What a Family Law Facilitator Will Do For You
Family Law Facilitators are attorneys and volunteer judges at family law courts who help families and individuals navigate their matters pro per — that is, without an attorney. Family Law Facilitators in Contra Costa County have offices at the Superior Court and at various courthouses around the county. They hold limited hours, but there are more than one or two in the county to serve those who need their assistance.
Family Law Facilitators may help you on your own case, or they may represent a party on a case heard at the Family Law Facilitator Office. Most often, Family Law Facilitators are volunteer judges who hear requests and objections in domestic relations cases.
For those representing themselves, Family Law Facilitators offer assistance in completing forms, gathering necessary documents, and gathering information. The Family Law Facilitators at the Concord and Martinez courthouses (at 3rd and Escobar Streets) are not available for representation, but may provide you with information to assist you in your case.
Family Law Facilitators do not decide custody or other parenting time matters, however they may assist parties in determining compatibility of schedules that would allow for the best parenting time possible. If, however, the parties cannot come to an agreement with respect to their schedules, a Family Law Facilitator may suggest mediation.
If the parties are not in accord, the Family Law Facilitator will refer the case to a judicial officer for a contested hearing, rather than decide the matter.
Frequently people who seek Family Law Facilitator help want to submit an application for a fee waiver, or ask about the processes involved in such waivers:
Family Law Facilitators working at court locations may assist in completing mandatory applications for fee waivers (Form FW-001) for those who wish to try to have their court and filing fees waived .
States law says that to be eligible for a fee waiver, the applicant must be: (1) Receiving public benefits; (2) Receiving Medi-Cal Benefits; (3) A household of very low income; or (4) A household income less than 200% of the federal poverty rate.
It’s best to call ahead and get an appointment with the Family Law Facilitator, but for those appearing in court on cases already assigned to a particular judge, the Family Law Facilitator will walk that person through the forms.
There are some things Family Law Facilitators can’t do. Family Law Facilitators will not provide legal advice that considers one party’s specific situation. However, they can answer simple legal questions about processes and procedures or clarify legal terms and language.
Family Law Facilitators cannot represent a party in court, provide legal advice, or give any advice to a judge or commissioner.
Family Law Facilitators will not write letters on a person’s behalf.
Fee waivers may not be used for appellate fees, fines or penalties from criminal proceedings, restitution payable to a victim, costs that have already been paid, costs related to the Judicial Council’s collection program, or certain receipts for service of process. Furthermore, if the paperwork is not properly filled out, the courts could reject it, so assistance from a Family Law facilitator prior to filing may be helpful.
A Family Law Facilitator in Contra Costa County will not help with family law matters involving spousal support or domestic partnerships. Family Law facilitators also do not assist litigants with appeals or in modification of orders.
What the Family Law Facilitator Can Do for you
The Contra Costa County Family Law Facilitator assists self-represented (pro per) litigants with family law matters pending in the Superior Court of California. These services include providing information about court procedures, assistance with court forms, and referrals to community resources throughout the county. More specifically, some of the services offered are:
Information about the court process and procedures Individual judicial officer assignments to specific family law cases A wide range of information sheets, forms, and instructions Forms to establish a legal separation or divorce Information about spousal support, child support, and custody and visitation Establishment or modification of child and spousal support, including establishing arrearages Help with the forms to start a judgment by default Child and spousal support calculations Information about wage assignments to enforce payment of support and how they relate to visitation Modification of attorneys fees and expert witness fees Child custody mediation to resolve disputes between parents and visitation and modification of visitation Judgments entered by default or in family law matters Judgments by written agreement referred to as a marital settlement agreement Custody and visitation agreements that are legally binding Marriage settlements that cover the payment of spousal support, child support, and division of property Family law facilitator offices in Richmond and Walnut Creek Assistance with domestic partnerships Discovery Referrals for assistance with mediation and legal advice
Where To Find a Family Law Facilitator
To access the services of a family law facilitator in Contra Costa County, you must have a pending case with the Contra Costa County Superior Court. You may call or visit their office to make an appointment; however, it is recommended that you call ahead to confirm availability.
You can reach Family Court Services – Facilitators by phone at (925) 608-2140 or (925) 608-2144. Their office is located at the Frank N. Ogawa InterGovernmental Center office, which can be found at 1025 Escobar Street, 3rd Floor, Room 350 in Martinez, California.
While you do not need to open a case to speak to a family law facilitator in Contra Costa County, you do need to open a case to receive services. Additionally, you will need to bring all of your documents and any other materials you require on the day of your appointment. This may include:
Should you not be able to keep your appointment, there is no penalty. However, the earlier you make your appointment, the sooner you can progress through the family law system and toward a resolution of your case.
Typical Issues Handled by Family Law Facilitators
The common issues the family law facilitator assists litigants within the conciliation court, is child custody and visitation, child support (including the review of the legislated guideline computation for child support), spousal support (which is often called alimony) (including the review of the legislated guideline computation for spousal support), child and spousal support arrears, wage garnishment calculation review, Division of property issues, Spousal support arrears, and Wage garnishment calculation review. Child custody and visitation is one of the most common matters assisted with by the family law facilitator. A parent seeking shared parenting must demonstrate that they are capable of joint custody. With help from the family law facilitator, a parent may prepare the required Child Custody & Visitation (Parenting) Plan which can document a joint custody, primary physical custody, or supervised visitation plan for their children. A family law facilitator can also help parents seeking to develop a Parenting Plan for any number of children which specifically addresses issues such as which days and how often visitation will take place, whether it will be overnight or just during the day, how many holidays and vacations will be shared, and transportation arrangements between parents. While a Litigation Attorney can provide representation in front of the judge, the family law facilitator provides a neutral third party who can assist separating parents in figuring out the issues relating to custody and visitation. California Family Law has strict requirements when it comes to divorce proceedings. Unlike a regular lawsuit, filing the necessary documents with the court doesn’t suffice when divorcing as an alternative dispute there must be the requirement of resolution of future issues that may arise such as child custody and support , division of property, and payment or receipt of spousal support. Divorce proceedings entail division of property: Family law facilitators can help separating couples determine what marital property and debts are subject to distribution and how to divide them belongs to which party. The Divorce simplification process also involves Child Support. Parenting plans are at the heart of any separation or divorce, and to succeed they are going to need help from the family law facilitator. Income spousal support is handled by the family law facilitator as well. Spousal Support (formerly known as alimony) in California refers to payments made from one spouse to another or payments made from one domestic partner to another. Unless an agreement has been made between spouses the court has the discretion to make an award of spousal support following a marriage. The judge will set the amount of spousal support and the duration of the payments based on several factors: When it comes to arrears and wage garnishment calculation review a family law facilitator can step in and help clarify issues. In some cases, you find that after court hearings child or spousal support isn’t paid by one of the two parties, and the other party may file a motion to collect the owed money. Arrears are payments that were not made on time by one party, and they are willing to help enforce the provisions in a family law order or judgment. With wage garnishment calculations, if you owe support but refuse to pay the required amount, your employer can be legally required to garnish your wages for the specific amount owed. Family law facilitators also assist with paternity actions, prenup agreements, restraining orders, and Division of property issues. Family law facilitates play an integral part in the family law process.
Why it is Intelligent to use the Family Law Facilitator
While not directly in line with the traditional mediation process, a Family Law Facilitator in Contra Costa County plays an important role for some people. A Family Law Facilitator will meet with you and help you figure out what you are trying to do, and whether or not you can do it yourself or if you will need to hire an attorney. Family Law Facilitators are highly trained and often very helpful to people who don’t know where to start.
If you live in Contra Costa County, a Family Law Facilitator can be found at all the Superior Courts in Contra Costa County, and services are free of charge. The Probate Department has a separate Family Law Facilitator, so ask for the right person.
What most people find is that by talking to a Family Law Facilitator they will be able to learn about their basic legal rights in a situation, and that they are not familiar with. If you know what your legal rights are, you can figure out what you want to do and make a decision. For instance, if you are considering getting divorced, very simply, you might find out that you are not legally eligible to get divorced. Or suppose you have a child and the other parent has moved out of town with that child. You want to get that child out of the custody of the other parent without going to court. You may find out that you don’t have a right to stop her from moving.
A Family Law Facilitator can also help you with the court documents you have to file to represent yourself, or to simply advise you on how one or another area of the law works broadly, and how to look up more details.
The Family Law Facilitator is located at each of the Superior Courts in Contra Costa County, and at the Justice Center in San Francisco in Martinez alone. You can find the Family Law Facilitator in Northern as well as Southern Contra Costa County.
Drawbacks to Using a Family Law Facilitator
Family law facilitators do not represent the parties to a case. Their job is to help parties learn about and explore voluntary dispute resolution options. This is different than representation. Family law facilitators do not advise a party what to ask for; they do not advise what is fair; they are not there to tell you whether or not to settle the case. That is a lawyer’s job and is something that family law facilitators cannot do.
A family law facilitator in Contra Costa County cannot prepare pleadings (i.e. – petitions, responses, requests for order, etc.) for either party , they cannot give you legal advice as to how to fill out the forms or what forms you need. They cannot inform you as to what the law is or what is fair under the law. They cannot prepare a written stipulation (agreement) for you and the other party. Family law facilitators cannot represent a party in court. A party cannot rely on a family law facilitator’s assistance with their case and then attempt to have that family law facilitator represent them.
If you find that the family law facilitator cannot help you with a particular issue, then you might need to seek a lawyer’s help. The family law facilitator’s role is limited.