Restraining Orders

An ex parte order of protection can do the following:

• forbid the abuser from abusing, threatening to abuse, molesting, sexually assaulting, or stalking you or disturbing your peace, including violence against a pet;
• forbid the abuser from entering your home when it is:
  • jointly owned, leased or rented or jointly occupied by you and the abuser; or
  • owned, leased, rented or occupied by you individually; or
  • jointly owned, leased or rented by you and someone else (not the abuser); or
  • jointly occupied by you and someone else (not the abuser) as long as the abuser does not have a property interest in the home;
• forbid the abuser from communicating with you in any manner or through any medium (i.e., phone, computer, etc.);
• make a temporary order of custody of your minor children where appropriate;
• make a temporary order of possession of pets where appropriate;¹ and/or
• include such other terms as the judge reasonably believes are necessary to ensure your safety.²

A full order of protection can:

• include all of the terms listed above; and
• additionally, after a hearing, a full order of protection can order any of the following as long as your petition has facts/allegations relating to these topics and your petition must specifically ask for the things below that you want:³
  • award custody of any minor child born to or adopted by the parties when:
    • the court has jurisdiction (power) over such child; and
    • no prior order regarding custody is pending or has been made; and
    • the best interests of the child require that a custody order be issued;
  • establish a visitation schedule that is in the best interests of the child;
  • give you child support;
  • give you spousal support (maintenance) for up to 180 days if you are legally married;⁴
  • if you are married to or have children together, the judge can order the abuser to make rent or mortgage payments on the home you are living in OR on a different home (rather than the one you lived in with the abuser) if you choose;
  • give you temporary possession of personal property, such as cars, checkbooks, keys, and other personal items;
  • order you to have possession and care of any pet, along with any money necessary to cover medical costs that may have resulted from abuse of the pet;
  • prohibit the abuser from transferring, selling or getting rid of property mutually owned or leased by you and the abuser;
  • order the abuser to participate in batterers’ counseling or drug treatment;
  • order the abuser to pay a reasonable fee for housing and other services that are/were provided to you by a domestic violence shelter;
  • order the abuser to pay court costs;
  • order the abuser to pay the cost of medical treatment and services that are/were provided to you as a result of injuries due to domestic violence committed by the abuser;⁵ and/or
  • order the abuser to pay your attorney’s fees for the time period before bringing the court case, during the court case, and after the entry of judgment.⁶

¹ MO ST § 455.045
² MO ST § 455.050(1)
³ MO ST § 455.050(4)
⁴ MO ST § 455.050(8)
⁵ MO ST § 455.050(3)
⁶ MO ST § 455.075