What you can document
Dated photographs, message threads, call logs, a police report number and medical records carry the day. Save them somewhere the respondent cannot reach.
Practice area
Protective orders
Temporary ex parte and two-year protective orders where family violence has occurred.
What the law actually says
If you are in immediate danger, call 911. A protective order is a civil tool, and it works alongside law enforcement rather than instead of it.
Texas Family Code title 4 allows a court to issue a protective order where family violence has occurred and is likely to occur again. A temporary ex parte order can issue the same day, without notice to the respondent, on a sworn application showing a clear and present danger. It lasts up to twenty days and is renewable.
The full hearing is set within fourteen days of filing. If the court finds family violence occurred and is likely to occur in the future, it issues a protective order that ordinarily lasts up to two years, and longer where the respondent caused serious bodily injury or has a prior protective order. The order can exclude the respondent from your residence, set a distance restriction, address possession of the children, order support and prohibit firearm possession.
Governed principally by Tex. Fam. Code title 4
What we handle in this area
- Emergency temporary ex parte protective orders filed the same day
- Two-year family violence protective orders after a contested hearing
- Magistrate's orders for emergency protection following an arrest
- Orders addressing the children, the residence and interim support
- Coordinating a protective order with a concurrent divorce or SAPCR
- Defending against an application that misstates what happened
- Modifying, extending or vacating an existing order
- Enforcement when an order is violated
How the case runs
Durations below are what we typically see on the El Paso County family docket. They are not statutory guarantees, and a case with a contested issue can sit outside them entirely.
- Immediately
Safety plan
Before anything is filed we talk through where you will sleep, who has keys and what the children have been told.
- Day 0 to 1
Application and affidavit
A sworn, specific, dated account of what happened. Specificity is what moves a judge.
- Same or next day
Temporary ex parte order
Issued without notice where the application shows clear and present danger. Effective up to twenty days.
- Day 1 to 5
Service on the respondent
A constable or sheriff's deputy serves the order and the hearing notice.
- Day 5 to 14
Full hearing
Set within fourteen days of filing. Both sides present evidence. Bring photographs, messages and medical records.
- At hearing
Final protective order
Typically up to two years. It is entered into the statewide law enforcement database.
What drives the cost and the timeline
How recent the incident is
The statute asks whether violence is likely to occur again. A recent, specific incident is far stronger evidence than an old general pattern.
Whether children were present
Violence witnessed by a child affects both the protective order and the conservatorship analysis under section 153.004.
Whether a criminal case exists
A parallel criminal matter changes strategy, because testimony in the civil hearing can be used later. We coordinate carefully.
They filed the protective order application the same afternoon I walked in. I did not have to explain anything twice, and nobody made me feel small about it.
Questions we get about protective orders
An applicant may not be charged a fee for filing, serving or entering a protective order. The court may order the respondent to pay costs and attorney's fees.
Yes. Title 4 covers family members, household members and dating relationships. There are also separate orders available for stalking and sexual assault regardless of relationship.
Violation is a criminal offence, ordinarily a Class A misdemeanour and a felony in aggravating circumstances. Call law enforcement, keep your copy of the order with you and document the contact.
Substantially. A family violence finding within the preceding two years triggers statutory restrictions on conservatorship and possession and can defeat the joint managing conservator presumption.
We defend these. A protective order carries firearm consequences, immigration consequences and a permanent record, and the applicant carries the burden of proof at a real evidentiary hearing.