The forms themselves are a little confusing but nonetheless we have seen many litigants file these cases and obtain relief.
Ask for a Restraining Order
To ask for a domestic violence restraining order there are several steps you have to take. But first make sure that:
A restraining order is right for you....... Read Can a Domestic Violence Restraining Order Help Me? (Form DV-500-INFOPDF )
You qualify for a domestic violence restraining order.You and the person you want to restrain must be:
married or registered domestic partners,
divorced or separated,
dating or used to date,
living together or used to live together,
parents together of a child, OR
closely related (parent, child, brother, sister, grandmother, grandfather, in-law).
You can get legal help from a local domestic violence agency in your county/or consult the Self Help
Center in your county.
Once you are sure you qualify for a domestic violence restraining order, you are ready to fill out the forms (or have a lawyer or domestic violence clinic help you with the forms). If you are not sure you qualify, ask your local domestic violence agency (such as Catalyst in Chico) Your court’s family law facilitator or self-help center may also be able to help you with the restraining order.
---To see the entire directions you will need to click the link here:
https://www.courts.ca.gov/1264.htm?rdeLocaleAttr=en
Note, this is NOT for a criminal protective order which is very different and usually used for cases that violate criminal laws.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------- How can a DVTRO help me?
A Domestic Violence Restraining Order may:
Order the abuser not to assault, threaten, abuse, follow, harass, or interfere with you, your children, or people you live with in person, at work, on the telephone, or by other means;
Order the abuser to stay away from any place you request including your school, your children's school, your work place, your friends' homes, or any place where you are seeking shelter;
Prohibit the abuser from possessing or purchasing a firearm;
Tell the police to remove the abuser from the home and help you to return to the home;
Grant you temporary full control over things that you own together such as a car, a truck, a boat, a computer, tolls, electronic equipment, bank accounts, or household appliances;
Order the abuser to continue to make the loan payments (be sure to specifically ask for this if you need it);
Order the abuser to return your personal belongings;
Order the abuser to pay certain bills, pay back money you lost for missing work or other expenses (such as ambulance, medical, dental, shelter, counseling and/or legal fees);
Order the abuser to pay your attorney fees; program or other counseling service;
Anything else you ask for any the judge agrees to.
If you and your abuser have children together, you may also ask the judge to grant additional things such as:
Child custody and visitation - If you and your abuser have children together, the judge can decide where the children will live, which parent will make decisions affecting the children, and how the children will spend time with each parent (where, when, and whether supervised).
Removal of child - You may ask the judge to keep either or both parents from traveling or moving outside the city, county, area, or state with the children.
Child support payments - You may ask the judge to order your abuser to pay child support according to California’s guidelines.
Whether a judge orders any or all of the above depends on the facts of your case.
**On this particular issue, while it is possible that support can be ordered, usually parents can work with DCSS at no cost, and if DCSS is collecting support for you, there are certain rules
that apply when using DCSS to collect support for you. https://www.lawyers.com/legal-info/family-law/child-support/child-support-and-public-assistance.html
It is too complicated to explain here, but generally, if you have a high wage earner ex spouse or parentage parent, you have to decide whether using DCSS is in your favor.
In some cases it is and in others it might not be. You would have to consult an attorney that does child support cases. (In general, attorney herein does not work on child support cases, and most definitely does not attend DCSS cases which uses a Commissioner, and not a Judge.) Parents that get help from the government (medi-cal or food stamps,etc) but use DCSS to get child support will find that the money collected from the parent will be impacted, and usually most of the money collected will go to DCSS and not the parent.
