News Archive

Today we celebrate our second birthday. It is an important milestone! It is also a good time to reflect on how far we have come, so here are a few fun facts about Michigan Legal Help at two years:

• We have published 100 articles on Michigan Legal Help about many different legal topics. These articles appear in 41 different toolkits in the areas of Family Law, Consumer Law, Protection from Abuse, Housing Law, Expungement, Public Benefits, Individual Rights, and Income Tax.
• Michigan Legal Help visitors complete an average of 125 interviews per day, getting the forms they need to file in court.
• This year, we created and launched Ayuda Legal de Michigan, a Spanish language version of Michigan Legal help. While not everything on Michigan Legal Help is available in Spanish yet, we are working hard to translate more tools every week.
• We have six videos to watch and learn about your legal rights. 
• We have helped more than 2,800 people through the Live Help chat feature on Michigan Legal Help.

We'd also like to share with you some of the feedback that we've gotten over the last few months:

• "This made my life so much simpler. I have been agonizing over starting the process because it seemed so daunting. This seemed to simplify everything for me and help me be confident that I am not walking into the courthouse unprepared. Thank you so much. I will definitely recommending this service to others."

• "Thank you so much for providing great information on this site. I have searched all over for forms to file custody and this site was just what I was looking for."

• "You provide a well needed service, and it is appreciated. Very user friendly, and very professional. Thank you."

•  "I think this legal help program is excellent for people like myself that cannot afford an attorney. Plus it's an excellent program for people that just need to know their rights. I love this site and I have recommended to others in my area. So Thank you very much for the much needed help."

• "This was extremely helpful and helped to relieve some of the stress i was feeling related to trying to handle my divorce without an attorney."

We'd like to thank everyone who has worked with us to make this site possible, and thank you to everyone who has visited it and used it. Feedback like the quotes above are why we work so hard on Michigan Legal Help - knowing that we have helped people makes all the difference. Here's to many more years of the same!

We successfully made it through a very long winter, and hope for more sunny days ahead. We've been busy here at Michigan Legal Help! Here's a list of new Toolkits we have available:

• I Need to Extend My Personal Protection Order
• I Need to Change of End My Personal Protection Order
• I Need an Interpreter - this toolkit is for Limited English Proficient people who need an Interpreter to fully participate in court
• I'm Being Evicted for Health Hazard/Injury to the Premises

Here are the new interviews we have:

• Automated Online Motion to Modify, Terminate or Extend Personal Protection Order
• Automated Online Request for Interpreter
• Automated Online Response to Motion Regarding Support

And the new videos we have:

• How to Serve Divorce or Custody Papers
• How to Apply for a Personal Protection Order

We also just changed the Divorce interview becuase of changes to the law from the Revocation of Paternity Act. Visitors with non-marital children they need to exclude through a divorce will no longer be able to use the Divorce interview to this. We hope to have new forms and an interview to help with this problem by the end of the summer.

Finally, we want to remind everyone that LiveHelp is available from 11am until 3pm. LiveHelp is a chat-based feature where website visitors can get assistance navigating the website and answers to their legal information questions. (They cannot get legal advice.)

Marquette County residents who are unable to afford an attorney have a new place to go for assistance – the Michigan Legal Help Self-Help Center of Marquette County.  Located in the Peter White Public Library at 217 N. Front Street, the Self-Help Center assists visitors in using the Michigan Legal Help website to gain information about how to represent themselves in simple civil legal matters.  An open house will be held on November 1st from noon to 1:00pm on the second floor of the library.

This self-help center is part of the Michigan Legal Help Program, which consists of a statewide legal self-help website (MichiganLegalHelp.org), affiliated local self-help centers and partnerships with courts, bar associations, libraries, legal aid and others to educate those who assist self-represented persons. 

“We are pleased to welcome the Michigan Legal Help Self-Help Center to Marquette County,” said Hon. Jennifer Mazzuchi, Circuit Court Judge for the 25th Circuit Court.  “Its location at the Peter White Public Library will permit our county’s residents to access legal forms and information at their convenience. Many of the litigants in the court system are unable to afford legal counsel to assist them, and these materials can help better prepare them for their court proceedings.”

The Michigan Legal Help Self-Help Center of Marquette County is an internet-based self-help center that makes use of the free legal information website www.MichiganLegalHelp.org.  In addition to the website, self-help center ‘navigators’ will be available to help visitors find information they need on the website, answer questions about court practices and processes, and answer simple questions about forms that are available on the website.  Navigators cannot give legal advice.

The Michigan Legal Help website was created to make legal information easier to understand and to show people how to navigate the court system properly and efficiently. The website contains articles explaining specific areas of law, toolkits, forms and instructional checklists to help prepare people who represent themselves in court.  Many court forms can be filled out online using a simple question and answer interview format. 

The website can also help users look for a lawyer in their area if they need more assistance.  The website includes information about local community services and details about the court(s) where a website visitor’s legal issue may be handled.

“We are excited to be working with the community partners in Marquette County,” said Project Director Angela Tripp. Tripp is the project director for the Michigan Poverty Law Program, which manages the Michigan Legal Help Program.  Tripp said, “The support for this self-help center includes judges and staff from the Marquette County courts, private and legal aid lawyers, library staff, and others.  All of the Michigan Legal Help self-help centers operate with this kind of community-based approach.”

Residents of Monroe County who are unable to afford an attorney have a new place to go for assistance – the Michigan Legal Help Self-Help Center of Monroe County.  Located in the Monroe County Opportunity Program building, at 1140 S. Telegraph Road in Monroe, the Self-Help Center assists visitors in using the Michigan Legal Help website to gain information about how to represent themselves in simple civil legal matters.  The Self-Help Center is open on Monday through Friday from 8:30am until 4:30pm.

The Michigan Legal Help Self-Help Center of Monroe County is part of the Michigan Legal Help Program, which consists of a statewide legal self-help website (MichiganLegalHelp.org), affiliated local self-help centers and partnerships with courts, bar associations, libraries, legal aid and others to educate those who assist self-represented persons. 

“It is a great pleasure to welcome a staffed Self-Help Center to Monroe County,” said Daniel S. White, Circuit Court Judge and Presiding Judge of the Domestic Relations Section.  “Through its partnership with MCOP and other agencies, the Michigan Legal Help Self-Help Center of Monroe County is now a reality.  The past few years have seen a marked increase in the number of individuals who find it necessary to either pursue or respond to legal issues without the benefit of an attorney.”

Judge White added, “By getting legal information and assistance from the Self-Help Center, these individuals will be better equipped to bring their cases before the court, which will improve their experiences as well as make court operations smoother.  Individuals from surrounding counties are also welcome to visit our Self-Help Center.”

The Michigan Legal Help Self-Help Center of Monroe County is an internet-based self-help center that makes use of the free legal information website www.MichiganLegalHelp.org.  In addition to the website, self-help center ‘navigators’ will be available to help visitors find information they need on the website, answer questions about court practices and processes, and answer simple questions about forms that are available on the website.  Navigators cannot give legal advice.

The Michigan Legal Help website was created to make legal information easier to understand and to show people how to navigate the court system properly and efficiently. The website contains articles explaining specific areas of law, toolkits, forms and instructional checklists to help prepare people who represent themselves in court.  Many court forms can be filled out online using a simple question and answer interview format. 

The website can also help users look for a lawyer in their area if they need more assistance.  The website includes information about local community services and details about the court(s) where a website visitor’s legal issue may be handled.

Current website topics include family law matters, protection from abuse, housing issues, consumer law problems, public benefits, income tax, and expungement. Family law matters include divorce, custody, and child support.  Consumer legal issues covered are suits regarding debts, small claims, installment payment plans and garnishment.  The housing section deals with leases, security deposits, landlord/tenant issues, mobile homes, eviction and subsidized housing.  Public benefits materials include articles and common questions about state and federal public benefits such as food stamps, cash assistance, and Social Security benefits. The Income Tax materials focus on the Earned Income Tax Credit and other credits, and opportunities for free tax preparation for low-income individuals. Expungement provides information about setting aside an adult criminal conviction or a juvenile adjudication.  Although it does not cover all areas of law, new content will be added frequently.

“We are excited to be working with the community partners in Monroe County,” said Project Director Angela Tripp. Tripp is the project director for the Michigan Poverty Law Program, which manages the Michigan Legal Help Program.  Tripp said, “The support for this self-help center includes judges and staff from the Monroe County courts and Friend of the Court, the Monroe County Opportunity Program, Monroe County Department of Human Services, United Way of Monroe County, Legal Services of South Central Michigan, and Family Counseling and Shelter Services of Monroe County.  This community-based approach to operating a self-help center is based on the model which Illinois Legal Aid Online has used successfully for more than a decade.”