Will a Restraining Order Against Me Impact My Divorce and/or Custody of My Children

We commonly have clients who are in the middle of a divorce and/or child custody proceeding and the other parent has filed a restraining order against them contact us.  While restraining order court, family court and even criminal court all operate at different areas of the law, what happens in each one can get intertwined and have significant impacts on a parent and the children.  It is very important to hire an attorney who is experienced in each one of these different areas of the law.  Our firm will represent you in all of these areas.

If a restraining order is granted against a parent, that will have numerous implications moving forward.

First, it may prohibit or severely limit a parent’s ability to see or communicate with the other parent of their children.  This makes co-parenting very difficult, if not impossible.  It also presents logistical challenges when children are going back-and-forth between two households.

Second, if a parent is accused of domestic violence, the law in Wisconsin is that the victim of that violence has a presumption that they will be granted sole custody of the children.  Depending on each individual family’s circumstances, this can have major impacts or minor impacts on the family moving forward.

Third, a family court can consider domestic violence allegations against a parent as a reason to give the other parent more placement.  While this does not always occur, it is certainly can and does happen which is why it is important to understand what impact a restraining order or domestic abuse allegation will have against a parent in a family law case.

Our office has represented dozens of clients who are going through a combination of family court, restraining order court and criminal court.  We have had success reaching settlements that lower or eliminate the impact of the domestic violence allegations against a client.  The courts take these allegation seriously and for good reason, but the key is to figure out what practical long-term impact this will have on a parent and on the children.