Child custody, divorce topics to be discussed at free seminar

The Yuma County Law Library and Clerk of the Superior Court will host another free seminar later this week in which information about the divorce process and child custody will be shared.

The seminar, which is being put on in collaboration with Community Legal Services, Conciliation Court Services and the Yuma County Bar Association, is being conducted from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Friday in the Jury Assembly Room at the Yuma Justice Center, 250 W. 2nd St.

James Marshall, senior counsel for Community Legal Services, will be the presenter again and will discuss a variety of topics.

While no legal advice will be given, those who attend will receive information on such topics as establishing paternity, parenting visitation, alimony, divorce proceedings, orders of protection, domestic violence and what resources are available in the community.

They will also receive answers to general questions about the court process and procedures, as well as what forms are necessary to fill out.

The clinic will be given once a month on Fridays and is part of a series of sessions offered by the Yuma County Law Library designed to assist self-represented litigants with various case types.

It will be given in English with a Spanish interpreter present. An official from the Yuma County Superior Court will also be present and will speak with participants about the process of filing the paperwork and the cost associated with doing so.

The Yuma County Superior Court Law Library developed the clinic in support of the Arizona Supreme Court’s Strategic Agenda to increase access to the courts.

One way of doing that, according to organizers, is by assisting people who need basic legal help but don’t have the money to hire an attorney, or want to do it themselves, but aren’t sure how.

Providing help to self-represented litigants, they said, provides a valuable service to the court system, because self-represented litigants often have difficulty preparing and filing documents and meeting procedural requirements, which can cause delays in their cases.

Advance registration is recommended. Anyone interested in attending can call the Law Library at (928) 817-4165 for more info.