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Vermonters Tackle Legal Issues With Help of VTCourtForms Tools from LSV

D.I.Y. Court Forms, V.T. Court Forms
November 2025
“VTCourtForms is rather like a tax-prep tool, but for civil legal issues.”

Legal Services Vermont (LSV), a legal aid organization that serves all of Vermont, has completed a collection of six new tools for Vermonters to start or respond to a court case. Called “VTCourtForms,” the tools help people who cannot afford to hire a lawyer.

“VTCourtForms is rather like a tax-prep tool, but for civil legal issues,” explained LSV Executive Director Sam Abel-Palmer. “The program leads you through questions, offers helpful information along the way, and then populates the right court forms for you. Plus, you get a Next Steps document that tells you what to do next.”

VTCourtForms is one of the innovative ways that Legal Services Vermont can help Vermonters during a time when legal aid funding and staffing are being cut.

The current collection of free VTCourtForms tools helps Vermonters:

  • ask the court for a Relief from Abuse order
  • start a small claims case
  • answer a small claims case
  • start a divorce, civil union dissolution or legal separation in Vermont
  • fill out Financial Affidavit 813A for family court, and
  • apply to waive court filing fees and service costs.

“These are topics that we often get calls about on our legal helpline,” said Abel-Palmer. “Legal tools like these help level the playing field. They give low-income Vermonters the confidence to take action on their legal problem without an attorney.”

The VTCourtForms divorce tool has been the most used to date and it is now offered in French, Spanish, Nepali and Arabic. Hundreds of people are using VTCourtForms and LSV will be adding to the collection in the coming year.

The tools were developed with the guidance of Legal Services Vermont and Vermont Legal Aid attorneys, and input from the Vermont Judiciary and other Vermont organizations, as well as Vermonters who did user testing.

You can find VTCourtForms tools on the VTLawHelp.org website. Links to the new tools are found in the Divorce Roadmap, Relief from Abuse Roadmap, Small Claims Roadmap, and in other sections of the website. The full collection is found here: https://VTLawHelp.org/VTCourtForms.

About Legal Services Vermont

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.

About the Legal Services Corporation

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.

VTCourtForms flyers to print and post

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