What can I ask for in my petition?Most temporary orders of protection say that the respondent must not assault, menace, or harass you, but you can ask for additional terms. You must tell the petition clerk specifically what you would like the Judge to order. Some of these things may be in the temporary order and some may be in the final order. You can ask for:

1) Stay away: The court can order the respondent to stay away from you, your home, your job, your children, your children's school or any other place or person the court finds necessary.

2) Refrain from certain acts: The court can order the respondent to stop abusing or threatening to abuse you or your children. The order can be specific, such as, ordering the respondent to stop calling you at work.

3) Collect your belongings: If you do not want to return home, you can ask the court to allow you to enter your home with the police to collect your personal belongings at a certain date and time.

4) Exclude the respondent from the home: If the respondent is dangerous to you or your children, you can ask the court to order the respondent out of the home ("excluded") while the order of protection isin effect.

It does not matter that the home is not in your name.

5) Temporary child support: The court can order temporary child support based on the needs of the child. You do not have to show how much money the respondent has or earns. Since the child support is only temporary, you will still have to file a separate petition for child support. You can do this in room 5D1 the Family Court. The case will be heard by a Hearing Examiner in about two or three months, but you can get support back to the date you filed the petition.

6) Revoke or suspend firearms:The court can revoke or suspend respondent's license to carry firearms or order surrender of any or all firearms owned or possessed by respondent.

7) Three year order: Most family court orders of protection are for one year. You can get a three year order of protection if there are "aggravating circumstances". Aggravating circumstances exist where there is physical injury, the respondent used a weapon or other dangerous instrument against you, there is a history of repeated violations of prior orders of protection, the respondent has been convicted of crimes committed against you in the past, there is exposure of any family or household member to physical injury, or other behaviors that pose a danger to you, your family or other household members.