Family & Children's Law Center

About

The Family & Children's Law Center enables families and children to enjoy a more successful future by helping them to navigate the legal system.

Story

Support Our Work:

FACLC is a bona fide law firm that specializes in family law, with fulltime staff attorneys who go to court with clients. Last year, we helped over one thousand clients and their families; the number is growing and the cases are getting more complex.

In recent years, the type of client we see has been changing. More of our clients have complex legal issues, ranging from dividing pensions to custody issues in which one or both parents have substance abuse or mental health issues. In addition, the coordinated referral system at the Marin Justice Center advises clients with "simple" divorces to use the Legal Self-Help Center, leaving the more complex, time-consuming cases for our attorneys, and adding to our work load.

We expect to add staff to meet this growing need. But because our low fees cover only about 10% of our more than $600,000 annual budget, we rely on the continuing support of foundations, government agencies, the private sector and individuals to maintain our services.

Consider the dozens of domestic abuse victims we have enabled to live free of fear every year.

Consider the seven-year-old boy we brought home to his Dad after his mother abducted him to Canada.

Consider the abused and neglected children who now know the love and comfort of safe homes.

Consider the many more children and adults who'll need our help.

Consider donating to help the thousands of children and parents who need our help.

What your contribution can do:

We use our money efficiently, providing effective legal help at a modest cost. These are some examples of what your contribution buys.

$500 allows our social worker to help an abused and neglected child feel safe and secure.

$750 allows a victim of domestic violence to obtain a domestic violence restraining order and peace of mind.

$1,000 provides a single parent with a child custody and support order for stability and security.

Mission

The Family & Children's Law Center enables families and children to enjoy a more successful future by helping them to navigate the legal system. We provide high-quality, low-cost legal services to families and children on matters ranging from child abuse and domestic violence to child custody and support. We serve all forms of families and are advocates for the needs and rights of children.

Products

Our Services:

Domestic Violence Restraining Orders

FACLC will help a victim of domestic violence obtain a restraining order, regardless of income or ability to pay. We prepare the paperwork to obtain a temporary restraining order, and will accompany her or him to court for the “permanent” restraining order hearing.

If you have an emergency, contact your local police department to obtain an Emergency Protective Order. If the alleged batterer is charged with a crime, the Criminal Court may issue a criminal protective order.

Dissolution of Marriage (Divorce)

Divorce, also called dissolution of marriage or dissolution of domestic partnership, ends your marriage or domestic partnership. If you get divorced, you can ask the judge for child support, spousal support, partner support, custody and visitation, domestic violence restraining orders, and division of property. After you get divorced, you will be single, and you may marry or become a domestic partner again.

Legal Separation

This action is similar to a divorce, but the parties remain married. A legal separation does not end a marriage or domestic partnership. You can't marry or enter into a partnership with someone else if you are legally separated and not divorced. A legal separation is for couples who don't want to get divorced but want to live apart and decide on money, property, and parenting issues. Couples sometimes prefer separation for religious reasons.

Paternity

This action can involve child support, child custody and visitation, as well as the establishment of paternity through DNA testing.
Child Custody & Visitation

Parents who separate will need to have a plan for deciding how they will share and divide their parenting responsibilities. This plan can be called a parenting plan, a time-share plan, or an agreement regarding child custody and visitation. Any plan must be in writing and signed by both parents and a judge.

In California, either parent may have custody, or the parents may share custody. The judge makes the final decision but usually will approve the arrangement both parents agree upon. If the parents can't agree, the judge will make a decision at a court hearing. The judge will usually not make a decision about custody and visitation until after the parents have met with a mediator.

FACLC helps clients file motions (papers to obtain court hearings) for new or modified custody or visitation orders.

Child Support

Child support is the amount of money the court orders one parent to pay the other parent every month for the support of children. California has a guideline for figuring out how much child support should be paid in all cases.

Child support payments are usually made until children turn 18, or 19 if they are still in high school fulltime, living at home, and can't support themselves. Parents may agree to support a child longer. The court also may order that both parents continue to support a disabled adult child who is not self-supporting.

You may ask the judge to make a child support order when you:

* Get a divorce, legal separation, or annulment
* Establish parentage
* Get a domestic violence restraining order

Either parent can later ask the judge to change the amount if the situation changes.

A client may need an attorney to obtain a child support order in an amount that complies with the state guideline. If parents can't agree on child support, the judge will decide the child support amount based on the guideline calculation, which depends on these and other factors:

* How much money the parents earn or can earn
* How much other income each parent receives
* How many children these parents have together
* How much time each parent spends with the children
* The tax filing status of each parent
* Support of children from other relationships
* Health insurance expenses
* Mandatory union dues
* Mandatory retirement contributions
* Cost of sharing daycare and uninsured health-care costs

Child support can also include the cost of such special needs as traveling for visitation from one parent to another and educational expenses.

Spousal Support

You can ask for spousal or partner support to be paid while your case is underway. This is called a temporary spousal support order or a temporary partner support order. Marin County has a formula for calculating the amount of a temporary spousal or partner support order. FACLC can prepare the motions to help a client ask the court to hear the case.

The judge will not use a formula to determine how much spousal or partner support to order at the end of your case, called the final judgment. When the judge makes the final order, the judge must consider these factors in the California Family Code:

* Length of the marriage or domestic partnership
* What each person needs
* What each person pays or can pay (including earnings and earning capacity)
* If having a job would make it too hard to take care of children
* Age and health of both people
* Debts and property
* If one spouse or domestic partner helped the other get an education, training, career, or professional license
* If there was domestic violence in the marriage or domestic partnership
* If one spouse's, or domestic partner's, career was affected by unemployment, or by taking care of children or a home
* Tax impact of spousal support (federal and state tax laws have not changed to recognize domestic partnerships)

Guardianship

Guardianship is a court proceeding in which a judge gives someone who is not the parent custody of a child, or the power to manage the child's property, or both. FACLC helps clients obtain guardianships of minors. We're often appointed by the court to represent minors in contested guardianship hearings.
Uncontested Stepparent Adoption

FACLC assists clients in terminating the parental rights of an absent or non-contesting parent to allow a client to adopt his or her stepchild. The law also recognizes domestic partners for stepparent adoptions.
Name Change

If you wish to change your name, we can assist you with the legal paperwork necessary to do so.

Emancipation

Emancipation is a legal way for children to become adults before they're 18. FACLC will consult with teens interested in emancipating, and will prepare the paperwork to assist in obtaining emancipation.

Once a child is emancipated, his or her parents don't have custody or control anymore. An emancipated child can do some things without a parent's permission, such as:

* Get medical care
* Apply for a work permit
* Sign up for school or college
* Choose a place to live

An emancipated child gives up the right to parental support, must attend school, can't get married without parental permission, and will be tried in juvenile court for breaking the law.


How to Qualify:

First, you must complete an intake form and have an intake appointment to determine your eligibility for our services. Our family law intake clinics are available Monday afternoons from 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm and Wednesdays from 9:00 am – 11:30 am and 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm at our office in San Rafael. Intakes are provided on a first come first served, walk-in basis only and are $30 for 30 minutes with an attorney.

What we need from you:

We need to know your current employment and income, the number of people in your household, and information about the issues in your case. We'll verify that your income qualifies you for our services, and that FACLC doesn't have a conflict of interest. Then we'll schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys.
You must bring the following to your first appointment:

* Last two months of pay stubs. If you don't have pay stubs, you'll need a letter from your employer confirming your pay, and three months of bank statements.
* Last two years of federal tax returns

Our fees:

Depending on your income, we charge from zero up to $150 per appointment for our services.
Our services

Starting with a private appointment with an attorney who will provide legal advice, FACLC helps clients with all parts of the process in family law matters - completing the paperwork, filing and serving the paperwork, and representation in court.