Oregon Legal Aid for Divorce — Free and Low-Cost Help for Filing

Family law attorneys in Portland charge $250-$400 per hour with retainers starting at $3,500-$10,000. If that's out of reach, Oregon has several free and low-cost alternatives — from full legal representation for qualifying incomes to $60/hour consultations and free form review by court facilitators.

Free Legal Aid

Legal Aid Services of Oregon (LASO): Provides free legal representation in family law cases for low-income Oregonians. Eligibility is based on household income — generally at or below 125% of the federal poverty level. LASO handles dissolutions, custody, protective orders, and related family law matters. The demand far exceeds capacity, so not everyone who qualifies gets accepted.

Oregon Law Help (oregonlawhelp.org): A free online resource maintained by LASO with educational guides on divorce rights, procedures, and forms. Available to anyone regardless of income. The site explains basic rights and filing procedures but doesn't provide strategic guidance or step-by-step filing sequences.

Court facilitators: Many Oregon counties staff Family Law Facilitators who review completed forms for administrative completeness, verify that all required attachments are present, and explain local scheduling rules. They cannot draft forms, give legal opinions, or tell you what to ask for in your petition. Hours and availability vary by county — some offer drop-in sessions on specific days, others require appointments.

Low-Cost Legal Help

Oregon State Bar Modest Means Program: Connects qualifying individuals with private attorneys who agree to cap their rates at $60, $80, or $100 per hour depending on the client's income level. This is substantially below the $250-$400 market rate. You can use modest means attorneys for a full case or for limited, specific tasks like reviewing your proposed judgment or advising on custody terms.

The Commons Law Center (Portland): A nonprofit offering legal coaching starting at $125 per hour on a sliding scale. The model is self-help with professional guidance — you do the paperwork and filing yourself, and a lawyer reviews your work, answers questions, and flags potential problems. This is particularly useful for self-represented filers who want a safety net without paying for full representation.

St. Andrew Legal Clinic: Sliding-scale family law services for low-to-moderate-income families. Initial consultations are $50. Full representation is available at reduced rates based on income. Waitlists can be long, so apply early if you're considering this option.

Self-Help Resources

OJD Guide & File tool: The Oregon Judicial Department provides an interactive online tool that asks questions about your case and generates pre-filled forms based on your answers. It's free and available through courts.oregon.gov. The forms it produces are the official state forms — the tool just helps you fill in the blanks correctly.

OJD forms portal: All Oregon divorce forms are available for free download at courts.oregon.gov. The portal includes forms for every filing path (sole petition, co-petition, summary dissolution), every case type (with children, without children), and ancillary documents like fee waiver applications and Uniform Support Declarations.

Fee Waivers for Court Costs

If you can't afford the $301 filing fee, apply for a fee waiver or deferral under ORS 21.682. The application requires disclosing income, expenses, assets, and debts. A judge decides based on federal poverty guidelines updated annually.

The difference between waiver and deferral matters: a waiver eliminates the fee; a deferral lets you pay later. If deferred fees aren't paid by case end, they convert to a judgment against you with a 28% surcharge.

What Free Resources Can and Can't Do

Free resources give you the forms and basic information. What they don't give you is the step-by-step filing sequence, the county-specific variations that affect your timeline, or a pre-submission checklist that catches the errors that get packets rejected.

Court facilitators can check that your forms are filled out, but they can't tell you whether your proposed terms are reasonable or whether you're missing something that will cost you later (like failing to address retirement account division before the judgment is signed).

The Oregon Divorce Filing Process Guide fills the gap between free forms and paid attorney representation — a complete process map that walks you through every step, every deadline, and every common mistake, designed specifically for people navigating the Oregon system on their own.

See more Oregon guides →