Under Washington’s domestic violence prevention statutes, protection orders may be obtained and used to prevent contact between parties where violence or threat has happened in a domestic relationship. These orders may be granted without seeking a divorce. Both Pierce and King Counties have adopted systems by which a party may get protection and restraining orders without hiring an attorney. Both counties have domestic violence advocates who will help those in need of domestic violence protection with filling out forms and filing documents with the court. These advocates, unless they are attorneys, cannot give legal advice.

Mandatory forms must be used in actions seeking restraining orders. Those and other information can be found at restraining orders forms.

Under the domestic violence statute, other relief such as drug and alcohol treatment, batterer’s treatment, and parenting plan evaluations, may be ordered by the court. However, a person may only get orders under this statute when violence in a domestic relationship has occurred, or a significant threat of violence in a relationship exists. Under Washington State law, restraining orders are available under the criminal law and civil anti-harassment statutes for cases not involving domestic relationships.

As mentioned above, some jurisdictions have made the procedure easy and efficient because domestic violence has become so common. However, just having a court order by itself does not guarantee the protected person’s safety. A person may need to persistently enforce boundaries and restraining orders in order to prevent harm. McKinley Irvin Washington State family law attorneys are thoroughly familiar with this area of law and can advise you about your options for protecting yourself and family from a domestic violence perpetrator. Furthermore, the law in this area tends to error on the side of the victim, making the entry of unjust restraining orders an unfortunate reality. Again, McKinley Irvin Seattle lawyers have defended against such actions and do so with everyone’s interests in mind.

For specific statutory language regarding restraining orders, please refer to Chapter 26.50 RCW: Domestic violence prevention.