Understand your rights when leaving an abusive spouse

When you are in an abusive relationship, leaving that relationship is something that you are probably only going to do after you have thought about the situation and made a plan to leave safely. Your safety is the top priority when you are leaving an abusive spouse. One option that you have for staying safe is getting a protective order. This order lets your ex know that he or she can’t come around you without facing criminal consequences.

There are several benefits to having a restraining order that you can think about. One of the most important is that the mere presence of your ex in your space is enough to contact the police for assistance. You don’t have to wait until your ex does something to you. The protective order will have specific information about how close to you your ex can come. As soon as your ex is violating that distance, you can let the police know so they can handle it.

Another benefit is that your ex won’t be able to contact you. This means that as you are working through the divorce and trying to get your life back on track, you won’t have to worry about your ex contacting you in an effort to get you to bend to his or her wishes.

You might also be able to have your ex move out of the home you share. This is very important if you have children and want to keep the children’s life as stable as possible.

All of this can also help you during the divorce settlement process. Understanding how to tie the protective order, domestic violence and divorce together can greatly help you out as you work to sever the ties between you and your ex.

Source: Love Is Respect, “Restraining Orders,” accessed July 29, 2016