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The Do-It-Yourself form tools on Michigan Legal Help have been unavailable since Monday, February 7th due to a service interruption on the LawHelp Interactive servers. These servers are maintained by a national partner of MLH, and that partner is doing everything it can to restore service as soon as possible. All other parts of the MLH website are fully operational, including articles and checklists. If you need court forms during this outage, the resources below can help.

Find the Forms You Need

Many blank, fillable court forms are available on the Michigan Courts website. Use the search bar at the top of the Forms page to search for a specific form. The following forms are not available on the court website. Click the links below to get more blank forms and instructions.

• Judgment of Divorce with Children CC-MLH 413
• Judgment of Divorce (No Children) CC-MLH 412
• Answer to Complaint for Divorce CC-MLH 409
• Counterclaim For Divorce (No Children) CC-MLH 410
• Counterclaim For Divorce with Children CC-MLH 411
• Order Regarding Complaint for Custody, Parenting Time, and Child Support CC-MLH 432
• Answer to Complaint/Counterclaim for Custody, Parenting Time, and Child Support CC-MLH 430
• Counterclaim for Custody, Parenting Time, and Child Support CC-MLH 431

Fill Out Your Forms

We understand that filling in a completely blank court form can be difficult. You may want to speak to a lawyer if this is an option for you. The Guide to Legal Help takes most people 1-2 minutes to complete and gives you information for free legal aid services if you might qualify. It also gives you information about how to contact a private lawyer.

If you need to fill out blank forms on your own, the article How to Fill Out, Serve, and File Court Forms has information about how to do this. If you have questions not answered by this article, our LiveHelp service may be able to help with some of these questions. We cannot give legal advice, but we can give information. This means that we cannot tell you how the law applies to the facts in your specific case, but we can answer questions about what the forms mean. Please be patient while using this service, as LiveHelp staff are handling a larger chat volume than usual during this outage.

There may also be other resources in your area. Visit the Self-Help Centers page and select your county to find out if there is a Self-Help Center near you.

Use Checklists to Help You File and Complete the Court Process

Although our DIY tools are not working, the checklists associated with the tools are still available. Checklists provide step by step instructions to file and complete court processes. To find a checklist, visit the Toolkit page for the process you are working on. The easiest way to find the Toolkit for your legal issue is to complete the Guide to Legal Help. You can also browse the MichiganLegalHelp.org category menus or use the search bar at the top of the page.

Come Back for Help If You Need It

Michigan Legal Help exists because we know it can be very difficult to navigate the court process without help, and access to justice is at the core of the work we do every day. We are doing everything we can to find other ways to help while we wait for our partner organization to restore this service. Those who need help can always use the LiveHelp service to chat with us or send us an email. Agents are available to help from 11-3, Monday through Friday. Even when agents are not available, you will get a link to send us an email, and we typically respond within 1-2 business days. We will continue to provide updates on this situation through the MLH website and social media, and will make an announcement as soon as the tools are available again.

If you need help with a pressing legal issue related to COVID-19, the State Bar of Michigan’s new resource may be able to help you. The COVID-19 Rapid Response Helpline can refer you to an attorney quickly and give you a free 25 minute consultation. This helpline is available for the following legal issues: Estate/Disability Planning, Guardianship, Custody and Parenting Time Issues, Garnishment Defense and Other Consumer Matters, Labor and Employment, and Unemployment. 

The Rapid Response Helpline is open from 8:30 am to 4:45 pm, Monday through Friday, and all referrals received before 3 pm will receive a response within 4 hours. There are no income requirements to use this service. The hotline is available to anyone who needs legal assistance quickly during the COVID-19 emergency. 

Visit the COVID-19 Rapid Response Helpline to submit a request for a referral or call the helpline at (800) 968-0738.

COVID-19, or coronavirus, is impacting people in Michigan in ways that are changing quickly. You might be wondering how COVID-19 will affect your court case. Court staff and lawyers are still working, but they are limiting public access to their courts and offices.

Michigan Courts

On March 18th, the Michigan Supreme Court issued an emergency order telling courts that they should remain open for emergency cases and essential functions. The Order also tells courts to use videoconferencing or other remote conferencing tools (like telephones) for hearings rather than having people appear in person. You cannot be charged a fee for appearing by telephone or video. The order tells courts to practice social distancing and limit access to courtrooms and other spaces to no more than 10 people, including staff. This order is in effect until April 3, 2020. Essential functions include things like:

• Certain hearings in criminal cases, PPO violations, or juvenile delinquency cases where the defendant is in jail or prison;
• Infectious Disease proceedings;
• Requests to get or extend Personal Protection Orders;
• Emergency family law matters to address the safety or well-being of a child or party;
• Some CPS and child support hearings; 
• Involuntary commitment hearings; 
• Emergency guardianship, conservatorship, Adult Protective Services, and temporary restraining order hearings in Probate Court; and
• Other general civil, business, family, district court (including landlord/tenant, debt collection, and traffic), and probate court matters but only if they can be handled remotely by two-way video technology.

The order also tells the clerk to accept filings by mail, e-filing, e-mail, or fax if in-person filing is limited. Also, if parties reach an agreement and the court can accept the agreement without holding a hearing, those agreements can be filed and entered with the court for no extra fee. The Court also issued an Order on March 15th with other instructions to the courts. To learn more about different ways in which COVID-19 might affect your legal issue, go to the COVID-19 resource page on Michigan Legal Help.

 If you have a scheduled hearing and you think it might be considered essential, contact the court to find out what to do.  Go to the Supreme Court's website or Courts & Agencies on Michigan Legal Help to find the court you are supposed to visit and click on the link to learn more. 

If you need to contact your lawyer, call instead of visiting in person. If you have a new case and need a lawyer, call or use online intake instead of going to the office in person. Most legal aid offices are closed to the public, but staff there are still working to help their clients.  Use the Guide to Legal Help to find a lawyer or legal aid office near you. If you could be eligible for free legal services, the Guide will give you a phone number and, if available, the link to do an online intake.

Michigan Legal Help will continue to be an online resource for legal information related to COVID-19. We will be sharing statewide updates as often as we can at michiganlegalhelp.org/coronavirus. 

For information about how the State of Michigan is responding to COVID-19, visit the State of Michigan’s COVID-19 page. Another source for reliable information about COVID-19 is the Center for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 information page.

Other Closures 

Immigration Court

The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) postponed all non-detained cases in Immigration Courts nationwide through April 10th. For more information about how Immigration Courts are responding to COVID-19, visit the EOIR COVID-19 page.

U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services

All U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) field offices, asylum offices and Application Support Centers (ASCs) will not provide in-person services until at least April 1. This includes interviews, naturalization ceremonies and biometric collection appointments. USCIS will continue to provide emergency services during this time. If you have an emergency service request, please contact the USCIS Contact Center.

For information about how USCIS is responding to COVID-19, visit the USCIS COVID-19 page.

Michigan Department of Health and Human Service

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Service (MDHHS) offices are closed to the public, except for appointments. MDHHS offices will still be in operation.

You can apply for benefits online at MIBridges. If you are unable to apply online, you can apply by calling your local MDHHS office. If you are unable to upload your documents online, submit your verifications via regular mail. Families who receive or apply for cash assistance under the Family Independence Program (FIP) will not be required to attend orientations at Michigan Works! offices or to engage in subsequent employment activities.

Unemployment Insurance Agency

The Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) offices are closed to the public, except for appointments. UIA offices will still be in operation.

Eligible employees are encouraged to apply for unemployment benefits online at www.michigan.gov/UIA or by calling 1-866-500-0017.

Updated 3/20/20

The following press release was issued today: "Governor Gretchen Whitmer today signed Executive Order 2020-19, which allows tenants and mobile home owners to remain in their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic even if they are unable to stay current on their rent. The order also relieves courts from certain statutory restrictions to enable them to stay eviction-related proceedings until after the COVID-19 emergency has passed. The executive order takes effect immediately and will remain in effect until April 17 at 11:59 p.m.

“Families across the state are facing a number of uncertainties, from concerns about their health and well-being and that of their loved ones to when their next paycheck will arrive. Worrying about whether they’ll be evicted from their home, apartment or mobile home should not be on this list,” Governor Whitmer said. “This executive order will ease a burden on families struggling to make ends meet and allow them to focus on what’s most important — staying safe and healthy.”

“We continue to urge all Michigan families to remain focused on putting their health first and making smart decisions to help slow the spread of COVID-19,” said Jeff Donofrio, director of the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. “This order, in addition to Wednesday’s order extending the tax foreclosure deadline, will give renters and homeowners some peace of mind.”

More information will be available on Michigan Legal Help soon.