What’s New on WomensLaw.org

We added the question What can I do if the abuser violates the order? in English and Spanish to our Texas Protective Orders for Victims of Sexual Assault or Abuse, Stalking, or Trafficking section.

We added the crimes of “indecent assault,” “false caller identification information display,” and “unlawful electronic transmission of sexually explicit visual material” to our Texas Crimes page in English and Spanish. 

In our Texas Custody page, we added information to What is a standard possession order? about the typical terms in a standard possession order for parents who live 100 miles apart or less. Changes made in English; Spanish soon to come. 

Based on 2019 changes to the law, in our Texas Custody page, we added information in English about:

• additional people who can file for conservatorship in Other than a parent, who else can file for managing or possessory conservatorship (custody)? 
• the right to apply for, renew, and keep a child’s passport in What is sole managing conservatorship (SMC)? 
• additions rights of a conservator in What is conservatorship (custody)? What types are there?

Spanish soon to come!

Based on 2019 additions to the law, we added a new section with five new questions to our Tennessee Suing an Abuser page.

We added 8 New York statutes on extreme risk protection orders on our Selected New York Statutes page.

In our South Carolina Custody page, we updated the link to court forms on the South Carolina Judicial Branch website. We also updated the links in our South Carolina Download Court Forms page and added links for family court forms and for restraining orders based on harassment and stalking.

Based on a 2019 addition to the law that makes it illegal to possess a firearm if you are on probation pursuant to a deferred judgment for a felony, we updated two questions in our Nebraska State Gun Laws section. We also updated the links to resources found on Nebraska Legal Aid’s website on our Nebraska Custody page and Divorce page.

Based on 2019 amendments to the law, we added information to our Nebraska Suing an Abuser page about a trafficking victim’s right to sue the trafficker for money damages.

Based on 2019 additions to the law, in our Rhode Island Domestic Violence Restraining Orders section, we updated the information in Am I eligible? Do I file in family court or district court? regarding children who can be eligible for a restraining order. We also updated What protections can I get in a domestic violence restraining order? to include the fact that the judge can include a provision for the safety of household animals and pets. 

We added two statutes to our Selected Ohio Statutes page about suing in civil court if an abuser shares your private sexual images and the crime of nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images.

We added the crime of “nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images” to our Selected Missouri Statutes page.

We added the crimes of strangulation in the first and second degrees to our Kentucky Selected Kentucky Statutes page.

Based on 2019 additions to the law, we revised three questions in our Nevada Restraining Orders section regarding the length of time that temporary and extended orders can last. The changes were made in the Orders for Protection Against Sexual Assault page, Orders for Protection Against Domestic Violence page, and Orders for Protection Against Stalking & Harassment page. All changes made in English and Spanish.

Based on 2019 additions to the law, we created three new questions in our Nevada Restraining Orders section. The question, entitled Can an order for protection be changed or ended early? was added to our Orders for Protection Against Sexual Assault page, Orders for Protection Against Domestic Violence page, and Orders for Protection Against Stalking & Harassment page. All changes made in English; Spanish coming soon.

Based on a new law, we created a Sexual Violence Protective Orders section in our Utah Restraining Orders section. 

We updated five resources on our Hawaii Legal Assistance and one resource on Lawyer Referral pages.

In our Utah Protective Orders due to Domestic Violence/Abuse section, we updated four questions based on changes in the law, including adding aggravated animal cruelty as an abusive act that could qualify someone for an order in What is the legal definition of domestic violence in Utah? 

In our Nevada Orders for Protection Against Domestic Violence section, based on 2019 changes to the law, we added information to Step 4: Service of process about requesting alternate service if law enforcement cannot serve the abuser at his/her home. We also updated the penalties for violating an order in What can I do if the abuser violates the order? Changes made in English; Spanish coming soon.

Based on 2019 changes to the law, in our Nevada Orders for Protection Against Domestic Violence section, we made the following changes: 1) We added three additional criminal acts that could qualify someone for an order in What is the legal definition of domestic violence in Nevada? 2) We updated the relationship requirements in Who is eligible for an order for protection against domestic violence? 3) We clarified the basis for granting a temporary order in What is an order for protection against domestic violence? What types of orders are there? All changes made in English and Spanish.

Based on a 2019 change to the law that increased the length of time that a protection order can be extended (from one year to three years), we revised the information in two questions in our Wyoming Protection Orders section.

Based on a 2019 change to the law that added strangulation as a ground for a protective order, we revised the question What is the legal definition of domestic violence in Kentucky? in our Kentucky Protective Orders / Domestic Violence Orders section.

We added an Illinois Firearms Restraining Orders page in English and 9 corresponding statutes to the Selected Illinois Statutes page. Spanish translation coming soon!

We updated our Ohio State Gun Laws section in English, adding state-specific information to existing questions and reorganizing the entire section to make the information more accessible. We also added one related statutes to the Ohio Selected Statutes section. Spanish coming soon!

On our Louisiana Restraining Orders page, we added the question What types of stalking protective orders are there? How long do they last?

We added the crimes of sex trafficking and forced marriage to our Maryland Crimes page in English and Spanish.

We added the crime of “nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images” to our Missouri Crimes page.

We added new links to custody-related court forms on our Idaho Custody page and new links to small claims court forms on our Idaho Suing an Abuser page.

Based on changes to the law, we revised the information in What is the legal definition of telephone harassment in Idaho? and What is the legal definition of malicious harassment in Idaho? in our Idaho Protection Orders Against Malicious Harassment, Stalking, and Telephone Harassment page.

We updated the Iowa Elder Abuse Protective Orders page based on changes to the legal definition of a “vulnerable elder.”

Based on changes to Indiana law, we updated What types of order for protections are there? How long do they last? iin our Indiana Orders for Protection page to include information about not being able to get an ex parte order based only on harassment.

We added the crime of nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images to our Ohio Crimes page in Spanish and English.

We translated into Spanish our Oregon Sexual Abuse Protective Orders.

We translated into Spanish our recently-updated Ohio Domestic Violence Protection Orders section.

We updated all 26 resources on our Illinois Legal Assistance pages in English and Spanish! 

We added a new section about Orders of Protection for Adults with Disabilities to our Illinois Restraining Orders page. Spanish coming soon!

Based on 2019 changes to the law, we added added two new questions about “equitable caregivers” and made one edit to a question about visitation in the Who can get custody and visitation section of our Georgia Custody page. We also added one related statute to our Selected State Statutes page. Spanish coming soon!

Based on feedback from Loveisrespect, we made changes to our information and resources in Information for Teens and Young Adults in English ans Spanish!

We added the crime of distribution of an intimate image to our Indiana Crimes page and Selected Indiana Statutes page.

We updated the Divorce information in Washington, in English and Spanish, by adding three new questions with information on residency, grounds and alimony requirements. We also added two related statutes to our Selected Washington Statutes page. 

We translated into Spanish our newly added Massachusetts Workplace Protections page.

We translated into Spanish our newly created page on Elder Abuse under our Abuse in Specific Communities section. 

We updated the Divorce information in Virginia, in English and Spanish, by adding five new questions with information on residency, grounds and alimony requirements. We also added five related statutes to our Selected Virginia Statutes page. 

We updated the Divorce information in Oklahoma, in English and Spanish, adding information on residency, grounds and alimony requirements, and added two related statutes to our Selected State Statutes page. 

We added the crime of criminal stalking to our Indiana Crimes page and Selected Indiana Statutes page.

We translated into Spanish our newly updated question Who can get custody? in our New Jersey Custody page. 

Based on 2019 changes to the laws, in our Illinois Orders of Protection section, we updated Who is eligible for an order of protection? to add information on the additional people who can be protected by an order. We also updated multiple questions in our Illinois Stalking No Contact Orders section to include that an authorized agent of a school, workplace, or house of worship can file for an order. All changes were made in English and Spanish. 

We updated all of our information and resources in Information for Teens and Young Adults in English – Spanish coming soon!

Based on a 2019 addition to Georgia’s laws, we added information in English and Spanish to our Georgia Custody page. Specifically, we added that blindness cannot be the reason that custody can is denied to a parent to the question How will a judge make a decision about custody? 

We added a District of Columbia Extreme Risk Protection Orders page in English and 5 corresponding statutes to the Selected District of Columbia Statutes page. Spanish translation coming soon!

We added the crime of violation of an extreme risk protection order to our Selected D.C. Statutes page in English and to our D.C. Crimes page in English and Spanish. 

In our New Jersey Custody page, we updated the question Who can get custody? in English. Spanish coming soon!

We translated into Spanish our Ohio Moving to Another State with Your Ohio Protection Order and the Enforcing an Out-of-State Order in Ohio sections.

We translated into Spanish the information we recently added to the California Civil Harassment Orders section. We updated the questions Am I eligible to file for a civil harassment order? Who can I file against? and What protections can I get in a civil harassment order?  and we also created a new question in both the Civil Harassment Orders section and the Domestic Violence Restraining Orders section called If I qualify for both a CHO and a DVRO, which one should I apply for? 

Based on an Email Hotline inquiry, we added a law regarding the division of property during divorce to our Selected California Statutes page. 

We translated into Spanish our District of Columbia section on Employment Discrimination on our Workplace Protections page.

We translated into Spanish the information we have in our Georgia Housing Laws.

We translated into Spanish our Ohio Custody page.

We updated the resources on our Michigan Sheriff Departments page in English and Spanish.

We updated the contact information for 72 courthouses on our Virginia Courthouse Locations page and added 170 new courthouses. All changes were made in English and Spanish.

In Illinois, we added nine new statutes on Firearm Restraining Orders to our Selected Illinois Statutes page.

We created a new page about Elder Abuse in English in Abuse in Specific Communities. Spanish coming soon!

We created a new question called “How does an abuser give up his/her guns and ammunition?“ and updated two other questions in our Colorado State Gun Laws page. All changes in English, Spanish coming soon!

We added a question called “What happens if USCIS denies my U visa application?“ and updated four other questions in our U visa section based on recent directives and guidance from ICE, USCIS, and DHS. All changes in English, Spanish coming soon!

We updated the resources on our Maryland Sheriff Departments page in English and Spanish.

We added a Massachusetts Workplace Protections page in English and one corresponding statute to our Selected Massachusetts Statutes page. Spanish translation coming soon!

We just published our Preparing for Court video blog series! This series is narrated in Spanish with English subtitles. They include information on things to consider and do before filing a court case, where and how to start your court case, what happens after you file, what to expect at a hearing or trial and how to prepare for it, and court-based examples illustrated by actors on how to make objections, admit evidence, and conduct direct and cross-examination.