LSNJ publishes a legal education newsletter, Looking Out for Your Legal Rights®, and a series of self-help manuals. Some of our manuals and handbooks are currently unavailable in print. Because of deep funding cutbacks, we are uncertain whether we will be able to offer printed copies in the future. However, all of our publications are available in text format on LSNJLAW.org. Some are also available here in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer, you can download it from Adobe's site.

Our publications are available free of charge to Legal Services clients and people with low incomes. If you call LSNJ-LAW™, Legal Services of New Jersey's statewide, toll-free legal hotline, at 1-888-576-5529, between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., a hotline intake staff member will determine if you are Legal Services-eligible.

Copyright information

Legal Services of New Jersey makes these materials available for use by individuals who cannot afford legal advice or representation. The materials may be downloaded, copied, and distributed freely for that purpose. They may not be sold or used commercially by others. If the materials are copied and distributed, we ask that they not be modified, and that they retain the information identifying Legal Services of New Jersey and the date the materials were produced.

Please contact if you have questions about our publications.

Looking Out for Your Legal Rights ® $10.00 per year for 10 issues

Looking Out for Your Legal Rights is LSNJ's newsletter for clients and the general public. In language that is easy to understand, Looking Out gives you general information about current legal issues and how they may affect you.

• This annual income tax issue of Looking Out provides important information about filing 2009 federal income taxes.
  • Filing requirements: Who must file and what income is taxable?
  • Filing status: There are five filling statuses.
  • Exemptions: Exemptions reduce your taxable income.
  • Deductions: Deductions reduce your taxable income and reduce the tax you must pay.
  • Credits: Credits may increase your tax refund and lower the amount of tax you owe the IRS.
  • Tax changes for 2009.

Previous issues
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Child Abuse and Neglect: A guide for parents involved in DYFS child abuse or neglect cases
View as a Web page in English | Spanish
View the PDF file in English | Spanish

Legal Services of New Jersey wrote this handbook to help parents when the Division of Youth and Family Services files a court case to place their children in foster care based on claims that the parents have abused or neglected their children. This handbook will help you understand the things you must do to try to reunite with your child as soon as possible.

Clearing Your Record: A Six-Step Guide to Expunging Criminal Records in New Jersey provides basic information about how to clear—"expunge"—a record of arrest or conviction in New Jersey. Forms and instructions are included in the printed version only. In the limited circumstances where expungement is possible, the process is relatively simple and can usually be managed without the help of a lawyer.

The printed edition is currently unavailable. Because of deep funding cutbacks, we are uncertain whether we will be able to offer printed copies in the future. Please check back here for updated information.

Getting a divorce in New Jersey can be a complicated process. The second edition of this guide has been carefully put together to make it as helpful as possible for those who want to get a divorce on their own. The 270-page manual explains how to file for divorce in New Jersey based on irreconcilable differences, separation, desertion, or extreme cruelty. It includes the forms and letters needed for filing.

The printed edition is currently unavailable. Because of deep funding cutbacks, we are uncertain whether we will be able to offer printed copies in the future. Please check back here for updated information.

This handbook reviews the major provisions of New Jersey law regarding domestic violence and suggests some of the measures you can take to protect yourself from abuse, including using the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act to get a restraining order to keep the abuser away.

Foreclosure is the legal process where a court orders the sale of a home when the homeowner doesn’t pay the mortgage. Right now, many homeowners are having trouble making their mortgage payments. You need to know that the lender cannot take your house automatically, even if you have missed mortgage payments. The lender must take you to court, where you can defend yourself against foreclosure. You also need to know that, in certain circumstances, mortgage foreclosure can be prevented. The information in this manual is designed to help you understand the court process for foreclosure and the defenses you might have that may help you prevent foreclosure.

This informational series of flyers answers questions about welfare rights.

Applying: If you are trying to get welfare, food stamps, Medicaid, or other assistance, know what the welfare office is required to do.
View as a Web page
View PDF file in English | Spanish

Appealing: If the welfare office does something that you think is wrong, you can challenge the decision.
View as a Web page
View PDF file in English | Spanish

Sanctions: Have your welfare benefits been reduced or stopped because you did not do what the welfare office told you to do?
View as a Web page
View PDF file in English | Spanish

Welfare to Work Program: If you are receiving or applying for cash benefits, food stamps, Medicaid, or other assistance from the welfare office, there are other things they must do to help you.
View as a Web page
View PDF file in English | Spanish

Domestic Violence: If you are getting welfare and have a problem with domestic violence, the welfare office can give you special help.
View as a Web page
View PDF file in English | Spanish

This handbook contains information on preventing and recognizing the signs of lead poisoning, as well as the legal rights of those who may be at risk.

If you are not eligible for Medicaid or NJ FamilyCare, and you do not have other health insurance that will pay all of your hospital costs, you may still be entitled to free or reduced-cost hospital care if you cannot afford it on your own. This handbook will help you understand what to do.

Tenants' Rights in New Jersey
Click on one of the links below to read the text of the handbook.
View as a Web page in English | Spanish
View PDF file in English

Tenants' Rights in New Jersey is LSNJ's guide to landlord-tenant law for New Jersey residents. The manual includes chapters on finding a place to live, security deposits, leases, rent increases, the responsibilities of landlords and tenants, legal and illegal evictions, condo and co-op conversions, and the right to safe and decent housing.

The printed edition is currently unavailable. Because of deep funding cutbacks, we are uncertain whether we will be able to offer printed copies in the future. Please check back here for updated information.

Termination of Parental Rights: A Handbook for Parents
View as a Web page in English | Spanish
View PDF file in English | Spanish

LSNJ wrote this handbook to help parents when the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) takes legal action to terminate (end) their rights to their children. This handbook contains information about the law and legal process that apply to you as a defendant parent being sued by DYFS in a termination of parental rights case.

You and the Law in New Jersey is a guidebook that helps readers understand the law, their rights, and how to get legal help. The book, written by Legal Services of New Jersey, is available from Rutgers University Press. For information about ordering You and The Law in New Jersey, contact the Rutgers University Press.

Your Right to an Interpreter
View PDF file in English | Spanish | French | Korean

Agencies that get state or federal funds such as a government offices, schools, courts, hospitals, police, fire departments, and nonprofit agencies, such as Legal Services offices, must provide you with a free interpreter and translated materials if you need them.

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