Restraining Orders

For purposes of getting a civil order of protection, domestic abuse is defined as when a family or household member commits one of the following acts:

• causing or attempting to cause you bodily injury or serious bodily injury, with or without a deadly weapon;
• placing you in fear of immediate (imminent) serious bodily injury by physically threatening or intimidating you (menacing); or
• sexual abuse of a minor child.¹

Note: The criminal definition of family violence under the law is slightly different than the civil definition explained above.²

¹ 7 Guam Code § 40101; see also the petition for an order of protection
² 9 Guam Code § 30.10(a)

In a temporary or permanent order of protection, the judge can order any protections they believe are needed to keep you and your children safe and to stop the abuse. This includes:

• ordering the abuser to stop abusing you and your children;
• awarding you temporary custody of your children; and
• establishing temporary visitation rights with regard to your children.¹

If you and the abuser jointly own or lease a home, the judge can also:

• order the abuser to leave the home;
• give just you the right to stay there (“exclusive possession”); and
• let you return to the home if you left.²

If the home is only in the abuser’s name, but they have a legal duty to financially support you or your minor children who live there, the judge can also:

• order the abuser to leave the home;
• give just you the right to stay there (“exclusive possession”);
• let you return to the home if you left; or
• approve an agreement between you and the abuser that allows the abuser to stay in the home if they provide suitable, alternative housing for you and the children.³

If you and the abuser are married, or you have a minor child together and live together, the judge can also order the abuser to:

• keep paying the bills for utilities and other necessary home services for the family home or another home where you and your children live;
• not cancel or do anything to stop utilities or other necessary home services;
• keep paying for any insurance you have, including health, automobile, and homeowners insurance;
• not cancel the insurance or change the coverage or beneficiaries;
• not do anything that could result in the insurance being cancelled or changed, if this would harm you or your children;
• give you temporary use of a car, a checkbook, a key, or other personal items;
• give you identity documents and insurance documents that you need;
• pay the rent or mortgage for the family home or another home where you and your children live; and
• pay child support if the abuser has a legal duty and can afford to pay it.⁴

In a permanent order of protection, the judge can also order the abuser to immediately turn in (surrender) any firearms and ammunition they own to the Marshal of the Court or another law enforcement officer. The Marshal must keep a record (inventory) of any items they receive. The abuser will have to fill out an Inventory of Firearms, Firearm Parts, Ammunition, and Permit/Registrations and file it with the court (Form 3).⁵

¹ 7 Guam Code § 40105(a)(1), (6)
² 7 Guam Code § 40105(a)(2)
³ 7 Guam Code § 40105(a)(3)
⁴ 7 Guam Code § 40105(a)(4)
⁵ POR 8

When you and the abuser live in different states, the judge may not have “personal jurisdiction” (power) over an out-of-state abuser. This means that the court may not be able to grant an order against him/her.

There are a few ways that a court can have personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state abuser:

1. The abuser has a substantial connection to your state. Perhaps the abuser regularly travels to your state to visit you, for business, to see extended family, or the abuser lived in your state and recently fled.
2. One of the acts of abuse “happened” in your state. Perhaps the abuser sends you threatening texts or harassing phone calls from another state but you read the messages or answer the calls while you are in your state. The judge could decide that the abuse “happened” to you while you were in your state. It may also be possible that the abuser was in your state when s/he abused you s/he but has since left the state.
3. If you file your petition and the abuser gets served with the court petition while s/he is in your state, this is another way for the court to get jurisdiction.

However, even if none of the above apply to your situation, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t get an order. If you file, you may be granted an order on consent or the judge may find other circumstances that allow the order to be granted.

You can read more about personal jurisdiction in our Court System Basics - Personal Jurisdiction section.

Note: If the judge in your state refuses to issue an order, you can file for an order in the courthouse in the state where the abuser lives. However, remember that you will likely need to file the petition in person and attend various court dates, which could be difficult if the abuser’s state is far away.