What’s New on WomensLaw.org

We added two new questions to the West Virginia Protective Orders (for Domestic Violence) page called Can a minor file for an order? and Can I file for an order against a minor?

Based on Puerto Rico statute changes, we revised the information on the following questions What is an order of protection for the elderly?, What is the legal definition of abuse of the elderly?, What protections can an elderly person get in a protection order?, Who can file for an order of protection for the elderly? on our Orders of Protection for the Elderly section. We also reviewed the question Who can file for a protection order? on our Protection Orders for Domestic Violence section and What are the grounds for divorce in Puerto Rico? in our Divorce section. All in English and Spanish.

Based on 2019 changes to the law, we updated the question Can I get alimony? in our Vermont Divorce section to include Social Security and retirement benefits as a factor when deciding on an alimony award and to change “permanent” alimony to “long-term” alimony.

Based on changes to Vermont law that became effective in 2018, we updated the question If my child was conceived as a result of sexual assault or human trafficking, can the offender get parental rights and responsibilities? in our Custody section to include human trafficking as a reason that an offender’s parental rights can be terminated. (We regret the delay in making this update.) We also added the crime of human trafficking to our Vermont Crimes page.

Based on an update to the law, we created a new question in our Washington Custody section called How will a judge decide if I can relocate with my child?

In our U.S. Virgin Islands Child Support section, we created a new question entitled Until what age does child support have to be paid?

We added six laws related to elder abuse to our Selected Alabama Statutes page.

We added six statutes to our Selected Washington Statutes page.

We added a Delaware Lethal Violence Protective Orders page.

We created a new page for Missouri Housing Laws, based on an August 2019 addition to Missouri law.

Based on September 2019 changes to the law, we added information to our Texas Housing Laws page to explain that certain documentation or a magistrate’s order can also qualify a victim of abuse to break his/her lease without penalty. Changes made in English; Spanish soon to come.

In our Texas Family Violence Protective Orders page, we added information in English and Spanish to:

• What can I do if the abuser violates the order? to clarify that a violation of an order can be a class A misdemeanor, a state jail felony, or a felony in the third degree depending on various factors; and
• What is a magistrate’s order for emergency protection? How long does it last? to include indecent assault as a ground for getting an order.

We added the crimes of “indecent assault,” “false caller identification information display,” and “unlawful electronic transmission of sexually explicit visual material” to our Selected Texas Statutes page in English. These crimes were enacted into Texas law in September 2019.

We added one statute to our Selected Delaware Statutes page based on an Email Hotline inquiry.

We added six statutes related to abusive civil actions to our Selected Tennessee Statutes page.

Based on 2019 additions to the law, in our Oklahoma Restraining Orders section, we updated the information in four questions, including What are the reasons (grounds) for getting a protective order?  We also updated What types of protective orders are available? How long do they last? to reflect that an emergency temporary order of protection can now last for up to 14 days instead of just until the next date that the court is open. All changes in English.

We added a New York Extreme Risk Protection Orders page. Spanish translation coming soon!

We updated the links and information in English and Spanish on our Oklahoma Download Court Forms page.

We added a statute related to a trafficking victim’s right to sue the trafficker for money damages to our Selected Nebraska Statutes page.

We updated the links on our Rhode Island Custody page to link to the newest child support schedule of payments based on monthly income and to link to the newest modification request form. We also updated the website and phone number for the state’s victim compensation program on our Rhode Island Crimes page. 

We added the crime of “disclosing intimate images” to our Selected Washington Statutes page.

We added the crime of coercion to our Selected Nevada Statutes page in English.

We added the crimes of sex trafficking and forced marriage to our Selected Maryland Statutes page.

We added seven statutes to our Utah Selected State Statutes section, mostly relating to sexual violence protective orders. 

We added 19 questions to our Preparing for Court - By Yourself section. The new questions address such topics as Time Limits (Statutes of Limitation), Subject Matter Jurisdiction, Motions, and Collecting a Judgment, in English. Spanish coming soon!

In our Nevada Custody section, we revised If I have a custody order from another state, can I enforce it in Nevada? to update the notice requirements that a petitioner must follow when registering an out-of-state custody order. We regret the delay in making this update, which is based on a 2017 change to the law. Changes made in English; Spanish coming soon.

We added a new question and updated all the information on our Abuse in Tribal Communities page in English– Spanish coming soon! WomensLaw thanks attorney Janet Routzen, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, and former executive director of the White Buffalo Calf Woman Society, for her help in creating and editing this information!

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.

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

We updated the contact information for Safe on Seven Domestic Violence Center (S.O.S.) on our North Carolina Local Programs page.

We updated and reorganized our entire Domestic Violence in the Military section in English. This update involved rewriting many questions using new guidance that had been issued by the Department of Defense, updating outdated links, and adding new resources. Spanish coming soon!

We updated the resources on our Nebraska Download Court Forms page.

On our Louisiana Restraining Orders page, we revised the question What types of sexual assault protective orders are there? How long do they last? to add information about the court process and how an order may be renewed.

In our Maryland State Gun Laws page, we updated two questions based on changes to the law that expand the amount of crimes that are considered “crimes of violence” for firearm prohibition purposes. Changes were made in Spanish and English. 

In our Maryland Custody section, we revised the question What is mediation? Is it ordered for victims of abuse? to add information about the process for parties to request a substitute mediator and to clarify how many hours the mediation can last. All changes were made in English and Spanish.

We added the crime of “disclosing intimate images” to our Washington Crimes page iin English and Spanish and to the Selected Washington Statutes page in English.

We added the crime of “use of telephone to annoy, terrify, threaten, intimidate, harass or offend” to our Idaho Crimes page.

Based on new laws, we added two new questions to our Indiana Firearms Seizure and Retention page called What happens if a dangerous individual possesses a gun after the judge removes his/her firearms? and Under what circumstances can the firearms be returned to the individual? We also revised the information in the question How are firearms removed from a dangerous individual under this law? For how long are they removed?. We added four related statutes to our Selected Indiana Statutes page.

We added information on our Ohio Suing An Abuser page about suing in civil court if an abuser shares your private sexual images. We also added the corresponding statute to our Selected Ohio Statutes page.

We updated the contact information for the 244 courthouses on our Texas Courthouse Locations page in English and Spanish. 

We translated into Spanish our Ohio Download Court Forms page.

We updated all 86 courthouses on our Ohio Courthouse Locations page in English and Spanish. We changed the contact information from the clerk’s office to the courts of common pleas and added each court’s website to make it easier for users to access the information that they need.

We translated into Spanish our recently created District of Columbia Extreme Risk Protection Orders page.

Based on 2019 changes to the law, we added added four new questions about non-parent visitation in the Who can get custody and visitation section of our Illinois Custody page. Spanish coming soon!

We translated into Spanish our Connecticut Local Programs.

We translated into Spanish over 200 organizations that are listed in our National Organizations page.

With the help of ASISTA, we completely re-wrote our T Visa for Trafficking Victims page in English to make it even more plain-language than it already was! Spanish coming soon. We also added one related statute in English to our Selected Federal Statutes page.

We added one new resource on our Chat Rooms and Message Boards page in English and Spanish. 

We translated into Spanish our Massachusetts Extreme Risk Protection Orders page.

Based on an email hotline response, we added the South Carolina statute on registering an out-of-state custody order to our Selected South Carolina Statutes page.

We added ASISTA to our National Organizations - Immigration page in English and Spanish.

We added a New Mexico Custody section in our Legal Information section, and we also added ten related statutes to our New Mexico Selected Statutes section. The additions are in English and Spanish!

Based on July 2019 changes to the law, we updated multiple questions in our Indiana Orders for Protection (due to Domestic Violence) page. We included new grounds for which a child can get an order to multiple questions; we re-wrote the question called Can I get an order for protection if I’m a minor?; and we added a new question called Aside from domestic or family violence, what are the other reasons for which I can get an order for protection? to include the new ground of harassment as the basis for an order. 

We translated into Spanish the new question How does an abuser give up his/her guns and ammunition? and the other two updated questions in our Colorado State Gun Laws page. 

We added a Litigation Abuse page in our About Abuse section in English and Spanish.

Based on an Email Hotline inquiry, we added a law regarding criminal statutes of limitation to our Selected Indiana Statutes page. 

On our Georgia Crimes page, we updated the name of the crime that was formerly called “sexual assault” and is now called “improper sexual contact” based on a 2019 change to the law. Changes made in English and Spanish.

We revised the content in the Ways to educate yourself section in English and Spanish. We also relocated it to our Court System Basics section to make it easier to find.

Based on 2019 changes to the law, we added information to four questions in our D.C. State Gun Laws page in English and Spanish. We also hyperlinked various crimes that prohibit someone from getting a firearm to the definitions of those crimes to make the information easier to understand.

We translated into Spanish our Ohio Stalking or Sexually Oriented Offense Protection Orders section in our Restraining Orders page.

We translated into Spanish our Ohio Suing an Abuser page.

We translated into Spanish our recently added a question called Is a step-child considered to be a child for the purposes of VAWA? in our VAWA for Abuse Victims page. We also translated it in our U Visa for Crime Victims page and T-Visa for Trafficking Victims page. 

We translated into Spanish our Oregon Extreme Risk Protection Orders section in our Restraining Orders page.

We translated into Spanish our Reproductive Abuse and Coercion page on our Forms of Abuse section.

We translated into Spanish or Maryland question Under what circumstances can I request that the court records be shielded from public view? in our Restraining Orders page.

We translated into Spanish our Ohio Crimes page.

We translated into Spanish our Ohio Divorce page.

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