A restraining order can be a useful tool during a divorce, but before you ask your Las Vegas divorce lawyer to put one in place for you, it’s a good idea to learn about the different types and their uses. It’s also a good idea to consider the impact a divorce is likely to have on people who may be indirectly involved, like your children.
Physical Protection
If you are considering asking your Las Vegas divorce lawyer to petition the court for an order of protection to keep you safe, consider some of the details below.
- Have you ever felt that you or your child(ren) were in immediate physical danger from your spouse? If the answer is no, a restraining order may not be necessary. If the answer is yes, then you may want to consider a restraining order as well as limited visitation for the children.
- Are you afraid or are you angry? Some spouses act on their emotions. They might file a restraining order out of anger, rather than out of true fear. Some think that this document automatically makes them look like the “good guy” in the eyes of the court, but if there isn’t any reason for the order, it could make you look irrational instead.
- Are you thinking about the children? If you are trying to keep your children safe, that’s one thing. If you are trying to hurt your spouse by making him or her look bad in the eyes of the children and/or keep him or her away from the children, the only people you are really hurting is the children themselves.
A restraining order is one piece of paper. It won’t physically keep you from being harmed, but it does create a paper trail for the courts to observe. If there is a history of abuse, it’s a good idea to let your Las Vegas divorce lawyer know about it, and to take legal action to try to keep you safe. If there isn’t a history of abuse or any real fear of future abuse from your spouse, then a restraining order is not only unnecessary, but can be emotionally damaging to all parties involved.
Out-of-State Protection
Some states automatically file a restraining order or order of protection of some sort when the parties file for divorce. In some cases, these are put in place for physical protection, while others offer a means of financial protection. The order will be honored in Las Vegas, provided a few conditions are met. It should serve to protect the plaintiff from physical or sexual harm as well as any type of contact. The order must have been put in place by a judge who has jurisdiction over the case. The defendant must have had an opportunity to have his or her side heard, regardless of whether or not they used that opportunity. You may ask your Las Vegas attorney to help you have the order modified in the court it originated in, but it cannot be modified in a Las Vegas court if it did not originate there.
