VTCourtForms: New Tool for Divorce, Legal Separation or Civil Union Dissolution
BURLINGTON, VT – Following the successful launch of a Relief from Abuse guided interview in late 2023, Legal Services Vermont now offers a guided interview to help Vermonters fill out initial court forms for divorce, legal separation and civil union dissolution.
Called VTCourtForms, the free tool offers an easy and accessible way to complete court forms on a phone or computer. It provides simplified questions and explanations to guide users and ensure more complete and accurate filings.
In the past, someone who wanted to start this process would go to the court to get a packet of paper forms to fill out. Now they can use their smartphone or computer to complete the five forms during one web-based guided interview. Their answers are placed into the forms and they can review and edit their answers.
Vermonters can access VTCourtForms on the Divorce Roadmap at VTLawHelp.org: https://vtlawhelp.org/roadmap/divorce/step-3.
VTCourtForms currently includes the five initial forms that everyone needs to fill out to start a divorce, legal separation or civil union dissolution. Additional related forms are in development and will be added this year.
VTCourtForms users can choose to:
- make a password-protected account to save their progress
- share a link with a trusted advocate so they can finish the forms together
- download or print their completed forms, or
- email their forms to themselves, a friend or an advocate.
VTCourtForms also produces a next-steps document explaining how to get the forms to the court and what happens next.
“Our legal Roadmaps and the new VTCourtForms help Vermonters understand their rights and the legal process. They make it easier to start a critical court action like divorce or relief from abuse,” said Sam Abel-Palmer, executive director of Legal Services Vermont. “VTCourtForms can help thousands of Vermonters who cannot afford a lawyer.”
“Our legal Roadmaps and the new VTCourtForms help Vermonters understand their rights and the legal process. They make it easier to start a critical court action like divorce or relief from abuse.”
Funded by a grant from the Legal Services Corporation, VTCourtForms will grow into a collection of guided interviews. The creation of the first two VTCourtForms interviews benefited from input from lawyers and advocates at Vermont Legal Aid, Legal Services Vermont, the Vermont Judiciary Access and Resource Center, and some domestic violence organizations. We also had assistance from the Suffolk University Legal Innovation and Technology (LIT) Lab Document Assembly Line Project.
Based in Burlington, Legal Services Vermont is a nonprofit that serves residents around Vermont at no charge. LSV offers a wide range of civil legal services — from quick legal advice to full-scope representation — and community legal education for eligible, low-income Vermonters.
The project funder, Legal Services Corporation (LSC), is an independent nonprofit established by Congress in 1974 to provide financial support for civil legal aid to low-income Americans. The Corporation currently provides funding to 132 independent nonprofit legal aid programs in every state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.
Did you know?
In 2022, the Vermont Judiciary reported that 1,863 divorce or dissolution cases were started in Vermont.
- Civil Union Dissolution – Nonresident: 8
- Divorce – Contested with Minor Children: 560
- Divorce – Contested with No Minor Children: 525
- Divorce – Stipulated with Minor Children: 230
- Divorce – Stipulated with No Minor Children: 540
Source: https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/about-vermont-judiciary/court-statistics-and-reports
A “stipulated divorce” is where there is an agreement about both children and property. A “contested divorce” — where there is no agreement — usually takes longer to complete.
Flyer
Download a flyer for this guided interview. This PDF does not meet all requirements of a fully accessible digital document. Follow this link for a more accessible version. Download the flyer [PDF, 200Kb].