Monterey County Superior Court Self-Help Center

The Self-Help Center provides information and explains options to self-represented litigants. The Self-Help Center does not represent parties or give legal advice.

For additional help after reviewing this website, you can:

• Visit the Self-Help Center office in Monterey Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, and Tuesday 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM
• In Salinas on Mondays and Fridays only, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm; CLOSED on the fourth Friday of each Month;
• In Greenfield on the 4th Friday of each month from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm

Meet the staff

Peggy Hill is a California attorney and has been the Family Law Facilitator in Monterey since April of 2007. She was a family law attorney for 24 years before coming to the Facilitator’s office. She graduated from UC Berkeley and Boalt Hall School of Law.

Maria L. Mendoza is the staff attorney for the Self-Help Center at the Monterey County Superior Court. Ms. Mendoza previously worked for California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA) for 7 years. She graduated from UC Irvine with a BA degree, and obtained her law degree from McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento.

Appointments

• Visit the Self-Help Center to get information on workshops on family law topics, such as divorce and child support, visitation and custody issues.

The Self-Help Center can help you with:

• Child Support Issues
• Paternity Issues, including Set Aside Motion
• Child Custody & Visitation
• Spousal Support
• Dissolutions (Divorce)
• Legal Separation/Annulment
• Domestic Partnerships
• Elder Abuse
• Domestic Violence
• Civil Harassment
• Probate Guardianships
• Unlawful Detainers and Answers (Landlord/Tenant Issues)
• Referrals to Small Claims Advisors
• Monterey County Bar Association referrals
• Referrals to other community resources
• Small Claims forms
• Limited Conservatorships

The Self-Help Center cannot help you with:

• Criminal matters of any type
• Landlord/Tenant Disputes for Section 8 Housing or other situations
• Immigration
• Juvenile Court matters (Juvenile Justice, dependency-including CPS matters)
• Traffic
• Probate matters (such as wills, trusts and conservatorships)
• Dismissing Criminal Domestic Violence Restraining Orders
• Most General Civil Litigation
• Workers’ Compensation

Forms

State forms are on the Judicial Council website and local forms are on the Court's main website.

Legal Advice

Information is available at the State Court Self-Help Site ( www.courts.ca.gov). You can obtain a referral to a lawyer or legal aid group from the local bar association. The Self-Help Center can assist you with identifying the forms you need to file, review your completed forms for accuracy, and answer questions about the legal process.

You can get more help at these websites:

• Superior Court of California (County of Monterey) Home Page, the Court's main website
• Public Access Case Info Home Page, the Court's site that provides online case and calendar information (for Civil, Family, Probate and Small Claims cases that are not confidential)
• County of Monterey Home Page. Contact county elected officials, Recorder’s Office and other county services
• The Monterey County Bar Association. Select "Lawyer Referral Service" information about how to find a lawyer
• Small Claims Advisor – Monterey College of Law offers assistance with small claims questions by telephone and small claims mediation. Call (831)582-5235.
• Web Site of the Judicial Council of California (JCC). Click on the "Help Center"
• LawHelpCalifornia.org assists low-income Californians solve legal problems
• www.sucorte.ca.gov: informacion legal gratis ahora disponible para la comunidad de habla hispana
• Monterey County Law Library: 2nd Floor Of Monterey Courthouse (1200 Aguajito Road, Monterey) or Salinas (230 Church Street, Bldg. 1, Salinas)