About The LGBT Family Law Service

Why this service exists

Finding the right family law attorney is hard. Finding one who actually understands LGBTQ families is harder — and finding one at 11 p.m. on a Saturday, in the middle of an emergency, is often impossible. We built The LGBT Family Law Service to close that gap.

For too many LGBTQ people, the first call to a family lawyer feels like a job interview in reverse: Are you going to respect my pronouns? Are you going to know what "second-parent adoption" is? Will you treat my partner the way you'd treat a spouse? Do I have to explain that "the marriage" started in 1998 even if the paperwork says 2014?

That kind of vetting takes hours. People put it off. Problems compound. Custody emergencies happen when the lawyer's office is closed. Estate planning gets deferred until it's too late. The right legal step in your family-building plan gets missed because no one knew to mention it.

One free phone call to a real person, day or night, with a vetted LGBTQ-affirming family law attorney on the other end of the connection — that's the whole idea.

What we are (and aren't)

What we are: a referral and information service. We answer the phone 24/7. We listen. We match you with an LGBTQ-affirming family law attorney in your state who handles the kind of case you're facing — divorce, custody, adoption, surrogacy, estate planning, name and gender marker changes, or any other family law matter.

What we are not: a law firm. We do not employ attorneys. We do not give legal advice. Calling us does not create an attorney-client relationship with The LGBT Family Law Service. The attorneys in our network are independent professionals, and the attorney-client relationship is formed only when you and an attorney decide to work together. This isn't a technicality — it's important. Read the full disclaimer.

How the model works

The service is free to you. Always. You're never charged a referral fee.

We may receive compensation from attorneys in our network for referrals, but that compensation does not affect what an attorney charges you, and it never creates an obligation for you to retain an attorney we connect you with. You decide. The attorney sets their own fees. You pay the attorney directly only if you choose to engage them, on terms you agree to in writing with that attorney.

This model has a useful side effect: because attorneys pay to participate, we have a financial incentive to make sure the attorneys we refer are competent and affirming. A bad referral hurts our reputation with both clients and attorneys. So we vet.

What "vetted" means in our network

Every attorney in our network meets a baseline:

• Active license in good standing in their state of practice.
• Demonstrated experience handling family law matters for LGBTQ clients — divorces, custody cases, second-parent and confirmatory adoptions, surrogacy contracts, gender marker petitions, or related.
• Affirming practice as a baseline, not as a marketing claim. Correct pronouns, chosen names, forms that don't assume "husband and wife," recognition that families come in many shapes.
• No history of public discipline that would disqualify them. We monitor state bar disciplinary records.
• Willingness to offer a free or low-cost initial consultation to people we connect them with.

Vetting doesn't guarantee any outcome in any case. It guarantees that the lawyer you talk to has handled cases like yours before, knows the law, and will treat you and your family with respect.

Why we answer the phone, 24/7, with a real person

Legal emergencies don't keep business hours. Custody crises and domestic violence don't keep business hours. A 2 a.m. realization that you and your partner need a HIPAA authorization before the surgery tomorrow doesn't keep business hours.

And on the other side, the friction of "fill out this form and we'll call you back in 1-3 business days" is the friction that makes people give up and not get help. We refuse to put that friction in front of LGBTQ people who already face more friction than anyone should.

So a real person answers the line. Every time. No phone tree, no voicemail. If you reach us outside the time when we can match you with an attorney immediately, we still listen, we still take your information, and we still get you connected as quickly as possible — same call when we can, next business hours at the latest.

Who we serve

The LGBT Family Law Service is for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, nonbinary, queer, intersex, asexual, and otherwise LGBTQ+ individuals, couples, and families anywhere in the United States. We help married couples, registered domestic partners, long-term unmarried partners, single parents, blended families, chosen families, and three-parent families.

We help in English and Spanish. We help by phone and by video. We help whether you live in California or any other state. We don't require an office visit — most of what attorneys in our network do for clients today can start by phone or video.

The disclosure that matters

We talk about this in our Disclaimer, our Terms of Service, and the footer of every page on this site — and we're going to say it once more here, because honesty is the foundation everything else sits on:

The LGBT Family Law Service is not a law firm. We do not provide legal advice. Calling us does not create an attorney-client relationship with us. Any attorney-client relationship is formed only with the independent, licensed family law attorney you choose to retain after a referral. Information on this site is general; it is not a substitute for legal advice from a licensed attorney who has reviewed the facts of your specific situation.

We say this clearly because we'd rather be honest about what we are than market what we aren't. We are a free, 24/7, vetted referral service for the LGBTQ community. That's the job. We do it well.

How to use the service

One way: call (855) 218-9853. A real person will answer. They will listen. They will get you connected with the right LGBTQ family law attorney for your situation.

Another way: send a message through the contact form. Someone will follow up. For urgent matters, call instead.

Either way, the service is free, confidential, and built for the community it serves.

Browse the practice areas we cover

• LGBTQ Custody & Parentage Attorney — pre- and post-birth parentage orders, second-parent recognition, custody disputes, surrogacy and ART agreements.
• LGBTQ Divorce Attorney — same-sex divorce, domestic partnership dissolution, high-asset and multi-state cases.
• LGBTQ Adoption Attorney — second-parent, confirmatory, stepparent, independent, agency, international, and foster-to-adopt.
• LGBTQ Estate Planning Attorney — wills, trusts, POAs, HIPAA authorizations, trans-inclusive plans.
• LGBTQ Divorce Mediation Attorney — divorce, co-parenting, property division, premarital, collaborative.
• Name and Gender Marker Change Attorney — adult and minor name changes, gender marker petitions, sealed orders, document updates.