Family Law Attorney in Dallas, Texas
What is the difference between a temporary restraining order and a protective order?
What is the difference between a temporary restraining order and a protective order?
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well those are you know temporary
restraining orders and protective orders
are something that are used I don’t want
to say all the time but they’re used
very very frequently what is different
now is that temporary restraining orders
used to be used a whole lot more than
they are currently and the reason for
that is most of the big counties around
the state of Texas or at least around
North Texas have what are called
standing orders and those standing
orders basically incorporate the
majority of things that were in a
temporary restraining order that’s going
to say like you know don’t go taking the
kids out of the state of Texas for the
purpose of changing their domicile don’t
change beneficiaries on health insurance
policies or life insurance policies you
can spend money on an attorney you can
spend money to you know on running your
business you can do you know XY and Z so
those are the types of things that you
typically saw in a temporary restraining
order where you would still use one now
is say if you were seeking what’s
commonly called a kick out order now
what’s a kick out order that’s say I
have a guy has come to me and told me
that his you know his wife is bipolar
and when she has off her medication she
gets violent or becomes threatening and
and it scares him and it scares the kids
that would be a situation where I at
least would want to use a temporary
restraining order and would ask to have
a kick out order meaning asked to have
her ordered to be removed from the house
she couldn’t be there until a temporary
order hearing was had now in a situation
where the the threats are bad enough and
and how do you quantify that you know
once again case-by-case basis you might
want to use a protective order okay but
the judges are much more sensitive to
that just because of what the
ramifications of someone being saddled
with a protective order are now if
typically when I use a protective order
is if I have someone who has been
physically assaulted
okay if I have somebody who has been
physically assaulted and the police have
come out and and the perpetrators been
arrested you know I’m absolutely going
to go seek a protective order unless
there’s a phenomenal reason not to do so
a lot of the time I will take a
temporary restraining order as a backup
just in case a judge will not sign the
protective order and you know it’s kind
of rare in a situation like that that
the judge wouldn’t sign a protective
order the situation where they might not
is if if you cannot establish that there
is a real sense of the possibility of
irreparable harm that is about to happen
you know if is that person in immediate
danger well if they’re not or if that
person is not excluded from the house or
kept 500 feet away from them is there a
real real distinct possibility that
there’s going to be you know an injury
if the answer to that is yes then you
absolutely want to seek that seek that
remedy it’s got you know more teeth to
it than a than a temporary restraining
order and it can be something that is
that is real important to try to get for
your client
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Dallas high-net-worth divorce attorney, Mark Scroggins, talks about the difference between a temporary restraining order and a protective order. He explains that temporary restraining orders (TROs) and protective orders are tools frequently used in family law, though their application has shifted over time. In North Texas and many other large counties, standing orders have largely replaced routine TROs. These standing orders automatically cover many of the protections a TRO would provide, such as prohibiting taking children out of state to change their domicile, altering insurance beneficiaries, or making large financial decisions without notice.
TROs are still used in specific situations, like a “kick-out order.” For example, if a client reports that a spouse is bipolar and becomes violent or threatening when off medication—posing a danger to the client or children—a TRO can request that the spouse be removed from the home until a temporary order hearing occurs.
Protective orders are generally reserved for cases involving physical assault. If the police have responded and arrested the perpetrator, he will almost always pursue a protective order unless there is a compelling reason not to. Sometimes, a TRO is filed as a backup in case a judge is hesitant to issue a protective order. Judges are careful with protective orders because of their serious consequences, and they typically require proof of immediate danger or the possibility of irreparable harm.
When the risk of injury is clear and imminent, a protective order is the stronger remedy, providing more enforceable protection than a TRO. He emphasizes that understanding when and how to use these orders is critical for effectively safeguarding a client and their children.
