Family Court Help Center Hits Its Stride

In Philadelphia, over 85 percent of custody litigants proceed pro se. The majority of these litigants cannot afford counsel, and rely on the court’s Intake Unit to assist with filing pleadings. While this is sufficient in some instances many pleadings beyond the basics are not available and the volume is such that litigants often are given appointments to return to the Intake Unit months in the future. In an attempt to alleviate these problems and provide litigants with much needed information on the custody process, Administrative Judge Margaret T. Murphy, members of the family law section of the Philadelphia Bar Association, and attorneys at the public interest firms Philadelphia Legal Assistance (PLA) and Women Against Abuse Legal Center (WAA) established the Family Court Help Center. The Family Court Help Center opened as a collaborative effort of the above on April 6, 2015, with a ­ribbon-cutting ­ceremony and has served approximately 2,544 litigants since its inception.

Many litigants who represent ­themselves are not well informed about legal ­terminology, applicable statutes, and custody procedure. Similarly, litigants may not know which, if any, custody pleading is appropriate to file given their factual situation and goals. The Family Court Help Center is able to assist pro se litigants with both of these issues. Currently, the Family Court Help Center is open every weekday, from noon to 3 p.m. Litigants are able to walk in and receive legal information, options counseling, and are able to draft their own pleadings using one of four ­computers and printers at the Family Court Help Center, which have the most commonly needed custody filings as fill-in-the-blank petitions. After drafting their petitions with assistance from an attorney and/or law ­student volunteer, litigants can file their petitions at the Clerk’s Office located directly next to the Family Court Help Center. By receiving options counseling, legal ­information about custody law and procedure, as well as assistance with their pleadings, pro se litigants will be more likely to file the appropriate pleading, understand the process, and be better prepared for their court date.