Navigating Family Court with a Protective Order

Hello, my name is Brian L. Jackson. I’m a Tulsa father’s rights attorney here with Dads.Law, where fathers are not disposable. Last time we talked about what to expect with PO Court, and today I want to talk about another scenario that comes up somewhat frequently, which is if you have a PO filed against you and it turns into a family case, that is the other party, either you or the other party, files divorce, files a paternity case, well then what usually happens is the protective order will be consolidated into the family case. In other words, it becomes one case instead of two separate cases, and the family court will deal with both at the same time.

Now there’s good and bad to this. The good thing is if you’re dealing with a situation where she’s done something like put the kids on the PO, which happens a lot, you’re going to need to go to family court, because even if you get the PO kicked, especially if you’re unmarried, that doesn’t mean that you’ve had the right seat kicked. Because it’s not, there’s no visitation order, the PO court cannot enter a visitation order, you have to go to family court for that. So that’s one issue, but then the other side of it is, when you’re talking about anything to do with child custody, the standard there is best interests.

And what is relevant to best interests is a much broader situation than what’s relevant to a protective order. Protective order is a pretty narrow area of law, actually. The relevant issues are going to be what the person specifically alleged in their petition, and does it meet one of the four elements for a protective order. The four major elements are domestic violence, threat of domestic violence, stalking and harassment. And if it doesn’t meet the definition of one of those, then you’re out of luck and it may not even be relevant.

Why You Need a Good Lawyer in Family Court

So it’s a much narrower scope. Whereas you can bring up all kinds of stuff that could be relevant to best interests, everything from your schedule, to your drinking habits, to your extracurricular activities in the relationship, any of those things could potentially be considered relevant. And the result is you can overturn a rock that causes you a problem in some other way with a protective order. So it is a bit of a double-edged sword.

And guys, if you are heading into family court with a protective order, you really do need a good lawyer. And one place you can find a good lawyer is at Dads.Law, where fathers are not disposable.

Get a Low-cost Strategy Session Today

If you’re facing a family case involving a protective order, don’t navigate the legal system alone. Contact Dads.Law for a initial consultation with one of our experienced attorneys. We are here to protect your rights as a father and help you through this challenging process.