What’s New on WomensLaw.org

We translated into Spanish the Massachusetts section on Harassment Prevention Orders.

Based on a law that took effect in December 2018, we updated our Maine Protection from Harassment Orders page to add eleven new reasons why a person could qualify for an order. We also added nine related statutes to the Selected Maine Statutes page.  

We added information to our Kentucky Interpersonal Protective Orders page about how a conviction for certain sex offenses automatically triggers the issuance of an order on the victim’s  behalf.  We also added a related statute to our Selected Kentucky Statutes page.

We translated into Spanish our Massachusetts Child Support page.

We translated into Spanish the Michigan Non-Domestic Sexual Assault Personal Protection Orders​ page.

On our Indiana Suing an Abuser page, we added information about Marion County, which has a limit of $8,000 per claim as opposed to $6,000 in other counties. We also added a link to the Indiana Judicial Branch’s video on how to represent yourself in small claims court. Lastly, we added three related statutes to the Selected Indiana Statutes page.

We created a Puerto Rico Gun Laws section in English to explain the gun laws in Puerto Rico relating to domestic violence, orders of protection, and crimes. Spanish coming soon! We also added three related statutes to the Selected Puerto Rico Statutes section, in Spanish.

In our Indiana Orders for Protection due to Domestic Violence page, we re-wrote What protections can I get in an order for protection due to domestic violence? and added information about the protection of pets and transferring shared cell phone numbers to a petitioner based on 2017 additions to the law. (We regret the delay in adding this information.) We also added a related statute to the Selected Indiana Statutes page.

On our Asylum page, we revised the information in the question What is asylum? Who can be eligible for asylum status? to reflect the December 19, 2018 court ruling related to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault who apply for asylum. Changes made in English and Spanish.

On our Massachusetts Divorce page, we added a question called What are the basic steps for filing for divorce? in English and Spanish.

In our Arkansas Crimes page, we added four crimes related to kidnapping and interference with custody and visitation in English and Spanish. We also added one related statute to our Selected Arkansas Statutes page in English.

We added four crimes to our Kansas Crimes page, including ”commercial sexual exploitation of a child” and “human trafficking” and we added the related statutes to our Selected Kansas Statutes page.

We revised the information in What types of orders are there? How long do they last? in our Kansas Protection from Abuse Orders page to clarify that a victim would contact law enforcement to apply for an emergency order when the courts are closed.

Based on a 2018 change to the law regarding “criminal use of weapons” that included more people prohibited from using a firearm, we updated three questions in our Kansas State Gun Laws section. We also updated the related statute in our Selected Kansas Statutes page.

We added links to court forms for non-parental custody to the question Can a non-parent file for custody of a child? in our Washington Custody section. Changes made in English and Spanish. 

We updates two resources on our California Local Programs page in English and Spanish.

We translated into Spanish our Michigan Enforcing Your Out-of-State Order section in the Restraining Order page. 

We translated into Spanish our Massachusetts Moving with an Abuse Prevention Order section in the Restraining Order page. 

We translated into Spanish the Massachusetts Enforcing Your Out-of-State Order section in the Restraining Orders page.

On our Tennessee Crimes page, we added eight new crimes and updated the links to outside resources. We also added eight related statutes to the Selected Tennessee Statutes page.

We revised all of the contact information for the 36 courthouses listed in our Oregon Courthouse Locations page. Spanish coming soon!

In Alabama, we created a new Child Support section. We also revised all of the information on our Custody page, including re-writing the information in What do I have to do to relocate my child? and adding a question called Can the non-relocating parent object to my plan to relocate my child? We also added two related statutes to our Selected Alabama Statutes page. 

We completely re-wrote our Alaska State Gun Laws page, revising all of the current information and adding two new questions. We also added seven related statutes to our Selected Alaska Statutes page.

We translated into Spanish our recently updated Divorce information in Massachusetts.

We translated into Spanish our recently updated Divorce information in Colorado.

Based on an addition to Michigan law, we added information to Will I have to face the abuser in court to get a PPO? about the possibility of appearing in court via video conferencing. in English and Spanish. We also revised the information in English in Does it cost anything to register my protection order? and added the relevant statute to our Selected MI Statutes page. 

We revised the information on our Michigan Non-Domestic Stalking Personal Protection Orders page and added a new question called Can a minor file for an order?  Changes made in English; Spanish coming soon.

We updated the links to outside sources on our Marital / Partner Rape page in English and Spanish.

We translated into Spanish our recently updated information in What protections can I get in a bond for good behavior? in our Georgia Bonds for Good Behavior section.

We translated into Spanish the recently updated Divorce information in New Mexico.

We updated the current links and added a link to new court forms on our Virginia Download Court Forms page in Spanish and English.

We created a Hawaii State Gun Laws section in English to explain the gun laws in Hawaii relating to domestic violence, orders of protection, and crimes. We also added five related statutes to the Selected Hawaii Statutes section. 

We updated the Divorce information in Illinois in English, adding information on residency, grounds and alimony requirements, and added three related statutes to our Selected Illinois Statutes page. Spanish coming soon!

We revamped our Florida Injunctions for Protection Against Repeat Violence, Dating Violence, or Sexual Violence section, increasing the amount of information from two questions to seven. All changes made in English. Spanish soon to come.

We revamped our video blog page. Each series now has a brief description in English and Spanish to help users interact with the videos.

We added the crimes of aggravated assault, aggravated battery, and aggravated stalking to our Florida Crimes page in English. Spanish soon to come.

We updated our Alabama Crimes page and added seven new crimes, including domestic violence by strangulation or suffocation, interference with custody, and more.

Based on a law that became effective in July 2018, we added a new question to our Hawaii Divorce section called Can I leave Hawaii with my child, rack up debt, or sell/transfer assets after a divorce is filed?​ We also added the related statute to our Selected Hawaii Statutes page.

In preparation for adding additional information about housing laws in Georgia, we added the law to our Georgia Selected Statutes page and linked it to the summary of the law that we created in July. 

We completely revised all of the information in our Idaho Protection Orders page.

We updated the links to protection order forms on our Idaho Download Court Forms page and linked to additional forms, such as divorce, custody, paternity, and more.

In our Massachusetts State Gun Laws section, we translated into Spanish the recently-added information about an order of suspension and surrender in two questions related to whether or not an abuser can have a gun when there is a temporary or final abuse prevention order.

In our Idaho Protection Orders page, we added information to What protections can I get in a protection order? about a judge being able to transfer a wireless phone number from an abusive partner to the victim. We also added the related statute to our Selected Idaho Statutes page.

We translated into Spanish the Extreme Risk Protection Orders page in our Massachusetts Restraining Orders section.

We added new information to three questions on our Hawaii Orders for Protection due to Domestic Abuse (Family Court) page about it being illegal to have a firearm or ammunition when an order for protection is in place and what steps law enforcement is supposed to take to get the firearms. We also added the relevant law to our Selected Hawaii Statutes page. 

We updated our New York Download Court Forms page in English and Spanish to add a link to the petition to terminate or sever one’s lease if s/he is a victim of abuse. 

Based on a law that became effective today, we created a new section in our Delaware State Gun Laws page called Order of Relinquishment of Firearms, which allows law enforcement to file for an order to remove firearms from someone who a mental health service provider believes may harm him/herself or others. We also added the five related statutes to our Selected Delaware Statutes page.

In our West Virginia Protective orders (for Domestic Violence) page, we included examples in the question What is the definition of a family or household member? to make it clear that you can file against the relative of your family or household member and not just against your own relative. 

We added the crime of criminal contempt of a domestic violence protective order to our Delaware Crimes page and Selected Delaware Statutes page.

In our Delaware Restraining Orders section, we updated the questions How do I register my out-of-state protection order in Delaware? and Can I get my out-of-state protection order enforced in Delaware? What are the requirements? and to include information about registering and enforcing a Canadian protection order. 

Based on a 2018 change to the law, we updated multiple questions on our Delaware State Gun Laws page to include additional grounds that make it illegal to have a firearm.

In Delaware, we revised the section called Steps to get an order of protection from abuse. We also added information about a judge being able to question a child based on a 2017 change to the law to Step 4: The hearing. (We regret the delay in adding this 2017 information.)

We added an Extreme Risk Protection Orders page in our Massachusetts Restraining Orders section in English - Spanish coming soon!  We also added three related statutes to our Selected Massachusetts Statutes page.

In Arizona, we added information in English and Spanish to the question In which county can I file for an order of protection? to explain that if a child is included as a protected party, the petitioner may be referred to the superior court.

We created a Missouri State Gun Laws section in English to explain the gun laws in Missouri relating to domestic violence, orders of protection, and crimes. We also added six related statutes to the Selected Missouri Statutes section. 

We made new changes to the information and resources for LGBTQIA Victims in English based on feedback from the National LGBTQ Task Force. Thank you to the Task Force for their assistance! Spanish coming soon!

We translated into Spanish the newly added District of Columbia Workplace Protections page.

We updated links to outside sources in Spanish and English on our Florida Crimes page.

We translated into Spanish the information on the Northeast Legal Aid, Inc. in our Massachusetts Legal Assistance page. 

We translated into Spanish the information of the Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation which provides services to victims/survivors of domestic violence in New York City. 

We translated into Spanish the Dove Project which is one of the Local Programs that provides services services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Washington. 

We updated the links to outside sources in Spanish and English on the following New York pages: Crimes, Child Support, and Workplace Protections.

In our South Dakota Divorce section, we added the question “What else do I need to know about getting a divorce based on irreconcilable differences?“ We also added one related statute to the Selected South Dakota Statutes page.

Based on changes to Arizona law, we updated the information in our Divorce section in the question Can I get alimony? in English and Spanish.

We translated into Spanish our recently updated information in multiple questions in our Federal Gun Laws page.

We translated into Spanish our newly updated Massachusetts State Gun Laws section.

Based on a new law passed in 2018, we added information about enforcing a Canadian domestic violence protection order in Wisconsin to five questions in our Enforcing an Out-of-State Order in Wisconsin page.  We also added the related statute to the Selected Wisconsin Statutes page.

In our Wisconsin Restraining Orders section, we added the question “In which county do I file the petition?” to our Domestic Abuse Injunctions page, Child Abuse Restraining Orders page, and Harassment Restraining Orders page.  We also added the related statute to the Selected Wisconsin Statutes page.

We translated into Spanish the changes we made and the information we added to our California Workplace Protections page.

We translated into Spanish our newly added New Mexico Workplace Protections page.

To make the information easier to find, we moved the child support information from the Wisconsin Custody section to a newly-created Child Support section. We also revised the information in that section and updated the links to outside sources.

In our Louisiana Protective Orders (for Domestic Abuse) page, we added information about relief that a victim can get in the question How can a protective order help me?