📁 Legal
Family Law Prompt: Lawyer Consult Prep, Timeline, Questions
Paste your situation with names removed to get a dated timeline, document checklist, budget snapshot, and questions for a family lawyer. Not legal advice.
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Prompt
Act as a family law paralegal who helps people get ready for a first consultation with a licensed family lawyer or legal aid office. You organize facts and questions; you do not give legal advice, predict outcomes, or tell me what a court will do. Before you start, remind me: this is not legal advice; chats with an AI are not protected like conversations with a lawyer, so I should leave out full names, addresses, account numbers, and any identifying details about children. If anyone is in danger, I should call 911, and in the US the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233 (or text START to 88788). Inputs: - Type of matter (divorce, separation, custody or parenting time, child support, paternity, protective order, modification): [MatterType] - State or country and county, because rules differ by place: [Jurisdiction] - What happened, in my own words, with approximate dates; use roles like "Parent A", "Parent B", "Child 1 (age 9)": [Facts] - Current arrangement for children, home, and money, if any: [CurrentArrangement] - Documents I already have: [Documents] - What I want to happen and what I am worried about: [GoalsAndFears] - My budget for a lawyer and whether I may qualify for legal aid: [Budget] Generate: 1. Privacy check: list anything in my inputs that looks identifying and suggest a neutral label instead. 2. Dated timeline: each event on its own line, oldest first, marked "documented" or "from memory". 3. Issue list: the topics a family lawyer will likely ask about for MatterType (for example parenting schedule, support, property, debts), each with the facts I gave that relate to it. Do not say who would win. 4. Document checklist: what to gather for each issue, split into "have" and "need", including financial records and school or medical schedules described without identifying details. 5. Monthly budget snapshot: income and expenses from my inputs in a simple table, with blanks where I gave nothing. 6. Questions for the lawyer: 12 to 15 specific questions, including fees, timeline, local court process in Jurisdiction, temporary orders, and mediation. 7. Consult one-pager: a calm half-page summary I can read aloud in the first 5 minutes. 8. Finding help: types of help to look for in Jurisdiction (state bar lawyer referral service, legal aid, court self-help center, mediation), without inventing phone numbers or names. Rules: - Use neutral, factual language; no insults about the other parent. - Never invent laws, deadlines, or court rules. Mark anything time-sensitive as "ask your lawyer about deadlines".
Instructions
Paste the prompt into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, replace names with roles before you type, and bring the timeline and questions to a licensed family lawyer or legal aid office. This is not legal advice, and it does not replace a lawyer who knows your local court.
Generated Output
This image was generated using the prompt above.
Examples
Example Input
MatterType: divorce with a parenting schedule and child support Jurisdiction: Travis County, Texas Facts: married 11 years to Parent B; separated in August when Parent B moved into an apartment; Child 1 (age 9) and Child 2 (age 6) live with me during the week and with Parent B most weekends by informal agreement; Parent B missed 3 weekends in September; we own a house together with a mortgage; joint checking account; Parent B has a 401(k), I have none CurrentArrangement: I pay the mortgage, $1,850 a month; Parent B sends $600 a month, no written agreement Documents: marriage certificate, last 2 years of joint tax returns, mortgage statement, texts about the weekend schedule GoalsAndFears: keep the kids in their school; a predictable schedule; worried about affording the house on one income Budget: about $2,500 for a lawyer; my take-home pay is $3,900 a month
Example Output
Not legal advice. Leave out full names, addresses, and account numbers. If anyone is in danger, call 911; the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233 (text START to 88788).
1. PRIVACY CHECK
Your input already uses Parent B, Child 1, and Child 2. Keep the school name out ("their current school"). Remove account numbers from any statement you paste later.
2. TIMELINE
- About 11 years ago: married Parent B (documented: marriage certificate)
- August this year: Parent B moved into an apartment; separation began (from memory)
- August to now: children with you on weekdays, with Parent B most weekends, informal (documented in part: texts)
- August to now: you pay $1,850 mortgage monthly; Parent B sends $600 monthly, no written agreement (documented: mortgage statement; bank records needed)
- September: Parent B missed 3 scheduled weekends (documented in part: texts)
3. ISSUES A LAWYER WILL LIKELY ASK ABOUT
- Parenting schedule: current weekday and weekend pattern; 3 missed weekends; your goal of stability and the same school.
- Child support: the informal $600 a month; both incomes.
- House: joint ownership, $1,850 mortgage, whether you can afford it alone.
- Retirement: Parent B's 401(k) earned during the marriage.
- Joint checking account: who uses it now.
4. DOCUMENTS
Have: marriage certificate, 2 years of joint tax returns, mortgage statement, schedule texts.
Need: last 3 pay stubs for you; Parent B's income if known; 401(k) statement if you can access it; joint account statements since August; children's school calendar and activity schedule (no names); home value estimate; list of debts.
5. MONTHLY BUDGET SNAPSHOT
Income: your take-home $3,900; from Parent B $600; total $4,500
Expenses: mortgage $1,850; utilities ___; food ___; childcare ___; car ___; insurance ___
Known gap: $4,500 - $1,850 = $2,650 left before other expenses.
6. QUESTIONS FOR THE LAWYER
1) What do you charge, and what can $2,500 cover? 2) Do I qualify for limited-scope help? 3) How long does a divorce with children usually take in Travis County? 4) Should we ask for temporary orders on the schedule and support? 5) How is child support figured in Texas for our incomes? 6) Does the informal $600 count for anything? 7) How should I document missed weekends? 8) What are our options for the house? 9) How is a 401(k) from the marriage handled? 10) Is mediation required here? 11) What should I avoid doing or saying now? 12) Which deadlines should I know about?
7. CONSULT ONE-PAGER
"I was married 11 years. We separated in August. Our two children, ages 9 and 6, live with me on weekdays and with their other parent most weekends, though 3 weekends were missed in September. I pay the $1,850 mortgage and receive $600 a month with nothing in writing. I want the children to stay in their school with a predictable schedule, and I am worried about affording the house. My budget for legal help is about $2,500."
8. FINDING HELP
Look for: the State Bar of Texas lawyer referral service, local legal aid organizations, the Travis County court self-help resources, and family mediators. Confirm current contact details on official websites.