Protective Orders and Utah Divorces
In our experience contested divorces in Utah often start off with one of the spouses filing a protective order against the other spouse. There are many situations where the filing of a protective order is completely legitimate. Unfortunately, many people use the protective order process to get an upper hand in the divorce.
Protective orders should be used for protection, not as an offensive tactic in a divorce proceeding. Nearly a third of our clients come to us with a temporary protective order entered against them. In most instances we have noticed that the protective order does not have much validity and is instead merely a way for our client’s spouse to make our client look like the bad guy.
Judges and commissioners can see through this. In fact, many commissioners will deny protective orders if a divorce action is pending because they want all of the facts to be brought out in the divorce proceeding.
Waste of Time, Waste of Money
If you are planning on filing for divorce you should consult with an attorney to determine whether you should file a protective order. We don’t want our client to spend money and time that they don’t need to. We will be very blunt with you and let you know if a protective order would be a legitimate request in your case or if it would be a waste of time and money.
Temporary Orders Can Provide the Same Relief
One reason why commissioners are reluctant to enter protective orders when a divorce action is pending is because the commissioner can provide the same relief in the divorce action. There is no reason to start a new action just to get a protective order.
If there are facts showing that one of the spouses is physically abusive to the other, those facts will come out in the divorce proceeding and the court can protect the abused spouse through temporary orders limiting contact with the abusive spouse.
Divorce or Protective Order Pending?
If you are facing a protective order or Utah divorce proceedings give our law firm a call. Our attorneys can help you with your family law matter. Call us at 801.618.1331.
