Restraining Orders

You can apply for an order of protection if you are legally married to, separated from, or divorced from the abuser, if you are related to the abuser by blood or marriage, if you have a child in common with the abuser, or if you are/ were in an intimate relationship with him/her (including same-sex partners).¹  Even if the abuser has committed a crime against you and you have an order of protection from criminal court, you can still apply for a civil, family court order of protection since both courts have what is called “concurrent jurisdiction.”²

Note: An order of protection can also be issued in supreme court,³ which is the court in NY state where divorces (and other civil matters) are filed and litigated.  (However, throughout this section we generally refer to them as family court orders of protection).  You can request an order of protection at any time before trial or before a settlement is final in the divorce.  However, getting changes made to a supreme court order can be difficult and expensive.  It might be a good idea to request that the order include a provision that any future changes can be made in family court. 

¹ NY Fam Ct Act § 812(1)
² NY Fam Ct Act § 115(e)
³ NY Dom Rel Law § 240(3)