What’s New on WomensLaw.org

We updated the information for 74 resources on our Colorado Courthouse Locations page in English and Spanish.

We translated into Spanish recent revisions made in English to our Rhode Island Suing an Abuser for Money page.

We added four statutes to our Selected Nevada Statutes page related to local court rules for mediation.

We added a statute related to domestic violence court proceedings to our Selected West Virginia Statutes page.

We added a statute related to court proceedings to our Selected Pennsylvania Statutes page.

We added the crime of “terroristic threatening in the first degree” to our Hawaii Crimes page. We also added this crime and the related legal definition of “terroristic threatening” to the Selected Hawaii Statutes page.

To prepare our Iowa Restraining Orders section for translation into Spanish, we revised 51 questions for clarity and accuracy. This included separating the questions How much does it cost? and Do I need a lawyer? to make is easier for survivors to find the information they’re looking for.

We also created the following new questions in our Elder Abuse Protective Orders section to expand and clarify the information for survivors:

• What is the legal definition of elder abuse?
• Who can file for an elder abuse protective order?
• Where can I file for an elder abuse protective order?
• What types of elder abuse protective orders are available? How long do they last?

We added the crime “violation of protective order” to our Maine Crimes page in English and Spanish, and added this crime to our Selected Maine Statutes page.

In our Alaska Restraining Orders section we did the following:

• Revised the question What is the legal definition of domestic violence? based on 2024 legislative changes that went into effect January 1, 2025. These changes expand the crimes that qualify as domestic violence for getting a protective order, to add unlawful contact and interfering with the report of a crime involving domestic violence.
• Revised two questions to improve readability:
  
  • What is sexual assault?
  • What is stalking?

We added the crimes of “unlawful contact” in the first and second degree to our Alaska Crimes page as well as our Selected Alaska Statutes page.

We translated into Spanish three newly added questions in our Ohio Custody section:

• What words and phrases might the judge use in an Ohio custody case?
• Can I get temporary custody with a domestic violence protection order? How long will it last?
• Can the judge order supervised visits for the abuser as part of my domestic violence protection order?

We also translated into Spanish five new questions in our Divorce section:

• What is a legal separation?
• If my spouse and I get divorced, how will our property be divided?
• What is marital property?
• What is separate property?
• How will the judge decide what is a fair division of marital property?

In our Tennessee State Gun Laws section, we translated into Spanish the new questions What is the definition of a “crime of violence”? and How does Tennessee define “firearm” and “handgun”?, as well as revisions to the following four questions:

• I am a victim of domestic violence and the abuser has a gun. Is that legal?
• If the abuser was convicted of a crime, can s/he have or buy a gun?
• I do not have a protection order against the abuser, and s/he has not been convicted of a crime. Is there anything I can do?
• What is the penalty for violating state firearm laws?

In our Tennessee Restraining Orders section, we translated into Spanish recent revisions to the questions What is the legal definition of stalking? and Who can file for an elderly or vulnerable adult protection order?

We translated into Spanish our entire North Carolina Workplace No-Contact Orders section.

We added two crimes related to aggravated abuse and seduction of minors to our Puerto Rico Crimes page. We also added four new statutes to our Selected Puerto Rico Statutes page.

We added 10 statutes related to gun laws, felony penalties, custody, and service of process to our Selected Ohio Statutes page.

Based on 2024 legislative changes, we did the following in our Puerto Rico Restraining Orders section:

• Revised the following questions to reflect that domestic violence-related laws now specifically reference digital and cyber abuse; ask that an out of state defendant with a protection order against them notifies the police within two (2) hours of arriving in the Island; and direct judges to explain why they did or did not grant a protection order as part of their decision.
  
  • Three questions in our Protection Orders for Domestic Violence section:
    • What is the legal definition of domestic violence in Puerto Rico?
    • What protections can I get in a protection order?
    • I was not granted a protection order. What are my options?
  • Two questions in our Protection from Stalking Orders section:
    • What is the legal definition of stalking?
    • What protections can I get in a protection from stalking order?
• Created the new question “I was not granted a protection order. What are my options?” in our Orders of Protection for the Welfare and Protection of Children and Protection from Stalking Orders sections, to include information for survivors who are not able to get a restraining order but may have an option through a different legal process available on the Island.

All changes made in English; Spanish coming soon!

We translated into Spanish our new Michigan Extreme Risk Protective Orders section.

On our Washington Extreme Risk Protection Orders page, we translated into Spanish the new question Can the respondent terminate the order? as well as revisions made to eight other questions.

We added the following three new questions to the Ohio Custody page to define common words and phrases used in Ohio custody cases and to explain when a judge can give temporary custody and supervised visits as part of a domestic violence protection order:

• What words and phrases might the judge use in an Ohio custody case?
• Can I get temporary custody with a domestic violence protection order? How long will it last?
• Can the judge order supervised visits for the abuser as part of my domestic violence protection order?

We expanded our Ohio Divorce section adding the following five new questions to explain what a legal separation is (and how it’s similar to and different from a divorce) and how property gets divided under Ohio’s equitable distribution law:

• What is a legal separation?
• If my spouse and I get divorced, how will our property be divided?
• What is marital property?
• What is separate property?
• How will the judge decide what is a fair division of marital property?

We also added three related statutes to our Selected Ohio Statutes page. Questions added in English; Spanish coming soon!

We created a new Northern Mariana Islands Restraining Orders page including 32 new questions about orders of protection in the CNMI.

We also added eight related statutes to our Selected Northern Mariana Island Statutes page.

We translated into Spanish the recently added question How will the amount of child support be decided if the other parent’s income cannot be proven? on our New York Child Support page.

We translated into Spanish five new questions as well as revisions made to nine questions in our Washington Vulnerable Adult Protection Orders section.

We translated into Spanish the recently added crimes on our Nevada Crimes page.

We did the following on our North Carolina Workplace Protections page:

• Revised Can an employer take action against me based on the fact that I am a victim of domestic violence who took time off to file for a protective order? to clarify that the law extends beyond protection from being fired. It also protects against demotion, discipline, and being denied a promotion due to being a victim.
• Revised If my employer did discriminate against me because I got a protective order, what can I do? to streamline the information, making it easier to understand.

We also added one related statute to our Selected North Carolina statutes page. Changes made in English; Spanish coming soon!

On our Alaska Crimes page, we:

• Revised the following questions which were previously located in the Victim Compensation section on our website:
  
  • What are the requirements to be eligible for victim compensation?
  • What is emergency compensation?
  • How much compensation can I receive? What expenses are covered?
  • Where can I find additional information and resources about victim compensation?
• Created the new question Will a hearing be held to determine how much compensation is awarded?

We also added six statutes related to crime victim compensation, sex trafficking, and sexual exploitation to our Selected Alaska Statutes page.

On our Tennessee State Gun Laws page, we:

• Created the new questions What is the definition of a “crime of violence”? and How does Tennessee define “firearm” and “handgun”?
• Revised the following questions based on 2024 legislative changes that revised the categories of who cannot have firearms:

• I am a victim of domestic violence and the abuser has a gun. Is that legal?
• If the abuser was convicted of a crime, can s/he have or buy a gun?
• I do not have a protection order against the abuser, and s/he has not been convicted of a crime, is there anything I can do?
• What is the penalty for violating state firearm laws?

Changes made in English; Spanish coming soon!

We also added 14 statutes related to gun laws, robbery, and cruelty to animals to our Selected Tennessee Statutes page.

We revised our Kansas Suing an Abuser for Money page in English and Spanish to update the small claims court limit from $4,000 to $10,000.

Based on 2024 legislative changes, we revised four questions in our North Carolina Custody section to explain that when filing for custody or visitation, the petitioner must now disclose convictions for various sexually violent crimes in their application. Changes made in English; Spanish coming soon!

• Who can get custody of a child?
• Can a parent who committed violence get custody or visitation?
• My child was conceived from rape. Can the offender get custody or visitation?
• Can a grandparent get visitation rights?

We created a new North Carolina Workplace No-Contact Orders section, including eight new questions. We also added 12 related statutes to our Selected North Carolina statutes page. Questions added in English; Spanish coming soon!

We translated into Spanish recent revisions to the question Who can file for an extreme risk protection order? in our Massachusetts Extreme Risk Protection Orders section.

We translated into Spanish recent revisions to the question Who is eligible for a stalking no contact order? in our Illinois Stalking No Contact Orders section.

We translated into Spanish recent revisions made to our Massachusetts Download Court Forms page, and to the question What is the legal definition of abuse in Massachusetts? in our Massachusetts Abuse Prevention Orders section.

We translated into Spanish the question How is paternity established in South Carolina? on our South Carolina Custody page, and the 10 new questions on our South Carolina Child Support page.

We translated into Spanish the 11 newly created questions on our Utah Custody page.

We translated into Spanish recent edits to the question What are the legal definitions of domestic abuse, sexual assault, abuse of a child, and abuse of a vulnerable adult in Maryland? on our Maryland Restraining Orders page.

We translated into Spanish recent revisions made in our Arizona Suing an Abuser for Money section.

To prepare our Iowa Divorce page for translation into Spanish, we revised all five questions for clarity and accuracy.

To prepare our Iowa Crimes page for translation into Spanish, we revised If I am the victim of a crime, where can I get additional help in Iowa? for clarity and accuracy.

We revised our Iowa Suing an Abuser for Money page for clarity and accuracy in order to prepare it for translation into Spanish.

We created a new Michigan Extreme Risk Protective Orders section with 10 new questions. We also added 10 related statutes to our Selected Michigan Statutes page. Questions added in English; Spanish coming soon!

We created the new question “If I am a minor, will the judge appoint an attorney for me?” in our Kentucky Protective Orders/Domestic Violence Orders section and our Interpersonal Protective Orders section.

We created three new questions related to military deployment and custody on our Kentucky Custody page:

• Will deploying affect my ability to get custody of my child?
• Can a temporary custody agreement made due to deployment be changed?
• What happens if I am deploying soon and I am the only person responsible for my child?

We also added six related statutes to our Selected Kentucky Statutes page.

We added four crimes related to sexual exploitation of minors and peeping to our North Carolina Crimes page and four related statutes to our Selected North Carolina Statutes page.

We restructured our West Virginia Crimes page by creating a chart that lists the crime names on one side and the statute numbers on the other side. Now, users can sort crimes alphabetically, making it easier to find crimes by name, or they can sort them according to how they appear in the statutes. We also added 17 crimes to the list of possible crimes in West Virginia that the abuser may have committed.

We restructured our Washington Crimes page by creating a chart that lists the crime names on one side and the statute numbers on the other side. Now, users can sort crimes alphabetically, making it easier to find crimes by name, or they can sort them according to how they appear in the statutes. We also added the crimes of “coercion,” “luring,” “trafficking,” and “criminal trespass in the second degree.” All changes made in English and Spanish.

We restructured our Virginia Crimes page by creating a chart that lists the crime names on one side and the statute numbers on the other side. Now, users can sort crimes alphabetically, making it easier to find crimes by name, or they can sort them according to how they appear in the statutes. We also added the crime of “abuse and neglect of incapacitated adults.” All changes made in English and Spanish.

We restructured our Utah Crimes page by creating a chart that lists the crime names on one side and the statute numbers on the other side. Now, users can sort crimes alphabetically, making it easier to find crimes by name, or they can sort them according to how they appear in the statutes. We also added seven crimes to the list of possible crimes in Utah that the abuser may have committed. All changes made in English and Spanish.

We restructured our Oklahoma Crimes page by creating a chart that lists the crime names on one side and the statute numbers on the other side. Now, users can sort crimes alphabetically, making it easier to find crimes by name, or they can sort them according to how they appear in the statutes. We also added the crime “domestic abuse with a prior pattern of physical abuse.” All changes made in English and Spanish.

We restructured our Tennessee Crimes page by creating a chart that lists the crime names on one side and the statute numbers on the other side. Now, users can sort crimes alphabetically, making it easier to find crimes by name, or they can sort them according to how they appear in the statutes. We also added four crimes related to sexual offenses.

We restructured our Ohio Crimes page by creating a chart that lists the crime names on one side and the statute numbers on the other side. Now, users can sort crimes alphabetically, making it easier to find crimes by name, or they can sort them according to how they appear in the statutes. We also added the crimes of “resisting arrest” and “pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor.”

We added 12 crimes related to sexual offenses and criminal mischief to our Iowa Crimes page. We also added 16 related statutes to our Selected Iowa Statutes page.

We translated into Spanish recent revisions to the types of court forms linked on our New Jersey Download Court Forms page.

We translated into Spanish the recently updated resources on our Kansas Local Programs page.

We translated into Spanish recent revisions to What types of alimony are there? on our Florida Divorce page.

We translated into Spanish the following in our Minnesota legal information:

• one newly created question and revisions to two questions on our Custody page;
• revisions on our Suing an Abuser for Money page;
• two newly created questions and revisions to three questions on our Divorce page; and
• revisions to seven questions on our Restraining Orders page.

We added the crimes of “sexual extortion” and “aggravated sexual extortion” to our Mississippi Crimes page. We also added three related statutes to our Selected Mississippi Statutes page.

We restructured our Pennsylania Crimes page by creating a chart that lists the crime names on one side and the statute numbers on the other side. Now, users can sort crimes alphabetically, making it easier to find crimes by name, or they can sort them according to how they appear in the statutes. We also added the crimes of “aggravated assault,” “aggravated indecent assault,” “invasion of privacy,” and “involuntary deviate sexual intercourse.”

On our New Hampshire Custody page, we did the following:

• Created a new subsection called Mediation in custody and visitation cases including four new questions about the mediation process:
  
  • What is mediation?
  • What happens in mediation?
  • Who gets sent to mediation?
  • If I am a domestic violence victim, do I have to do mediation?
• Created a new subsection called The effect of military deployment on custody and visitation including five new questions about the ways custody is affected when one parent is deployed due to military duty:
  
  • If I don’t have a custody order, can I get one before a parent deploys?
  • Can a parent change a custody order due to military duty?
  • Can a parent who is deployed give his/her visitation rights to a family member?
  • What happens if a parent can’t attend a hearing due to military duty?
  • What happens to my temporary custody order when the deployed parent returns?

We also added 5 statutes related to custody to our Selected New Hampshire Statutes page.

On our Pennsylvania Custody page, we revised the following questions based on 2024 legislative changes clarifying the factors to be considered in a custody case:

• Can a parent who committed violence get custody or visitation?
• I am the child’s grandparent or great-grandparent. Can I get custody or visitation?
• How will a judge make a decision about custody?

And we revised the following questions for clarity:

• I have a custody order. Can I move with my child?
• If a parent with custody rights has moved away due to military duty, can s/he give those rights to his/her family members?

On our New Jersey Extreme Risk Protection Orders page, we updated the link to the New Jersey Courts’ Petition for Termination of Final Extreme Risk Protective Order in the question What types of orders are there? How long do they last?

We updated the link to small claims court forms on our Alaska Suing an Abuser for Money and Download Court Forms pages.

We restructured our Missouri Crimes page by creating a chart that lists the crime names on one side and the statute numbers on the other side. Now, users can sort crimes alphabetically, making it easier to find crimes by name, or they can sort them according to how they appear in the statutes. We also added the crimes of “sex with an animal,” “sexual trafficking of a child in the first degree,” and “genital mutilation of a female child.” Changes made in English and Spanish.

On our South Carolina Custody page, we updated links in the question Where can I find more information on custody in South Carolina? to the South Carolina Judicial Branch’s frequently asked questions section, available in both English and Spanish.

Based on 2024 legislative amendments, we created a new question in our New York Child Support section called How will the amount of child support be decided if the other parent’s income cannot be proven? to explain the factors the court will consider when imputing income to a parent. Spanish coming soon.

We restructured our Montana Crimes page by creating a chart that lists the crime names on one side and the statute numbers on the other side. Now, users can sort crimes alphabetically, making it easier to find crimes by name, or they can sort them according to how they appear in the statutes. We also added six crimes related to criminal endangerment, assault, unlawful possession of a firearm, and carrying concealed weapons.

We translated into Spanish recent revisions to the following questions on our Colorado Custody page:

• Can a parent who committed abuse against me or my child get parental responsibilities?
• If an allocation of parental responsibilities order is already in place, how can I get it changed?
• What can I do if the other parent violates the order?

We translated into Spanish the question If I get temporary emergency custody in a state where I have just arrived, how long will the custody order last? on our general Parental Kidnapping page.

We created a new Guam Stalking Protection Orders section that includes 18 new questions. We also added 8 related statutes to our Selected Guam Statutes page.

In our Massachusetts Extreme Risk Protection Orders section, we revised Who can file for an extreme risk protection order? to include the following additional people who can file:

• a healthcare provider who provided health care services to the respondent within the past six months; and
• a principal, assistant principal, or administrator of a school of college where the respondent is enrolled.

We also clarified that a law enforcement officer who files must have interacted with the respondent in an official capacity within the past 30 days. These edits are in line with the court petition that was revised in October 2024. Changes made in English; Spanish coming soon!

We added the following new crimes to our Florida Crimes page in English (Spanish coming soon) and to our Selected Florida Statutes page:

• 836.04. Defamation
• 836.05. Threats; extortion
• 836.115. Cyberintimidation by publication
• 836.13. Promotion of an altered sexual depiction; prohibited acts; penalties; applicability
• 836.14. Theft or unauthorized promotion of a sexually explicit image.

We restructured our Minnesota Crimes page by creating a chart that lists the crime names on one side and the statute numbers on the other side. Now, users can sort crimes alphabetically, making it easier to find crimes by name, or they can sort them according to how they appear in the statutes. We also added the crimes “riot,” “spring guns,” and “crime committed for benefit of gang.” All changes made in English and Spanish.

We restructured our Michigan Crimes page by creating a chart that lists the crime names on one side and the statute numbers on the other side. Now, users can sort crimes alphabetically, making it easier to find crimes by name, or they can sort them according to how they appear in the statutes. We also added the crime of “furnishing obscene books to minors.” All changes made in English and Spanish.

We updated the link to the Crime Victims Reimbursement Program on our Minnesota Crimes page.

In our Delaware Restraining Orders section, we revised Do I need to tell the court in Delaware if I move? to add additional information. 

In our Delaware Restraining Orders section, we created a question called My petition for an order was denied. Can I appeal? We also revised What can I do if the abuser violates the order? for clarity and accuracy. Lastly, we added a statute related to appealing a commissioner’s decision to our Selected Delaware Statutes page.