Chosen Family Law Center provides direct legal support to qualifying New York residents.

We are proud to offer legal assistance to low income residents of our LGBTQIA, polyamorous, and chosen family communities in New York.

You have the right to choose your family and protect your family with legal structure.

We are here to support you and your family, in whatever form it takes!

Our free legal services include name and gender marker changes, assistance with building a family such as parentage and coparenting, or protections for yourself and family, such as wills and estate documents.

How to get help from CFLC

See the information below for information about what services we offer, who qualifies for them, and then click the button to complete our online intake form to apply.

If you aren’t sure what you need, don’t know if you qualify, or cannot complete the online form, email contact@chosenfamilylawcenter.org or call us at (732) 639-1657 and someone will assist you.

Services we currently provide

We currently provide following services:

Name and Gender Marker Changes on identity documents
Will and Estate Documents including Powers of Attorney and Medical Advance Directives
Known Donor Agreements
Family Formation such as Co-Habitation and Co-Parenting Agreements
Parentage Petitions for nonbiological parents
Asylee Adjustment of Status (Green Card) for those who have already been granted asylum for LGBTQIA+ reasons

We do NOT provide any of the following: Immigration, Discrimination, Workplace/Empoyment Issues, Divorce, Custody, Child Support, Housing Rights, Medical Rights, Education/DOE issues, Beneficiary of a Will, Family Disputes, Domestic Violence, Restraining Orders, or Harassment. Please see the additional listings at the bottom of the page below as we do not offer those services.

Eligibility requirements

We can provide free legal services to low-income New Yorkers of the following counties:

New York City (all five boroughs)
Westchester County
Putnam County
Dutchess County
Ulster County

To qualify for free legal services, residents of these counties must make less than 250% of the federal poverty line. See here for more information about income eligibility requirements.

We do require documentation of residency and income before providing services.

Apply for help from CFLC

If you believe you are eligible and are requesting one of the services listed above, please complete our online intake form and someone will get back to you.

If you cannot complete the online form, call us at (732) 639-1657 and someone will assist you.

If you are in need of another kind of assistance or a service we do not provide, see below for more resources.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY FOR SERVICES

Need another kind of help?

If you are in NYC and are seeking help with: LGBTQIA+ discrimination, Divorce, Housing Rights, Medical Rights, Education, Beneficiary of a Will, Family Disputes, Domestic Violence, Restraining Orders, Custody, Harassment, or other legal issues, please see the listings below as we do not offer those services.

If you are looking for help with divorce and cannot afford an attorney, please check this list of resources: https://www.justia.com/lawyers/divorce/new-york/new-york-city/legal-aid-and-pro-bono-services

If you are experiencing hate violence, harassment, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, or institutional violence, please contact the NY Anti-violence Project: https://avp.org/ - they also have a hotline at (212) 714-1141, and they may be able to provide you with the assistance you need.

If you are expriencing assault, The Crime Victims Treatment Center may also be able to offer support: https://www.cvtcnyc.org/
CVTC support comes in the forms of crisis intervention, individual and group trauma-focused therapy, legal advocacy, complementary therapy and psychiatric consultation. We are available from the moments following an assault, all the way through the culmination of a survivor's healing process. All of our services are confidential and completely free of charge.

If you are seeking help with housing, medical issues, custody matters, or other legal issues in NYC, we suggest you contact the NYC Bar Justice Center:
https://www.nycbar.org/for-the-public/free-legal-services
The City Bar Justice Center’s Legal Hotline offers legal information, advice and referrals to low-income New Yorkers who cannot afford a private attorney or do not have access to legal representation. The Hotline can assist you with civil legal issues, including matrimonial and family law, housing law, domestic violence, bankruptcy, and debt collection and benefits.
The Legal Hotline is available Monday - Thursday from 9:00AM to 5:00PM and on Friday from 9:00AM to 1:00PM at 212-626-7383, or you can apply online for assistance by filling out the online intake application.

You may also contact https://www.lawhelpny.org/ for a full directory of legal services available to you. LawHelpNY.org provides legal information for New Yorkers who cannot afford a lawyer. LawHelpNY lists more than 600 free legal service projects and organizations with their contact and intake information, and over 4,000 Know Your Rights and self-help resources covering 16 areas of law.

If you are looking for assistance with something other than the above, or are not in New York, we suggest you contact lawhelp.org.

If you are seeking assistance outside of NY/NYC and can afford an attorney, the LGBT Bar Association keeps a list of vetted attorneys who may be able to assist you. Use this map to find an attorney in your state/near you: https://lgbtqbar.org/programs/member-practice-area-groups/family-law-institute/family-law-attorney-directory/