ChatGPT Prompts for Family Law: 11 to Prep for Your Lawyer

ChatGPT prompts for family law are best used to prepare for a lawyer, not to replace one: they turn a stressful situation into a dated timeline, a document checklist, a budget, and clear questions for your first consultation. The 11 prompts below keep children's identities out and never ask the model to predict a ruling. This is not legal advice, and rules differ by state and county.

Safety and privacy first

If you or your children are in danger, call 911. In the US, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788. Conversations with an AI tool are not protected like conversations with your lawyer, so replace names with roles such as Parent A, Parent B, and Child 1 (age 9), and leave out addresses, school names, and account numbers.

Organize the facts

1. Privacy scrub

Here is my situation, [paste]. Point out anything identifying, especially about children, and suggest a neutral label for each before I continue.

2. Dated timeline

Turn these notes into a timeline, oldest first, one event per line, marking each "documented" or "from memory": [paste].

3. Issue sorter

For a [matter type] in [state], list the topics a family lawyer will likely ask about and which of my facts relate to each. Do not predict outcomes.

Documents and money

4. Document checklist

For each issue in this list, [paste], tell me what records to gather, split into what I have and what I need.

5. Budget snapshot

Build a monthly income and expense table from these numbers, [paste], leaving blanks where I gave nothing, and show what is left after fixed costs.

6. Parenting calendar notes

Turn these schedule notes, [paste], into a neutral log of planned and actual parenting time by date, without opinions about the other parent.

Get ready for the consultation

7. Questions for the lawyer

Write 12 to 15 questions for a first consultation about [matter type] in [county, state], including fees, timeline, temporary orders, mediation, and deadlines.

8. Five-minute summary

Write a calm half-page summary of my situation I can read aloud at the start of a consultation, using only these facts: [paste].

9. Fee and budget planner

I can spend about [amount] on legal help. List questions to ask about hourly rates, retainers, flat fees, and limited-scope help, and the kinds of free help to look for.

Communication and next steps

10. Neutral message rewrite

Rewrite this message to my co-parent, [paste], so it is short, factual, and about the children's schedule only, with no blame.

11. After-consult action list

Here are my notes from the lawyer meeting, [paste]. Turn them into a dated action list and questions I still need answered.

Worked example

A parent in Travis County, Texas, separated since August after 11 years of marriage, had two children, ages 9 and 6, living with them on weekdays and with Parent B most weekends under an informal deal. They paid the $1,850 mortgage, received $600 a month with nothing in writing, and had about $2,500 for legal help. The flagship prompt built a timeline marked documented or from memory, sorted the facts into parenting schedule, support, house, retirement, and joint account issues, and listed the records still needed.

It also produced a budget snapshot showing $2,650 left after the mortgage, twelve consultation questions, and a short summary to read aloud, all without names. Get the full family law consult prep prompt.

Related legal prompts

To understand terms before a meeting, use the legal research plan prompt and ChatGPT prompts for legal research. Professionals can see ChatGPT prompts for lawyers, and ChatGPT prompts for legal documents covers reading paperwork.

Find more in the Legal prompts hub, browse all prompts, or share your own prompt.