What’s New on WomensLaw.org

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October 2020

We translated into Spanish our Motion for Reconsideration page in our Preparing for Court section.

We translated into Spanish a question in our Washington Custody section called How will a judge decide if I can relocate with my child?

We translated into Spanish our newly added question entitled Can the judge order that I provide health care coverage? in our Massachusetts Child Support section.

We translated into Spanish the two new questions on our Texas Housing Laws page.

We updated the links in our Puerto Rico Download Court Forms page in English and Spanish.

We translated into Spanish our newly created section At the Hearing, within the Preparing for Court - By Yourself page.

Based on changes in the law, we updated the Can a parent who committed violence get custody or visitation? question in our Tennessee Custody section, in English.

We translated into Spanish our New Jersey Extreme Risk Protective Orders page.

September 2020

On our Alabama Places that Help page, we updated 84 resources as follows: 1 Statewide Program, 19 Local Programs, and 64 Courthouse Locations. All updates were made in English and, for the first time, all resources were translated into Spanish!

On our Alabama Places that Help page, we added 18 new resources as follows: 1 Statewide Program, 12 Local Programs, and 5 Courthouse Locations. All additions were made in English and, for the first time, all resources were translated into Spanish!

We translated into Spanish our newly updated questions in our New York Housing Laws section.

We translated into Spanish the recently updated the information on our general Restraining Orders page.

We translated into Spanish our question called Can my pet be included in a military protective order (MPO)? in our section about Domestic Violence in the Military.

We translated into Spanish our new question called What are the legal definitions of domestic, sexual, and gender violence? to our Illinois Workplace Protections page.

We translated into Spanish our recently re-written Florida Download Court Forms page.

We translated into Spanish five additional protections that can be included in a final order to our What protections can I get in an injunction for protection against stalking? question in our Florida Injunctions for Protection Against Stalking/Cyberstalking section.

We translated into Spanish the question What is the definition of “elderly” and “dependent adult” for the purposes of getting this restraining order? in our California Restraining Orders to Prevent Elder or Dependent Adult Abuse section.

We translated into Spanish our question about police officers removing firearms at the scene of a family offense in our New York State Gun Laws section.

We translated into Spanish the recently added program SHALVA to our Illinois Local Programs page.

Based on an Email Hotline inquiry, we added a statute on automatic restraining orders in divorce cases to our Selected Tennessee Statutes page.

We translated into Spanish four updated questions in our New Mexico State Gun Laws section.

We translated into Spanish our Colorado Extreme Risk Protection Orders page.

We translated into Spanish our newly created a question When is a parenting coordinator appointed and what is his/her role? in our North Carolina Custody page, .

We translated into Spanish our newly created a Nevada Workplace Protections section.

We translated into Spanish the questions When can a grandparent or great-grandparent petition for visitation? and What does a grandparent or great-grandparent have to prove to get visitation? in our Arkansas Custody page.

We added a new Virtual Hearings page to our Frequently Asked Questions Involving Courts and COVID-19 section in English and Spanish.

August 2020

We added a new question to our Colorado Custody page in English called What steps do I have to take if I want to relocate? (Spanish coming soon.)

We updated the link to sheriffs on our Alaska Sheriff Departments page and we translated the page into Spanish.

On our Wisconsin Places that Help page, we added 36 new resources as follows: 2 Statewide Programs, 33 Local Programs, and 1 Legal Assistance. All additions were made in English and, for the first time, all resources were translated into Spanish!

On our Wisconsin Places that Help page, we updated 123 resources as follows: 2 Statewide Programs, 54 Local Programs, 15 Legal Assistance, 1 Lawyer Referral Service, and 73 Courthouse Locations. We also updated the link to sheriffs on our Wisconsin Sheriff Departments page. All updates were made in English and, for the first time, all resources were translated into Spanish!

Based on an Email Hotline inquiry, we added a statute on interception of communications to our Selected Ohio Statutes page.

We added the crime of interception of communications to our Ohio Crimes page in English and Spanish.

We added the program SHALVA to our Illinois Local Programs page in English. Spanish translation coming soon!

We added a question called Can my pet be included in a military protective order (MPO)? in our section about Domestic Violence in the Military. The new question is in English, but Spanish is coming soon!

We added 4 new questions in English about nonconsensual image sharing to our Abuse Using Technology page. Spanish coming soon!

We re-organized and revised our West Virginia State Gun Laws section to make it easier to read. In addition to adding a new sub-section called The Abuser is Not Supposed to Have a Gun…Now What?, we also removed the majority of the federal gun laws information so that the section focuses on West Virginia state laws.

We added two statutes to our West Virginia Selected State Statutes section.

We created three new questions on our Indiana Custody page in English:

Spanish coming soon!

We added three statutes related to relocation to our Selected Indiana Statutes page.

We added two divorce-related statutes to our Selected Nevada Statutes page.

We added information to What are the residency requirements for divorce in Nevada? to clarify that a person could file if both parties lived in Nevada and the cause of action for the divorce happened in Nevada. Changes were made in English and Spanish.

We added the crimes of first degree sexual assault, second degree sexual assault, and third degree sexual assault to our Rhode Island Crimes page.

Based on an Email Hotline inquiry, we added three sexual assault crimes to our Selected Rhode Island Statutes page.

We added a Title IX National Organizations page and six new organizations in English. Spanish translation coming soon.

We translated into Spanish all of our restraining orders information for Indiana, including Orders for Protection (due to domestic violence, harassment, stalking, or a sex offense), Workplace Violence Restraining Orders, Moving to Another State with an Indiana Order of Protection and Enforcing an Out-of-State Order in Indiana.

We added eight questions to a Rhode Island Extreme Risk Protective Orders page.

We added seven statutes on extreme risk protection orders to our Selected Rhode Island Statutes page.

Based on changes to the law in that took effect 8/1/20, we added information to Who is eligible for a harassment restraining order? and Can a minor get a harassment restraining order? regarding the fact that a victim’s guardian or conservator can file for an HRO on the victim’s behalf, including for minor victims.

We added five statutes (criminal sexual conduct in the first through fifth degrees) to our Selected Minnesota Statutes page.

We added five crimes (criminal sexual conduct in the first through fifth degrees) to our Minnesota Crimes page. In addition, in our Minnesota Housing Laws page, we hyperlinked to the definitions of those crimes to better explain which crime victims could qualify to terminate their lease early.

We added the crime of financial exploitation of an elderly person, incapacitated person, or incapacitated adult to our West Virginia Crimes page. We also changed the name of “stalking; harassment” to “harassment” based upon a June 2020 change in the law.

July 2020

Based on an Email Hotline inquiry, we added the crime of computer trespass to our Selected New York Statutes page.

We added the crime of computer trespass in English and Spanish to our New York Crimes page.

We updated the three resources on our Arizona Lawyer Referral Service page in English and Spanish.

We added a statute related to financial exploitation of an elderly person, protected person, or incapacitated adult to our Selected West Virginia Statutes page.

In our West Virginia Financial Exploitation Protective Orders section, we added information about filing a petition to freeze assets to What protections can I get through a financial exploitation protective order? and What types of financial exploitation protective orders are there? How long do they last? We added information about the penalties for violating an order issued based on a petition to freeze assets to What happens if the respondent violates the order?

We updated the information on our general Restraining Orders page to further explain violations and the difference between civil and criminal contempt. Changes in English, Spanish coming soon!

We added the crimes of intimidation of witnesses and intimidation of victims to our Wisconsin Crimes page.

We added two statutes to our Selected Wisconsin Statutes page related to intimidation of victims and of witnesses.

Based on an Email Hotline inquiry about filing an affidavit of paternity, we added four statutes to our Selected Washington Statutes page.

In our Kentucky Divorce section, we added a link to information about legal separation in the question Where can I find additional information about divorce laws in Kentucky?

Based on changes in the law, we updated four questions in our New York Housing Laws section. Changes were made in English, Spanish coming soon!

Based on legislative changes that take effect in July 2020, we added information to If my child was conceived from sexual assault, can the offender get custody or visitation? to include the fact that a mother who is under age 18 cannot waive child support or ask for visitation on her own.

We translated into Spanish 14 new crimes to our Arizona Crimes page.

We added five statutes related to sexual crimes to our Selected Illinois Statutes page.

We updated 7 questions in our Illinois Workplace Protections page to include gender violence as an additional protected class based upon a 2020 legislative addition. All changes were made in English and Spanish.

We added a new section to our California Housing page called Protection from Housing Discrimination. It includes 6 new questions about the law that protects victims of abuse from discrimination by a landlord. Spanish translation coming soon!

We translated into Spanish various questions on our Preparing for Court- By Yourself page, including questions under the sections: Court System Basics; Starting the Court Case; and, After a Decision is Issued.

June 2020

On our Alaska Places that Help page, we added 9 new resources as follows: 1 Statewide Program, 4 Local Programs, 3 Legal Assistance, and 1 Courthouse Location. All updates were added in English and, for the first time, translated into Spanish!

On our Alaska Places that Help page, we updated 79 resources as follows: 7 Statewide Programs, 25 Local Programs, 11 Legal Assistance, 1 Lawyer Referral Service, and 35 Courthouse Locations. All updates were made in English and, for the first time, all resources were translated into Spanish!

We added a new question in English to our Illinois Workplace Protections page called What are the legal definitions of domestic, sexual, and gender violence? Spanish soon to come.

We added five new crimes related to sexual violence to the Illinois Crimes page in English and Spanish.

We updated the contact information for 13 programs on our West Virginia Advocates and Shelters page.

We added 42 new programs to our West Virginia Advocates and Shelters page.

We re-wrote our Florida Download Court Forms page and added a link to court forms for injunctions for protection against domestic violence, dating violence, repeat violence, and stalking. Changes made in English; Spanish soon to come.

In our Florida Injunctions for Protection Against Stalking/Cyberstalking section, we added five additional protections that can be included in a final order to What protections can I get in an injunction for protection against stalking? Changes made in English; Spanish soon to come.

In our California Restraining Orders to Prevent Elder or Dependent Adult Abuse section, we linked to the definition of an elderly person and a dependent adult in What is a restraining order to prevent elder or dependent adult abuse? Changes were made in English and Spanish.

We added a new question in English to our California Restraining Orders to Prevent Elder or Dependent Adult Abuse section called What is the definition of “elderly” and “dependent adult” for the purposes of getting this restraining order? Spanish soon to come.

We added the crime of harassment to our Oregon Crimes page in English and Spanish.

We added the crime of violation of custody to the Nebraska Crimes page.

In Nebraska, we added one statute on violation of custody to the Selected Nebraska Statutes page.

We added the crime of interference with custody to the Kansas Crimes page.

In Delaware, we added one statute on stalking to the Selected Delaware Statutes page.

We added the crime of stalking to our Delaware Crimes page.

We added the crime of violation of custody order to our Colorado Crimes page in English and Spanish.

We added the crime of stalking to our Colorado Crimes page in English and Spanish.

We updated one resource in English and Spanish on our Nevada Lawyer Referral Services page.

May 2020

In our Hawaii Custody page, we added information about how disability can be considered when deciding custody to How will a judge make a decision about custody and visitation?

We added a new statute to our Selected Hawaii Statutes page related to disability as a factor in custody decisions.

Based on 2020 statutory changes, we updated 4 questions in our Hawaii State Gun Laws section.

On our North Dakota Places that Help page, we added 7 new resources in the following sections: 5 local programs, 1 legal assistance organization, 1 courthouse location.

On our North Dakota Places that Help page, we updated 80 resources in the following sections: 2 statewide programs, 19 local programs, 6 legal assistance organizations, 1 lawyer referral program, and 52 courthouse locations.

On our Arkansas Download Court Forms page, we updated the link for orders of protection forms and added an additional link for other categories of court forms. Changes were made in English and Spanish.

We translated into Spanish our newly added information on the Texas Suing an Abuser page about a victim of nonconsensual image sharing’s ability to sue an abuser in civil court.

We translated into Spanish our recently added information to our New Jersey Suing an Abuser page about a victim of nonconsensual image sharing’s ability to sue an abuser in civil court.

We translated into Spanish our recently added information to our California Suing an Abuser page about a victim of nonconsensual image sharing’s ability to sue an abuser in civil court.

We translated into Spanish the recently added information about getting temporary emergency jurisdiction to Can I get temporary emergency custody as part of a custody petition? in our New York Parental Kidnapping section.

We added the National Elder Fraud Hotline to our National Organizations - Elder Abuse page in English and Spanish.

Based on changes to the law, we updated the What protections can I get in an order of protection? question in the New York Restraining Orders section. Changes were made in English and Spanish.

Based on a new addition to the law, we added a question about police officers removing firearms at the scene of a family offense to our New York State Gun Laws section, in English. Spanish coming soon!

We added a link to this Sexual Assault Fact Sheet from the Department of Defense to the Where can I find more information about sexual assault? question in the Sexual Assault/Rape section. We also added an additional link to RAINN’s website. The changes were made in English and Spanish.

We updated two resources on our New Mexico Lawyer Referral Services page in English and Spanish.

We added the crimes of intercepting and disclosing wire, electronic, or oral communications and peeping or spying into dwelling or enclosure in English and Spanish to our Virginia Crimes page.

We added two statutes to our Selected Virginia Statutes page on intercepting and disclosing wire, electronic, or oral communications and on spying into a person’s space.

In California, we added one statute on housing protections for victims who call the police to the Selected California Statutes page.

We added a new section to our California Housing page called Protection from Retaliation for Calling Law Enforcement. It includes 5 new questions about the law that protects victims of abuse from eviction for calling the police. Spanish translation coming soon!

In North Carolina, we added one statute on intercepting and disclosing wire, oral, or electronic communications to the Selected North Carolina Statutes page.

We added the crime of interception and disclosure of wire, oral, or electronic communications to the North Carolina Crimes page in English and Spanish.

Based on an Email Hotline inquiry, we added two new statutes to the Selected Nevada Statutes page.

We added two new questions to our Texas Housing Laws page regarding protections for tenants from retaliation by their landlord for calling 911. Changes made in English; Spanish coming soon.

In response to an Email Hotline inquiry, we added five new crimes to our California Crimes page related to impersonation. Changes made in English and Spanish.

April 2020

We updated the contact information for 60 programs on our Tennessee Advocates and Shelters page, 11 programs on our Tennessee Finding a Lawyer page, and 95 courthouses on our Tennessee Courthouse Locations page.

We added 14 new programs to our Tennessee Local Programs page and 4 new programs to our Tennessee Legal Assistance page.

We added the crime of interference with custody to the New Jersey Crimes page in English and Spanish.

In Hawaii, we added one statute on joint custody to the Selected Hawaii Statutes page.

We created a Hawaii Custody section! It includes ten questions regarding parental rights and responsibilities, how a judge makes a decision, and more.

We created a new At the Hearing section within the Preparing for Court - By Yourself section with 16 new questions about representing yourself in court. This section provides information on how to present and object to evidence at a hearing or trial. Changes made in English; Spanish coming soon.

We added the program Women’s Protective Services of Lubbock, Inc. to our Texas Local Programs page in English. Spanish translation coming soon!

In our California Custody page, we revised If there is a final custody order in place, can I move with my children? to clarify that the notification requirements could apply to any move from the home, not just a move out of state. Changes made in English and Spanish.

We translated into Spanish the new updates in our Oregon State Gun Laws section.

We translated into Spanish our New York Extreme Risk Protection Orders page.

We translated into Spanish the updated question What types of sexual abuse protective orders are there? How long do they last? in our Oregon Restraining Orders section.

We translated 20 new crimes into Spanish on our Colorado Crimes page.

In Colorado, we translated into Spanish the updated definition of “unlawful sexual behavior” in What is the legal definition of sexual assault? question.

On our Louisiana Crimes page, we added a link to the Louisiana District Attorneys’ Association, which has information on victims’ rights and services.

We translated into Spanish the information about when attorney’s fees can be awarded to What protections can I get in an injunction for protection against domestic violence? in our Florida Restraining Orders section.

We translated into Spanish the additions to our Reproductive Abuse and Coercion page on our Forms of Abuse section.

We translated into Spanish the undated information on the Arizona Step 3: Service of process regarding service of the petition by law enforcement.

We translated into Spanish our recently updated question What is the legal definition of harassment? to include sexual violence and the 24 crimes associated with it as new grounds to get an Arizona Injunctions Against Harassment.

We translated into Spanish the changes incorporated in What types of protective orders are available? How long do they last? based on a September 2019 addition to Texas law.

We added two statutes to our Selected North Dakota Statutes page.

We updated two questions in our North Dakota Restraining Orders section. We also changed a question in our North Dakota Custody section from a grandparent’s custody rights question to Can a nonparent get custody or visitation? based on changes in the law.

In our Texas Protective Orders for Victims of Sexual Assault, Sexual Abuse, Indecent Assault, Stalking, or Trafficking, we added information to Who can file the petition? Can a minor file? about minors filing for an order. Changes made in English and Spanish.

We translated into Spanish the question What is the definition of indecent assault? in our Texas Protective Orders for Victims of Sexual Assault, Sexual Abuse, Indecent Assault, Stalking, or Trafficking.

We translated into Spanish the added information on our Texas Housing Laws page.

We added 7 new resources to our Wyoming Legal Assistance page

In our Wyoming Places that Help page, we updated 1 resource on the Statewide Programs page, 1 on our Lawyer Referral Services page and 2 on our Legal Assistance page.

We translated into Spanish the following information, in our Texas Custody page:

additional people who can file for conservatorship in Other than a parent, who else can file for managing or possessory conservatorship (custody)?
the right to apply for, renew, and keep a child’s passport in What is sole managing conservatorship (SMC)?
additions rights of a conservator in What is conservatorship (custody)? What types are there?

We added a Motion for Reconsideration page with 3 new questions in our Preparing for Court section in English. Spanish translation coming soon!

Based on an Email Hotline inquiry, we added the crime of extortion to our Tennessee Crimes page.

We added one statute to our Selected Tennessee Statutes page.

We added 11 new resources to our Indiana Legal Assistance page in English and Spanish.

In our Indiana Places that Help section, we updated the following resources in English and Spanish: 3 Statewide Programs, 35 Local Programs, 4 Legal Assistance, 2 Lawyer Referral Services and 90 Courthouse Locations.

Based on a Texas law, we added information to our Suing an Abuser page in English about a victim of nonconsensual image sharing’s ability to sue an abuser in civil court. Spanish translation coming soon!

Based on 2020 additions to California law, we added information to What protections can I get in a restraining order to prevent elder or dependent adult abuse? about an abuser being ordered to undergo counseling or anger management. Changes made in English and Spanish.

We added two new resources, Neighbor to Neighbor and University of Tulsa Legal Clinic, to our Oklahoma Legal Assistance page in English and Spanish.

We updated the contact information for both resources on our Oklahoma Lawyer Referral Services page in English and Spanish.

March 2020

Based on a New Jersey law, we added information to our Suing an Abuser page in English about a victim of nonconsensual image sharing’s ability to sue an abuser in civil court. Spanish translation coming soon!

We added a new question to our California Custody page in English called If I report that my child was sexually abused, can that harm my case if the judge or other professionals don’t think it’s true? Spanish coming soon.

Based on 2020 changes to the law, in our California Custody section, we updated Can a parent who committed violence get custody? and How will a judge make a decision about custody? to include additional victims of abuse who can be considered. In the latter question, as well as in the question called Who can get custody?, we included that one’s immigration status, gender identity, or sex cannot be considered. All changes made in English and Spanish.

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