← Free law firm client intake forms

Family law client intake form

A free intake form for family law firms. Part 1 is the form a new client fills in: post it on your website, send it as a PDF, or hand it over in the office. Part 2 is the questions your intake staff should ask next, because a form's answers often point to something the form can't ask about.

Print this page, or save it as a PDF from your browser's print dialog. Change it to fit your firm and your state.

This is a template, not legal advice. Which court can hear a case, and the deadlines that apply, differ by state.

Part 1: The client form

About you

  • Full name: ____________________
  • Phone: ____________________ Email: ____________________
  • Is it safe for us to call, text, or email you at these? ☐ Yes ☐ No. A safer way to reach you: ____________________
  • Mailing address: ____________________
  • Date of birth: ____________________

Your safety

  • Is anything going on in your household that affects your safety or your children's safety? ☐ No ☐ Yes ☐ I'd rather talk about it
  • Is there a protective order or restraining order between you and the other person? ☐ No ☐ Yes. Date it expires: ____________________

What you need help with

☐ Divorce or separation ☐ Custody or parenting time ☐ Child support ☐ Spousal support ☐ A protective order ☐ Paternity ☐ Adoption ☐ Guardianship of a child ☐ A prenuptial agreement ☐ Changing an existing order ☐ Something else: ____________________

Your family

  • The other person's name: ____________________
  • Your relationship: ☐ Married ☐ Partners, not married ☐ Separated ☐ Divorced ☐ Never lived together
  • Date of marriage, or how long you've been together: ____________________
  • Date you separated, if you have: ____________________
  • Your children, with each child's age and who the child lives with now: ____________________

Where everyone lives

  • The state and county where you live, and for how long: ____________________
  • The state and county where the other person lives: ____________________
  • Where each child has lived in the past few years: ____________________
  • Has anyone moved to another state, or is anyone planning to? ☐ No ☐ Yes. Who, and when: ____________________

Court cases and orders

  • Is there a divorce, custody, support, or protective order case now, or has there been one before, in any state? ☐ No ☐ Yes. The court and case number: ____________________
  • Have you been served with papers? ☐ No ☐ Yes. Date you were served: ____________________
  • Do you have a court date coming up? ☐ No ☐ Yes. Date: ____________________
  • Does the other person have a lawyer? ☐ No ☐ Yes ☐ Not sure
  • Do you and the other person agree on the main issues? ☐ Mostly ☐ Some ☐ No

Money and property

  • Your job and income: ____________________
  • The other person's job and income, if you know: ____________________
  • Do you own a home? ☐ No ☐ Yes. Who lives there now: ____________________
  • Major assets, such as retirement accounts, savings, vehicles, or a business: ____________________
  • Major debts: ____________________

Your children's needs

  • Schooling, health, or special needs we should know about: ____________________

Anything else

  • Is there anything else we should know? ____________________
  • How did you hear about us? ____________________

Sending this form does not make this firm your lawyer. The firm will contact you to talk about whether it can help.

Part 2: The questions to ask next

A form takes the answer it gets. These are the questions to ask when an answer is thin, or when it points to something the form didn't ask. Each one starts from an answer on the form.

Safety first

  • The client checked yes or "I'd rather talk about it" under safety. Ask whether they are safe right now, and whether the other person can see their phone, email, or messages. Learn what the firm needs, and press for no details beyond that.
  • A child has been taken or kept from the client, or may be taken out of the state or the country. Get the dates and where the child is now, and flag it to an attorney the same day.

Deadlines and court dates

  • The client was served with papers. Get the date of service and the response deadline written on the papers. Ask them to bring every page.
  • A court date is coming up. Get the date, the court, and what the hearing is for.
  • A protective order is in place. Get the date it was issued and the date it expires.
  • Someone moved, or plans to move, with a child. Get the date. A move across state lines can change which court hears the case.

Existing orders

  • There is an order from another state. Get the state, the court, and the case number. Ask what the order says, as the client understands it.
  • The client wants to change an order. Ask what changed since the order was made, and when.

The other person

The client is usually the firm's best early source on the other person. Ask for what they know, even secondhand, and let them say when they don't know:

  • The other person's job and income.
  • The assets and debts in the other person's name.
  • What the other person has said or done about the issues.

The client's own part

The other side will raise it. Ask about it plainly now, so the attorney hears it first:

  • Any charge, order, or report against the client.
  • Any money the client moved, spent, or kept from the other person.
  • The client's own conduct toward the other person or the children, their alcohol or drug use, a new partner, and their time away from the children. Ask only the kinds your firm asks about, and only where the matter may turn on them.

Situations to handle with care

  • The client's immigration status depends on the marriage. Record it. The client may also need an immigration lawyer.
  • A party is in the military. Record it. Special rules may apply to a servicemember.
  • A child is a member of a tribe, or there is a tribal court case. Record it. Tribal law may apply.

When the matter may be another area of law

  • Criminal charges for violence, against either person: the client may also need a criminal defense lawyer.
  • A dispute over a will, a trust, or an estate after a death: an estate matter.
  • Guardianship of an adult: an elder law matter.

Ask these questions without a form

Verantel asks these questions as an interview. It talks with the people who reach your firm, in plain language and in their own language, asks about safety first, and asks the next question when an answer points to a court date, a response deadline, or an order from another state. Then it hands your firm a structured record, with the interview line each fact came from. Verantel is not a lawyer and gives no legal advice.

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