Q: Texas mom, 24, Looking to find out if I need to find a lawyer to represent me in court OR if I can get a court appointed
I have plenty of evidence of my own to support my own case I believe. So far I have a photo album with almost 50 different pieces of photo and video evidence. I walked away from my son and his father at the beginning of 2023 due to uncivil or even hostile home environment for what seemed to be because of my presence. My current partner offered me a place to stay but had told me he only had room for myself but he wouldn’t mind if we made room for my son over time, which I did. Until January of 2024 I let my sons father keep him with the trust that he would bring him to the doctors appointment or that he would be leaving my son with someone that could babysit appropriately while he was at work. In January 2024 I began having my son over to stay the night for a couple nights at a time on the weekends and noticed after the 3rd visit his conditions were unsatisfactory. Along with that is another issue of his father bringing a woman with a warrant around my son without permission.
A:
It is unclear if your matter concerns a CPS case that has been filed against you, a divorce proceeding, or a suit affecting the parent-child relationship (SAPCR).
Court-appointed lawyers are available in criminal cases and in cases in which Child Protective Services is seeking to remove your children from your household if you are indigent.
The fact pattern that you describe strongly suggests that you need a competent attorney with experience in family law. Unless you have substantial experience in litigation and family law, including how to lay a proper foundation for the admissibility of your evidence and what your discovery obligations are with respect to pretrial disclosure of relevant evidence and witnesses, this is clearly not a DIY project. While legally you can represent yourself in such a case, that would be like rebuilding an automobile transmission without knowing anything about automobile mechanics. You legally can do it on your own car, but you most likely do not have the knowledge, skill, education, and experience to do so.
Hotly contested cases involving conservatorship and possession of children usually require a medium-range initial retainer, most likely $15,000-20,000 for a competent, experienced family law attorney. You may find a young and hungry attorney at a bargain-basement price, but you get what you pay for.
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