What’s New on WomensLaw.org

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.

In our​ Puerto Rico Download Court Forms page, we added a link to an alternate way to fill out a protection order petition online. Changes made in English and Spanish.

We added the crime of distribution of sexually explicit images (“revenge porn”) to our Kentucky Crimes page.

We translated into Spanish the reviewed information in four questions in the Oklahoma Restraining Orders section including What are the reasons (grounds) for getting a protective order?  and What types of protective orders are available? How long do they last?

In our Kentucky Finding a Lawyer page, we updated six resources on our Legal Assistance page and one resource on our Lawyer Referral Services page.

We added a statute to our Selected Texas Statutes page regarding the ability of a victim of nonconsensual image sharing to sue in civil court for damages.

We added a statute to our Selected Nebraska Statutes page on the remedies available to a victim of nonconsensual image sharing who sues in civil court for damages.

We added a statute to our Selected Kentucky Statutes page regarding the crime of distribution of sexually explicit images.

We added a statute to our Selected California Statutes page regarding the ability of a victim of nonconsensual image sharing to sue in civil court for damages.

To address questions related to court status and the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we created a Frequently Asked Questions Involving Courts and COVID-19 page in our Preparing for Court - By Yourself section.

We translated into Spanish our updated Ohio State Gun Laws section.

We translated into Spanish the revisions in our Nevada Custody question If I have a custody order from another state, can I enforce it in Nevada?

We translated into Spanish the four new questions about non-parent visitation in the Who can get custody and visitation section of our Illinois Custody page.

We translated our new section about Orders of Protection for Adults with Disabilities to our Illinois Restraining Orders page.

In our Louisiana Divorce page, we added a link to instructions and forms for pro se litigants to Where can I find additional information about divorce?

We translated our updated and reorganized Domestic Violence in the Military section.

Based on 2020 changes in the law, we reviewed the question Who can file for a protection order? in the Puerto Rico Protection Orders for Domestic Violence page. Changes in English and Spanish.

We translated into Spanish the newly added questions about “equitable caregivers” and the edit on the question about visitation in the Who can get custody and visitation section of our Georgia Custody page. 

We updated two questions in our Oregon State Gun Laws section based on changes to the law that clarify when an abuser’s gun can be taken away, and what happens to the gun if it is taken away. The changes were made in English; Spanish coming soon.

Based on changes in the law, we updated two questions in our Oregon Restraining Orders section. We updated What types of sexual abuse protective orders are there? How long do they last? and Who can get a sexual abuse protective order? in English. Spanish coming soon.

We added a statute to our Selected Nebraska Statutes page regarding the ability of a victim of nonconsensual image sharing to sue in civil court for damages.

We added six new crimes to the Nebraska Crimes page involving sexual assault, assault, and distribution of intimate images.

In our Nebraska Domestic Violence Protection Orders section, based on 2020 changes to the law, we added information to Step 3: Service of process and Step 4: The hearing for a final protection order about the 10-business-day time period in which the respondent has to request a hearing. We also added to Step 4: The hearing for a final protection order the fact that a judge can convert the order into a harassment protection order or sexual assault protection order.

We updated the information and links for eight resources in our Maine Sheriff Departments section.

On our Minnesota Statewide Programs page, we updated the name, contact information, and description for the Minnesota Coalition, which is now called Violence Free Minnesota.

Based on 2020 changes to the law regarding the penalty for a second violation of a protection order, we updated the question What if the abuser violates the order? in our Nebraska Sexual Assault Protection Orders section.

We added three divorce-related statutes to our Selected Louisiana Statutes page.

In our Puerto Rico Orders of Protection for the Welfare and Protection of Children section, we added a new question in English and Spanish called What is the legal definition of child abuse in Puerto Rico?

We added 6 statutes related to elder abuse to our Selected Tennessee Statutes page.

On our Wyoming Download Court Forms page, we added links to court forms for protection orders, divorce, custody, child support, and small claims court.

In our Arkansas Custody page, we created questions called 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 English; Spanish coming soon.

We added six statutes to our Selected New Hampshire Statutes page related to custody.

We created a Nevada Workplace Protections section in English! It includes eight questions regarding employment protections for victims of domestic violence. Spanish translation coming soon.

On the Alabama Download Court Forms page, we updated links to protection from abuse order forms and added a new link to small claims court forms. 

In our North Carolina Custody page, we created a question called When is a parenting coordinator appointed and what is his/her role? in English; Spanish coming soon.

We added the crime of sexual extortion in English and Spanish to our Pennsylvania Crimes page.

In our Pennsylvania Protections from Abuse Orders page, we updated What protections can I get in a protection from abuse order? to include the 2019 changes to the law regarding the standard for when a judge can order that firearms and weapons be removed from the abuser and the protections that are mandatory in a final PFA issued after a trial. We also added information to If the abuser’s gun is taken away, what will happen to it? in our Pennsylvania State Gun Laws page about the process for getting firearms returned once a PFA order expires and regarding who qualifies as a “third party” to hold an abuser’s firearms for safekeeping. Changes made in English and Spanish.

Based on 2019 additions to the law, we updated three questions in our New Jersey State Gun Laws section to add the following: 1) new reasons why firearm possession is illegal (due to an extreme risk protection or convictions for eight additional crimes), 2) the prohibition includes ammunition in addition to firearms; and 3) a conviction for an attempt or conspiracy to commit various crimes can also make firearm possession illegal. Changes made in English and Spanish.

Based on a 2019 addition to the law, we added the additional grounds of “sexual abuse of children” and “human trafficking” for getting an order of protection to our Orders of Protection (for domestic violence victims) and Orders of Protection (for crime victims) sections.

We added a 2019 law related to filing appeals of protective order decisions to our Selected Mississippi Statutes page.

We updated our Florida Suing an Abuser page to reflect the increase in the small claims court limit from $5,000 to $8,000 in English and Spanish.

We updated our Guam Download Court Forms page and added links to a “complaint for an uncontested divorce” and a ”petition to dismiss, extend or modify an order of protection.”

On our Virginia Sheriff Departments page, we updated the address, website, and phone number for the Halifax County Sheriff.

We added a Colorado Extreme Risk Protection Orders page in English. Spanish translation coming soon!

Based on 2019 changes to the law, we updated three question in our Colorado State Gun Laws section to include extreme risk protection orders as a disqualifying factor for obtaining a concealed handgun permit. We also clarified the other types of protection orders that can disqualify someone. Changes were made in English and Spanish.

We added 20 new crimes to our Colorado Crimes page in English; Spanish soon to come.

We updated the information in English on our Reproductive Coercion page with more examples and safety information for victims. Spanish coming soon!

We added 14 new statutes to the Selected Arizona Statutes page related to the Injunctions Against Harassment and the crimes that are considered to be sexual violence.

We updated our Arizona Injunctions Against Harassment (IAH) section to reflect amendments that became effective on January 1, 2020. We updated What is the legal definition of harassment? to include sexual violence and the 24 crimes associated with it as new grounds to get an IAH in English (Spanish soon to come). We also added information about not being able to charge for service in certain circumstances to Is there a fee to file or serve an injunction against harassment? in English and Spanish.

We added eight new domestic violence and sexual assault organizations to our South Carolina Local Programs page and one new program to our South Carolina Legal Assistance page.

We added a statute on suing a person in civil court for sharing or publishing an intimate image to our Selected New York Statutes page.

We added a statute on sharing and publishing intimate images without consent to our Selected New York Statutes page.

In our Alabama Restraining Orders section, we updated the question Can a minor get a PFA order? based on changes to the law.

We added a statute related to sharing intimate images without consent to our Selected Rhode Island Statutes page.

We added 6 Hawaii statutes on gun violence protective orders on our Selected Hawaii Statutes page.

We added the new law enacted in 2019 called “false caller identification information; penalty” to our Selected Virginia Statutes page in English.

In our Florida Legal Assistance page, we fixed the links for Jacksonville Area Legal Aid (Green Cove Springs Office) in Clay County and the Charlotte County Justice Center.

We added a West Virginia Financial Exploitation Protective Orders page.

We added four statutes to our Selected Wisconsin Statutes page, including two housing-related statutes and two crimes-related statutes.

Based on changes to the law, we updated two questions in our Alaska Restraining Orders Section. We updated Can I modify and/or extend my protective order? to reflect that a person can file a petition to extend their order. We also updated What types of stalking or sexual assault protective orders are there? How long do they last? to show that this type of order can now last for one year instead of just six months. 

We added a new statute to our Selected West Virginia Statutes page related to minors and protective orders.

Based on statutes changes, we created the question If I share a cell phone account with the abuser, can I transfer the account into my name? on the Puerto Rico Stalking and Domestic Violence Protection Order sections.

In our West Virginia Protective Orders (for domestic violence) section, we revised How much does it cost to get a protective order? to clarify that there are no fees for filing, service, or other related services associated with the order. We also added information about the appeals process to What are my options if I was denied a protective order? and clarified that a minor can file for an order in Who can get a protective order?

We added the crime of human trafficking to our Selected Vermont Statutes page.

In our Massachusetts Child Support section, we added a new question entitled Can the judge order that I provide health care coverage?

We added a new statute related to child support to our Selected U.S. Virgin Islands Statutes page.

We re-wrote the U.S. Virgin Islands Download Court Forms page, and adding links to forms related to restraining orders, visitation, small claims court, and more. We also updated the link to the Superior Court’s information about small claims court on our U.S. Virgin Islands Suing an Abuser page. In addition, in our U.S. Virgin Islands Child Support section, we added information about health care coverage being part of child support in the question What is child support?

We added an Alabama Elder Abuse Protection Orders page.

Based on changes to the law, we updated five questions in our Know the Laws - By State section for Washington. We updated the Suing an Abuser page, and questions in the State Gun Laws, Restraining Orders, and Custody sections.