Family Law Facilitator's Office / Self Help

The Family Law Facilitator’s Office/Self-Help Center is operated under the supervision of an attorney. The attorney and her staff provide limited assistance to all self-represented parties regardless of income. Service is offered on a first-come, first-served basis during office hours, through telephone hotline, and through email. Due to limited resources, the lines can be quite long.

The Family Law Facilitator’s Office/Self-Help Center cannot give you legal advice, which means that the attorney and her staff cannot tell you what you should do in your particular case. To obtain legal advice, you must hire your own attorney. The Family Law Facilitator’s Office/Self Help Center can provide general information about the laws, rules, procedures and forms necessary to work your way through your court case. The office also provides referrals to other service organizations that may assist you.

The Family Law Facilitator’s Office/Self Help Center cannot represent you and the information you discuss is not confidential. No attorney-client relationship is created between you and the program attorney. The program provides services to both parties and may also assist a third party who has joined in the case. The Family Law Facilitator’s Office/Self Help Center cannot speak for you in court and is not responsible for the outcome of your case.

Child and Spousal Support  

• Provide and help with the paperwork to establish, modify or terminate child and spousal support orders and/or health insurance orders 
• Provide information and prepare draft calculations of child support and temporary spousal support based on statutory guidelines 
• Assist with paperwork to determine arrears for child support, spousal support, medical support, unreimbursed child care expenses, and unreimbursed medical expenses 
• Obtain, modify or terminate wage assignment orders and income withholding orders 

Parentage  

• Explain the process of establishing paternity, and provide the necessary paperwork to establish or disestablish paternity, including Petitions to Establish Parental Relationship and assistance with preparation of judgments 
• Look up and assist in obtaining Voluntary Declarations of Paternity  

The Shasta County Self Help Center provides services beyond those of the Family Law Facilitator. We currently assist in the following areas: 

Dissolution, Legal Separation or Nullity of Marriage 

• Provide forms and assistance in initiating the proceeding, preparation of disclosure documents, and finalization of proceeding  

Parentage Proceedings 

• Provide forms and assistance with Petitions for Custody and Support and forms and assistance with preparation of judgments 

Requests for Orders 

• Assist with preparation of and responses to Requests for Orders for issues beyond child support, including custody and visitation, temporary emergency orders, spousal support, orders for property control, payment of debts, change of venue, waiver of disclosure requirements, etc. 

Restraining Orders  

• Assistance with initiating and responding to domestic violence restraining orders, civil harassment, elder abuse and workplace violence, proofs of service, requests for continuances and orders after hearing 
• Provide referrals to community agencies 

Grandparent Visitation 

• Provide assistance and forms for Petition for Joinder and Request for Order or Petition for Visitation 

Probate Guardianship of the Person 

• Assist with preparation of Petitions for Guardianship of the Person 
• Provide forms and assistance with additional guardianship issues 

Name Change 

• Provide assistance and forms for Name Change  

Emancipation 

• Provide assistance and forms for Emancipation of Minor 

Small Claims 

• Provide information, assistance with, and forms for Small Claims matters 

At this time, we do NOT provide assistance with the following matters; however, we can provide outside resources: 

• General Civil Cases  
• Criminal Cases 
• Juvenile Matters/ Child and Family Services  
• Guardianships of the Estate 
• Conservatorships 
• Appeals 
• Discovery (Interrogatories, Demand for Production of Documents, Motion to Compel, etc.) 
• Subpoenas 
• Qualified Domestic Relation Order (QDRO) 
• Contempt Proceedings (Orders to Show Cause) 
• Adoptions 
• Probate/Estate Planning 
• Writs/Collections/Enforcement of Judgments 
• Bankruptcy 
• Immigration 
• International Service of Process 
• Motions requiring research or points and authorities 
• Unlawful Detainer/Eviction

Shasta County Superior Court’s Family Law Facilitator’s Office/Self Help Center can assist you in our offices, over the telephone and via e-mail.

• Assistance during office hours is available on a first-come, first serve basis.
• Appointments may be available as determined by the Family Law Facilitator.
• We additionally assist via telephone at 530-245-6900 and email at selfhelp@shasta.courts.ca.gov.
• Children are not allowed in the Self-Help Center as it is not an appropriate place for children. Please make childcare arrangements prior to coming in person. Alternatively, we can assist by phone, email, or Zoom.

The Family Law Facilitator’s Office/Self Help Center does not have interpreters on staff. It is best if you bring someone with you whom you trust to accurately translate questions and responses from your native language to English and vice versa. Do not use a child to interpret for you.

If you have access to a computer and internet services, there are a wide variety of resources available to you that will help you understand the issues in your court case. Many of the links below will also help you complete the necessary forms, explain where you need to go to file those papers and explain what fees you might have to pay and how to ask for a court order waiving (not collecting) those fees. Following are a few of the web sites that provide assistance and information that may help you represent yourself and better understand the legal and procedural issues in your case.

Families Change

When parents separate it has a big effect on the children. Parents need to make decisions that are in the best interests of the children. The innovative website Families Change provides Guides for Separation and Divorce that can help children and parents during this challenging time. The site also contains an interactive game called Changeville that can help children learn about what to expect and how to deal with all the feelings they may have regarding their parents’ separation and divorce. There is also an online course for parents, Parenting After Separation that helps parents make informed decisions about their separation and divorce, putting the children’s needs first.

Shasta County Department of Child Support Services

To learn about child support and the services available to you in Shasta County, visit the Shasta County Department of Child Support Services web site.

You can also open a child support case online for no charge by using Shasta County Department of Child Support Service’s Turbo Court service to prepare your forms. By using Turbo Court, you can submit completed forms electronically to the Shasta County Department of Child Support Services. This is much easier than filling out a paper application.

California Department of Child Support Services Paternity Opportunity Program (POP)

This site provides information about Declarations of Paternity and how to amend a child’s birth certificate to add the father’s name through the California Department of Public Health once paternity is established by a Declaration of Paternity.

The California Department of Public Health provides other services related to birth, death and marriage certificates.

Online Guideline Child-Support Calculator

This site is helpful if you want to estimate the amount of child support that might be ordered in your case or if you want to learn more about the factors considered in calculating guideline child support.

Online Application for Child Support Services

Apply online for child support services.

Judicial Council of California

Fill out your court forms and get valuable on line Self-Help information on a wide range of legal topics at the Judicial Council website.

Shasta County Superior Court Family Law

This web page contains valuable information and definitions regarding Family Law cases. The court’s Forms and Filing page lists the contents of the court’s “form packets.” These form packets can be purchased from the court and filled out by hand or the lists can be used as a guide for filling out forms on line using the Judicial Council forms website.

One Safe Place

This site is helpful with domestic-violence issues, including preparation of Domestic Violence Restraining Orders. One Safe Place also provides Education and Outreach services, including Purposeful Parenting Resources.

Shasta County District Attorney’s Office Child Abduction Unit

Child abduction can be committed both by parents and by non-parents. If you are a parent and you have a valid, enforceable child custody order and the other parent is keeping, concealing or withholding the child from you, the District Attorney may assign an investigator to investigate your case.

All complaints regarding the Family Law Facilitator/Self-Help Center shall be in writing and may be submitted to the Family Law Facilitator/Self-Help Center for submission to the Court Executive Officer of the Superior Court of Shasta County, or submitted directly to the Court Executive Officer in the Administration Division. A complaint form may be utilized for this purpose or the details of the complaint may be contained in a letter format. Complaints may be hand delivered or mailed.

Complaints shall be duly investigated by the Shasta County Superior Court Administrative Office. A written response to the complainant may be provided by the Court Executive Officer, or his or her designee.