harassment Restraining Order Petition
|
Staff/Workshop |
Civil Harassment Restraining Order Response
|
Staff/Workshop |
|
SRL |
Dissolution Petition and Disclosures
|
Staff/Workshop |
|
SRL with staff/translator assistance |
Dissolution Judgment-Default or Stipulated
|
SRL, with assistance recommended |
|
SRL, with assistance recommended |
Elder Abuse Restraining Order Petition
|
Staff/Workshop |
Elder Abuse Restraining Order Response
|
Staff/Workshop |
Fee Waiver Request-Guardianship/Conservatorship
|
SRL |
|
Staff/Workshop |
Income and Expense Declaration
|
Staff/Workshop |
|
SRL |
|
Staff/Workshop |
|
Staff/Workshop |
Petition for Custody and Support
|
SRL/Remote Assistance |
|
Staff/Workshop |
|
SRL |
|
SRL |
If your court is new to HotDocs and LawHelp Interactive, please contact us at HotDocs@jud.ca.gov. We will connect you with a community of courts using document assembly and ensure that you receive ongoing support and important updates to the programs. It will also be very helpful to us to have an accurate list of courts using LHI/HotDocs for reporting purposes.
Please see the documents below for a LHI/HotDocs Overview and Instructions on setting up accounts.
Document Name | Users |
---|---|
Staff |
|
Instructions: | |
Staff |
|
2. How to Register for a Court Employee and Advocate LHI Account |
Staff |
Staff and litigants |
|
Staff and litigants |
|
Staff |