Family law
What are the options for handling family law paperwork without a lawyer?
Quick answer
If you cannot afford a full-service lawyer, there are four realistic ways to handle family law paperwork: file the court forms yourself (cheapest, most effort), use an online legal forms service, use a document preparation service that drafts your paperwork in your own words, or hire a limited-scope attorney for specific parts of the case. The right choice mostly depends on how contested your case is and your budget.
Last updated July 2026
Option 1: File the court forms yourself
The lowest-cost path is to represent yourself and file the court forms directly. You pay only the court filing fee, and if your income is low you can ask the court to waive that fee. You find the correct forms, fill them out, write your own declaration, serve the other party, and appear at any hearing.
This works best for simple, uncontested matters and for people who have the time to learn the process. The hardest parts for most self-represented people are choosing the right forms and writing a clear, court-ready declaration.
Option 2: Online legal forms services
Online legal forms services, such as LegalZoom, provide general legal document templates for a flat fee. They are broad and national, which also means they are general-purpose rather than tailored to your state and county family court forms or to the specific facts of your case.
This can be a fit for simple, standardized documents, but family law filings are state-specific and fact-specific, so a generic template often still leaves you deciding what to say and which local forms apply.
Option 3: Document preparation services
A document preparation service, such as Onbello, prepares your actual court paperwork and helps you put your declaration in your own words, without giving legal advice. It is more tailored to family law and your court forms than a generic template, at a small fraction of an attorney fee.
This tends to fit self-represented people who want court-ready paperwork done correctly but cannot afford full representation. Document preparers are not attorneys and cannot give legal advice about your case.
Option 4: A limited-scope (unbundled) attorney
With limited-scope, or unbundled, representation you hire a lawyer for specific parts of your case, such as reviewing your paperwork, coaching you before a hearing, or handling one appearance, instead of the entire matter. It costs more than the options above but far less than full representation.
This is often the right call for contested cases where you need real legal advice on specific issues but cannot afford a lawyer for everything.
How to choose
The more contested or high-stakes your case, such as a real custody dispute, domestic violence, or complex finances, the more you should lean toward real legal advice through a limited-scope or full-service attorney. For simpler, uncontested, or mostly paperwork matters, self-filing or a document preparation service is often enough.
A family law attorney will always have the biggest impact on your case. If you can afford one, we encourage you to hire one. If you cannot, the goal is to get your paperwork right and understand the process, which is where the free guides and tools below can help.
Free tools
This page is general legal information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney–client relationship. Laws and local rules vary and change. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed family-law attorney in your state.