Custody and visitation cases for women are handled in state and county family courts under each state's 'best interest of the child' standard. Mothers seeking sole, joint, or primary physical custody can use free self-help centers inside most courthouses to file petitions, parenting plans, and modification requests without an attorney. The ABA Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence and the Women's Law Project track state-by-state custody trends, and organizations like the Battered Mothers Custody Conference advocate where abuse intersects with custody. This directory combines official state court self-help portals, county family law facilitators, women-focused family law firms, and maternal advocacy organizations.
Florida handles family law in circuit courts across its 20 judicial circuits. The Department of Revenue Child Support Program oversees enforcement statewide. Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, and Fort Lauderdale are the largest metros. Bay Area Legal Services, Three Rivers Legal Services, the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and statewide Planned Parenthood affiliates serve women.
The Florida Supreme Court's approved family-law forms live on this portal alongside line-by-line instructions for petitions, parenting plans, and timesharing modifications under Section 61.13. Mothers preparing pro se cases will find the parenting-plan worksheet and 12.902(e) financial affidavit, both required statewide. Free, current with the latest 2026 rule updates.
Online statewide resource · Online 24/7 · Visit Website
Run out of the 24th floor of the Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center, this 11th Judicial Circuit program lets unrepresented Miami-Dade mothers walk in with a stack of petition drafts and have a clerk flag missing pages before filing. Spanish-speaking staff handle most intakes. Call (305) 349-7800 first — walk-ins close at 4:30pm sharp.
(305) 349-7800 · 175 NW 1st Ave, 24th Floor, Miami, FL 33128 · Mon-Fri 8:30am-4:30pm · Visit Website
Tucked into Room 248 of the Broward Courthouse, the 17th Circuit's self-help desk reviews packets for completeness in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole. Mothers can pick up timesharing, child-support, and supplemental-petition forms here; staff stop short of legal advice but will point you to Legal Aid of Broward when your case needs counsel. Mornings move fastest.
(954) 831-6565 · 201 SE 6th St, Room 248, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 · Mon-Fri 8:30am-4:30pm · Visit Website
On the third floor of the Orange County Courthouse, the Ninth Judicial Circuit's self-help center serves both Orange and Osceola County mothers filing custody, paternity, and modification cases. Staff will photocopy your IDs and prior orders at no charge. Most mornings see same-day walk-in slots; afternoons fill with returning litigants.
(407) 836-6054 · 425 N Orange Ave, Suite 330, Orlando, FL 32801 · Mon-Fri 8:30am-4:30pm · Visit Website
The 13th Circuit's downtown Tampa self-help office hands out the local administrative-order packets that judges in Hillsborough require on top of the statewide forms. When a case outgrows self-help, staff routinely refer mothers across the street to Bay Area Legal Services for full representation. Best to arrive before lunch.
(813) 272-5894 · 800 E Twiggs St, Tampa, FL 33602 · Mon-Fri 8am-5pm · Visit Website
When your case is too tangled for self-help and you've been turned away by legal aid, the Florida Bar's statewide hotline matches you with a vetted family-law member attorney for a reduced-fee initial consult. Useful for second opinions on a parenting plan a mother has been pressured to sign. Operators handle Spanish on request.
(800) 342-8011 · 651 E Jefferson St, Tallahassee, FL 32399 · Mon-Fri 8am-5:30pm · Visit Website
Inside the Duval County Courthouse, the Fourth Circuit's self-help operation covers Duval, Clay, and Nassau County mothers filing custody and child-support cases. Staff will tell you which Florida-approved parenting class your particular judge requires — answers vary by division, so always ask before you pay. Bring photo ID.
(904) 255-1695 · 501 W Adams St, Jacksonville, FL 32202 · Mon-Fri 8am-4:30pm · Visit Website
Across from the West Palm Beach courthouse on Dixie Highway, the 15th Circuit's self-help desk hosts free group orientations on drafting parenting plans every few weeks — call ahead for the next session. One-on-one form checks happen by walk-in, but staff cap intake when lines outgrow the morning. Spanish help available.
(561) 355-2986 · 205 N Dixie Hwy, West Palm Beach, FL 33401 · Mon-Fri 8:30am-4:30pm
Attorney-vetted state guides break down Florida's timesharing statute, the 20 best-interest factors a judge weighs, and how to draft a parenting plan that won't be rejected on filing. Especially valuable for mothers leaving abusive partners — the site flags which Florida procedures protect survivors and which don't.
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The American Bar Association's Family Law Section maintains a member directory and publishes plain-English articles on UCCJEA, interstate enforcement, and military custody. Florida mothers whose ex is stationed at MacDill, NAS Jacksonville, or NAS Pensacola will find the SCRA explainers especially useful when timesharing collides with deployment orders.
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OCSS oversees every Title IV-D agency in the country, including the Florida Department of Revenue Child Support Program. The site's UIFSA explainer walks Florida mothers through registering an out-of-state order or chasing a noncustodial parent who's relocated. Plain language, no legalese.
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A no-frills federal portal pointing to every state's custody and support office plus answers on tax-refund intercept, license suspension, and passport denial as enforcement tools. A practical first stop for Florida mothers whose ex has skipped to another state and stopped paying.
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HHS's child-welfare gateway documents Florida's kinship-care rules, guardianship procedures, and the Relative Caregiver Program payments. Especially relevant for Florida grandmothers who've taken in grandchildren after a DCF removal or in an informal arrangement that needs formalizing.
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NCJFCJ publishes the bench guides that Florida family-court judges actually consult on DV-informed custody, adolescent development, and child-welfare cases. Citing these standards in a written motion can sharpen a mother's argument for supervised visitation or restricted decision-making.
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Cornell Law School's free legal encyclopedia explains timesharing, parental responsibility, and the Florida best-interest factors with proper case citations. Useful for a mother who wants to verify what an attorney told her or read the actual statutory language before signing a draft parenting plan.
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FindLaw's consumer custody library covers modification standards, Florida's strict 50-mile/60-day relocation rule, and how to prepare exhibits for a contested evidentiary hearing. A solid orientation for Florida mothers preparing without an attorney or evaluating whether a relocation petition is worth filing.
Nationwide · Online · Visit Website