Legal Specs

Protection Orders under Seattle Family Law

08 Aug 2007

If you are in immediate danger of domestic violence, call 911. If you need a court order protecting you and/or your children from a violent family member, call a Seattle family law attorney.

Domestic violence is a serious and ever growing problem. Once violence happens in a family, statistics show that it likely will happen again. While there are other resources available to victims of domestic violence, a Seattle Family Law attorney can get you a protection order preventing contact between an abusive person and those who need protection from the abuser.

Under Seattle family law, a court may enter an order of protection after a person files a petition with the court enumerating facts showing the existence of domestic violence. The court might even grant a temporary order without the respondent (the restrained person) in court; however, the order must be served upon the respondent in order for it to be valid, and a hearing must be set for within fourteen days. The factors that the court will consider when ruling on an order of protection are somewhat complicated and should be discussed with a Seattle Family Law lawyer.

When a court enters an order of protection there are various Seattle family law stipulations that it may use. An order of protection may prohibit contact between the parties, exclude one party from a shared residence, order the payment legal expenses, order a person to attend evaluations and counseling, order supervised visitation between the respondent and children, or any other provision which the court thinks necessary.

Although the rules of protection orders are complex, the process to get one is not. There are programs within Seattle Family Law to help people get an order of protection. The King County Superior Court offers publicly funded facilitators to help people through the process, and in a lot of cases, filing fees are waived.

Needless to say, safety is the primary aim of protection orders; therefore, the court makes it easy for people in danger to get an order without a lawyer and in a short time. However, obtaining a protection order is a big step—albeit often an indispensable one—in a family's life. A competent Seattle family law attorney will advise you about the advantages and disadvantages of getting a protection order as well as divorce or legal separation issues. McKinley Irvin attorneys, Seattle family law specialists, offer protection order services with respect and tenacity. Our Seattle family law attorneys do their part to eliminate the scourge of domestic violence and help get you on the path to better living.