menu

Legal Paraprofessionals in Divorce and Custody Cases

Legal paraprofessional is a term coming up more and more as both lawyers and people with legal issues turn to them for help.

Visualize your schedule. Get a written parenting plan. Calculate your parenting time.

Make My Parenting Plan

What is a legal paraprofessional?

The phrase legal paraprofessional refers to nonlawyers who work in law. It includes paralegals, law clerks and more.

In general, a legal paraprofessional helps lawyers or judges with tasks that don't require licensing or a Juris Doctor degree — like doing research and drawing up documents.

Licensed legal paraprofessional (LLP) means something slightly different. This new position has been created in a few U.S. states to provide more affordable legal help. Some states use slightly different names, e.g., licensed paralegal practitioner in Utah.

In general, LLPs must pass an exam. They also have to meet requirements for education and/or time working at a law firm.

Since they are licensed, LLPs are allowed to take on more tasks than unlicensed legal paraprofessionals and can open their own practices.

Legal paraprofessional versus paralegal

Paralegals are a type of legal paraprofessional. Many have a paralegal degree or certificate. While they cannot give legal advice or represent clients, they may handle basic interactions with clients and do important behind-the-scenes work on cases.

Paralegals cannot work without supervision by a lawyer, whereas legal paraprofessionals who are licensed usually can (depending on state law).

Licensed legal paraprofessionals in divorce and custody cases

If you have a family law case that is fairly typical, an LLP can be a great way to get legal help without paying as much as you would for an attorney. For example, an LLP can help you write a divorce settlement agreement or represent you in custody mediation.

The concept of licensing legal paraprofessionals arose to help middle-income people who can't afford lawyers but don't qualify for free representation. This is especially common in family law, an area in which huge numbers of litigants end up representing themselves. The hope is that LLPs help people who would otherwise have gone without legal advice — and that, with an LLP navigating their case with them, those people avoid legal mistakes.

Where you can find LLPs

Across the states that license legal paraprofessionals, you'll find a few dozen in practice. They have restrictions that lawyers don't.

  • In Utah, they can represent people in mediation but not in court.
  • In Arizona, they can represent people in both mediation and court, but they can't handle appeals or cases with certain complexities (e.g., division of commercial property in a divorce).
  • In Minnesota's pilot program, they must have supervision from a lawyer to represent or advise family law clients. (In this, they resemble paralegals.)

New Hampshire, Oregon and Colorado have recently begun licensing LLPs too.

Washington state is no longer licensing new legal paraprofessionals, but people who are already licensed may continue to practice. They're called limited license legal technicians, aka legal technicians or LLLTs. They can represent clients and provide legal advice in family law cases and certain other types of cases.

Bills regularly appear in other U.S. states to let licensed legal paraprofessionals practice law there. South Carolina, North Carolina, New Mexico, Connecticut and California are considering allowing this.

The technology legal paraprofessionals use

Family law paraprofessionals use a number of tools to help them organize cases and prepare documents.

One of those tools is available to parents too: Custody X Change.

The Custody X Change online app helps parents and professionals:

Link accounts with your LLP to use Custody X Change together, or use it on your own.

Either way, take advantage of the technology the professionals use so you get what's best for your children.

Visualize your schedule. Get a written parenting plan. Calculate your parenting time.

Make My Parenting Plan

Explore examples of common schedules

Explore common schedules

Join the 60,000+ other parents who have used our co-parenting tools

Organize your evidence

Track your expenses, journal what happens, and record actual time. Print organized, professional documents.

Co-parent civilly

Our parent-to-parent messaging system, which detects hostile language, lets you collaborate without the drama.

Get an accurate child support order

Child support is based on parenting time or overnights in most jurisdictions. Calculate time instead of estimating.

Succeed by negotiating

Explore options together with visual calendars and detailed parenting plans. Present alternatives and reach agreement.

Never forget an exchange or activity

Get push notifications and email reminders, sync with other calendar apps and share with the other parent.

Save up to $50,000 by avoiding court

Write your parenting agreement without lawyers. Our templates walk you through each step.

Make My Plan

Examples:

Schedules

Long distance schedules

Third party schedules

Holidays

Summer break

Parenting provisions

Scheduling:

How to make a schedule

Factors to consider

Parenting plans:

Making a parenting plan

Changing your plan

Interstate, long distance

Temporary plans

Guides by location:

Parenting plans

Scheduling guidelines

Child support calculators

Age guidelines:

Birth to 18 months

18 months to 3 years

3 to 5 years

5 to 13 years

13 to 18 years

Terminology:

Joint physical custody

Sole physical custody

Joint legal custody

Sole legal custody

Product features:

Software overview

Printable calendars

Parenting plan templates

Journal what happens

Expense sharing

Parenting time tracking

Calculate time & overnights

Ways to use:

Succeed by negotiating

Prepare for mediation

Get ready for court

x

Bring calm to co‑parenting. Agree on a schedule and plan. Be prepared with everything documented.

Make My Parenting Plan

No thanks, I don't need a parenting plan