 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Law center provides guide to family law
By CARY DAVIS © St. Petersburg Times, published May 5, 2001 NEW PORT RICHEY -- Going through a divorce or a child support case without an attorney can be an intimidating process. Without a lawyer, the task of finding the necessary forms, filling them out and knowing how and when to set hearings before a judge can add more frustration to an already emotional and stressful time. In the past, Pasco residents involved in a family law case who couldn't afford an attorney -- or chose not to hire one -- had no central place to go for information. Some tried to find what they needed at the law library. Others went to the courthouse, hoping to get help from clerks who, by law, are not allowed to give legal advice. On Friday, help arrived at the West Pasco Judicial Center with the opening of a legal resource center designed to make it easier for people to represent themselves in family law matters. Located in the building's covered courtyard, the resource center resembles a small library, with reference notebooks for every kind of family law case: divorce, child support, adoption, parental custody. There is even a guide to go about changing your name. Inside each notebook is a form, which can be carried to the clerk's office on the second floor and exchanged for a packet containing all the necessary forms and instructions for handling a family law case without an attorney. "Hopefully, this will make things a lot smoother for everyone," said Pasco Circuit Judge Lowell Bray. There is no charge for the packets, which have been approved by the Florida Supreme Court. A similar resource center is expected to open at the courthouse in Dade City in about 18 months, once major renovations there are completed. The state's high court directed circuits throughout Florida to provide places where people could go and get all the forms and written instructions they need to represent themselves. The west Pasco resource center, which will be open weekdays during regular courthouse hours, will not be staffed. "We're just providing people a way to come in and get what they need in one place," said County Judge William Sestak. "This will get people off on the right track."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From today's Pasco Times |
