I’ve Been Served With A Protective Order, What Do I Do Now?

Protective Orders can be one of the most alarming and hard to understand aspects of family law. A spouse can get a protective order against you and have you removed from the home within a matter of hours. Then you will have to stay out of the home, having no access to your belongings, until the court is able to have a full hearing, which can take up to two weeks. So, if you find yourself in the position where a protective order has been taken out against you; it is imperative that you do the following:

What To Know About Being Served With A Protective Order

• When the police make contact to remove you from the home make sure to grab clothes, cell phone chargers, work items, car keys, and anything else that you may need for the next two weeks. Generally, you will only have a few minutes to grab everything that you need, and you are almost always caught by surprise; so this part can be difficult.
• Make sure to keep the paperwork that the police give you. This part is important because it will have the relevant court dates.
• DO NOT contact your spouse under any circumstances; even if your spouse is texting/calling/emailing you, do not respond. Further, do not have anyone you know reach out to your spouse to speak with them. You can get a protective order violation that sticks with you even if the overarching protective order is dismissed. Any violation of a protective order can be a misdemeanor, which carries additional criminal penalties.
• Frequently a protective order will cover your spouse and not your children. This means that there are no restrictions on you seeing your children, but you will not be able to contact your spouse to coordinate visitation.
• Generally, if you are served a protective order there will be hearing that will follow. It is imperative that you are able to protect your rights during this hearing—a protective order can last up to two years; during those two years you may have to continue to pay all bills for your spouse as well as support yourself.

Protective orders are very serious and can have a large impact on your rights. If you have been served a protective order, contact one of our family law attorneys today so that we can discuss how to preserve your rights.