Family and safety

This interview helps you fill out up to 8 forms you need to ask the court for a 209A restraining order. A 209A order is a court order that can protect you from someone who has abused you. The order can make the abuser stay away from you, your home, and your children. The order can also make the abuser pay you money. This interview is free to file and takes most people about 1 and 1/2 hours to complete.

If the plaintiff already has a domestic violence abuse prevention (restraining order), this interview can help ask the court to change or end it.

The change can be to add or remove restrictions. For example: you can use this interview to ask the judge to add protection for your pets if you did not include this in your original petition.

After you file the motion this interview makes, the court will schedule a hearing. It may take 1-2 weeks for the hearing where you can explain why you need the order changed or ended to the judge.

You can use this interview to make an Affidavit Disclosing Care or Custody Proceedings to tell the judge about:

• Any other cases that the child or children are in now
• Any other cases that the child has been in before
• The names of the people, like the child's parents, who are involved in those cases
• The names of attorneys, guardians ad litem, or other people who are involved in those cases

The form that this interview makes may already be included in other interviews on this site.

If you know a minor in Massachusetts who needs temporary or permanent care, the Care Type Finder can help you decide the right type of support with a few easy to answer questions.

Some kinds of support need a judge to make a decision. Others can be given by the parent without a judge.

The Care Type Finder will help you decide between:

• Guardianship
• Temporary agent
• Caregiver authorization

And if you are the parent of the minor, the tool can also help you let the court know that you disagree with someone trying to become the guardian of your child or that you want a new guardian for your child.

Answer a few questions about your family's situation to get suggestions for the correct type of support.

This interview helps a parent or guardian in Massachusetts give temporary permission to someone to make medical and educational decisions for their child. The parent does not lose their rights to make decisions for their child.

You may want to use this interview if you are unable to care for your child for a short period of time, up to 60 days or 2 years, depending on the kind of permission you need to give.

It can make either a caregiver authorization affidavit or the temporary agent affidavit, depending on which kind of permission you want to give.

This form does not need to be filed with the court. It must be signed in front of a notary and two witnesses.

If you are having trouble paying child support, this interview can help you understand your rights and options. It will also help you gather the information you need to ask the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) or the Child Support Enforcement (CSE) office to review your case.

If you are filing an appeal in the Massachusetts Appeals Court, you can use this interview to make a Civil Docketing Statement. This form is required for all appeals.

The Civil Docketing Statement is a form that provides the court with information about your case. The form asks for information about the parties involved, the nature of the case, and the relief you are seeking. The form also asks for information about the attorneys involved in the case.

If the court has created a Child Requiring Assistance (CRA) case against a child, you can use this form to ask the court to dismiss it.

If you need a decision from the judge in an existing case in the Probate and Family court, you can use this interview to make a motion to the judge.

A motion is a request for the judge to make a decision about something important in your case. This interview can help you make a motion about anything in the case. For example, to ask for more time to respond to a court paper, or to dismiss the case, or to ask for a temporary order.

This interview helps you fill out a form (TC0020) to ask the court for permission to get married without waiting the usual 3 days.

Both you and your partner need to sign this form at the same time.

This interview helps a Massachusetts parent or someone else who cares about the wellbeing of a minor attend and have a chance to talk to the judge in a minor guardianship case.

It can help the parent or other person:

• Tell the judge they disagree (object) to the guardianship, or
• Tell the judge they agree (consent) to the guardianship.

If you want to be heard but do not yet know if you agree or disagree, you can use this interview to ask the judge to let you speak at the hearing.

It can also help the parent ask the judge to give them a lawyer for the case.

If you are or if you know a minor who needs a responsible adult to make decisions for them other than their parent or their current guardian, you can use this interview to ask the court to appoint a guardian.

The guardian can make decisions about the minor's health, education, finances, and general welfare in place of the minor's parent.

If your child, or the child of someone you care about, has a guardian and you believe the guardian should be removed or replaced, you can use this interview to ask the court to remove the guardian.

It will help you make a petition to remove a guardian and optionally, let you name a new guardian.

It can also help you make up to 5 other forms that you may need to file with your petition. The other forms include:

• Petition to appoint a temporary guardian
• Request to get a lawyer (for a parent)
• Affidavit disclosing care or custody proceedings
• Military affidavit
• Fee waiver application (also called an affidavit of indigency)

If you are the parent or guardian of a minor (someone younger than 18), you can use this form to legally change the minor's legal name.

You need to tell the judge why you need the name change. But "it is the name that I use" is a good reason.

This interview makes the "Petition for Change of Name of a Minor" form to file with the court. You must also separately make:

• The Court Activity Record Information form
• The Affidavit Disclosing Care or Custody Proceedings form

If you are over 18 and live in Massachusetts, you can use this form to change your name on official documents.

The court will ask for the reason for your name change, but "it is the name that I use" is enough reason.

If your name change is part of affirming your expressed gender identity, you can file a separate request to change your gender markers on official documents. This interview does not help you make the request to change your gender markers.

After you finish the interview you need to sign the petition in front of a notary and file it with the court.

If it is not safe for you to be in your home with your spouse or co-parent, this interview helps you ask the court to order the other side in your family law case to:

• leave your home or
• stay away from your home if they already left