Philadelphia Legal Assistance has developed seven new online document assembly forms for pro se litigants in Pennsylvania family courts. These forms were developed With funding from a Legal Services Corporation Technology Initiative Grant and are available now on PALawHELP.org.

Self-represented litigants can go to the PALawHELP.org web site, answer questions in a user-friendly guided interview, and, at the end of the interview, download a word processing file with a completed court document that they can print out and file in court.

The new filings are:

• Custody: Notice of Relocation (with supporting documents)
• Custody: Petition for Contempt
• Custody: Motion for Expedited Relief (Philadelphia-only)
• Custody: Motion for Emergency Relief (Philadelphia-only)
• Support: Complaint for Support
• Support: Petition To Modify Support
• Support: Petition for Contempt of Support

The forms are available on PALawHELP.org under Children and Families>Self Help (Pro Se) Forms and Information. The forms use the A2J (Access To Justice) interface, which researchers at the Chicago-Kent School of Law developed to be as accessible as possible for the legal services client population.

The forms are housed on the LawHelp Interactive website, which is a project of Pro Bono Net, a nonprofit committed to increasing access to justice with technology, in cooperation with Ohio State Legal Services Association. The project is supported by the Legal Services Corporation, the State Justice Institute, and state courts in California, Montana, and New York.

The new automated forms supplement the forms that Sheila Fisher of North Penn Legal Services has already developed for Pennsylvania, which are also available on PALawHELP.org. Those forms use a similar sytem whereby users complete a questionnaire, and, after completing the questionnaire, can download a word processing file containing a completed court document suitable for filing in court. These include, among others, a Complaint for Custody, a Petition for Modification of Custody, a Petition for Guardianship of Children, and a Petition to Waive Court Costs.