How to Get a Restraining Order in Florida

An injunction of protection against domestic violence, also known as a restraining is easy to obtain in the state of Florida. Unfortunately thousands of domestic violence situations continue each month due to the simple fact that a large number victims do not know how to obtain one. This easy to understand step by step guild will hopefully help you understand exactly what a restraining order is, if you do in fact need one, and how to apply for one. Domestic violence is serious, and taking a few simple steps could in fact save your life, according to the information found at the Women's Law website.

An injunction of protection or restraining order, is free in the state of Florida. It doesn't matter if your male or female, if your a victim of domestic violence you qualify for protection needed to protect you. Under Florida law domestic violence is considered any form of assault, aggravated assault, battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, and any physical harm or death that was caused by another house hold member. In order to file for an injunction you must have had at least one of these forms of violence committed toward you, or have reason to fear that they will occur. A common misunderstanding is that domestic violence can only happen between a husband and wife, this is not true. In order for your assault to be considered domestic violence your abuser must be:

Your current husband, or wife.
Your ex husband or ex wife.
A person related to you by blood or by marriage such as a cousin, aunt, brother-in-law, and so on.
Any person who has lived in the same home as you as part of the family, such as room mates, boyfriend, girlfriend, and so on.
The mother or father of your child even if you have never been married, or never lived together.

To obtain a retaining order you will need to visit the county courthouse in one of three counties, the county you live in, the county where the crime occurred, or the county where the abuser lives. Either of these three counties will do, but it must be one of the three. You will need to bring your drivers license or Florida I.D with you. Once your at the courthouse you will need to ask the clerk at the information desk where to fill out an injunction for domestic violence. Each court house is different, but they all have a room for injunctions, and they will know what your taking about. Once you get to the room you need you will be given an injunction of protection against domestic violence petition to fill out. Information you will need to know include:

The current address and phone number of your abuser. Also, if you happen to know your abusers current work number and work address it will be helpful. The courts must know how to contact your abuser to serve him papers.
You will need to know the dates and places of when you were married, divorced, or separated.
You need to give a full detailed description of the assault, and why your in fear of your abuser to date.
Copies of any pending court cases, are helpful.
Copies of any police reports, and or medical reports are also important.

Once you finish filling out the paper work, do not sign it. The petition must be signed by a Notary, the person who gave you the petition will need to witness your signature. Once the petition is completed, you will be given a temporary restraining order, which is good for no more then 15 days. Your abuser must be served by a court representative within that time frame, that is why it is very important to know where to find your abuser. Once your abuser is served, both of you will need to appear before the judge. The scheduled court date and time will be listed on your temporary injunction. When you appear before the judge be prepared to face your abuser, and tell the judge everything that took place. Bring all photo's, witnesses, and any other proof you have with you. The judge will then make his ruling on whether or not a full restraining order is necessary. The judge also at that point has the right to order temporary child support, and temporary custody of a child. This will enforce that the abuser must stay away from both the victim and shared children.

Both the temporary injunction and the full injunction work the same. The abuser must not be within so many yards of you at any time. The abuser can not call, write, email, or try to make contact to you through family or friends. The judge will make this very clear to the abuser. If the abuser violates the restraining order he or she will be arrested regardless. For more information on domestic violence in Florida please visit www.fcadv.org. You may also call the Florida's 24 hour domestic abuse hot-line 24 hours a day a 1-800-500-1119.

For more information related to this article please visit: www.womenslaw.org/FL/FL_courthouse.htm.