If your household in Pendergrass is a military one, with deployments, a chain of command, and worries about a career on the line, asking for protection can feel tangled up with duty and consequence. Your safety still comes first. We offer clear, private information about protective orders, with care for the questions a service connected family carries.
Daniels & Taylor serves Pendergrass families from our office in Lawrenceville.
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In a military family, you may worry that speaking up will end a career, upset a command, or leave you without housing or income far from your own family. Those are real pressures on top of fear. Can a protective order help without you having to navigate all of that alone? Can the court address support and the home while everything is uncertain? We listen, then connect each legal question to the realities a service connected household faces.
You are not alone. Georgia's statewide domestic violence
hotline is 1-800-33-HAVEN (1-800-334-2836),
free, 24/7, and confidential.
What most people pay for a case evaluation to learn
A Georgia protective order can do more than tell someone to stay away. In a
family violence case the judge may grant exclusive use of the home, temporary
custody of the children, temporary support, and can even include the family pet
(O.C.G.A. 19-13-4).
You do not need a police report or a criminal charge to ask for one. It is a
civil petition you file yourself, and the court can issue a same day ex parte
order to protect you right away, followed by a hearing (O.C.G.A. 19-13-3).
Family violence is broader than physical harm. It covers acts like stalking
and criminal trespass between people in the same household, former spouses,
parents of the same child, and others living or formerly living together
(O.C.G.A. 19-13-1). If you were in a dating relationship but never lived together
and share no child, your path is a separate stalking protective order (O.C.G.A.
16-5-94).
How a Georgia family violence protective order works
You file a civil petition, with no police report required, and the court can
grant a temporary ex parte order the same day, then set a hearing (O.C.G.A.
19-13-3). The order can reach beyond no contact to the home, custody, and support
(O.C.G.A. 19-13-4). You file in the superior court of the county where the
respondent lives (O.C.G.A. 19-13-2).
Common questions about protective orders in Pendergrass
Will asking for protection end a career?
Your safety is the priority, and a protective order is a civil court matter. Tell us your situation and we will help you understand how it works.
What about housing and support if I act?
A protective order can address the residence and support. We talk through what the court can do so you are not left with nothing.
We move around, does Georgia still help me?
If you are here, the court here can address your safety. We help you understand your options where you are now.
You can ask about your options without committing to file or to hire anyone, and without him knowing. We will keep your family's situation in view. Reach out from a safe device when you are able.
Call (770) 285-1673 for a free case evaluation.
If an order was filed against you and you serve or your household is military, you may worry about command, career, and housing all at once. Until the hearing, follow the order exactly as written, even if you believe it is unfair. Compliance protects you. We help you understand what it requires and how to bring your side the right way.
If a protective order has been filed against you
Nothing lasting happens without a hearing. An ex parte order is temporary, and
the court sets a hearing, usually within about 30 days, where the petitioner has
to prove family violence by a preponderance of the evidence, and that burden is on
them (O.C.G.A. 19-13-3(b), (c)).
A final order can require no contact, order you to leave a shared home, and set
temporary custody or support; it can last up to one year and may be extended to
three years or made permanent (O.C.G.A. 19-13-4). Knowingly violating a protective
order is a separate crime (O.C.G.A. 16-5-95). A family violence finding can also be
weighed in a later custody case (O.C.G.A. 19-9-3(a)(3)(P), (a)(4)). If the petition
comes from a dating relationship, it may fall under the stalking statute instead
(O.C.G.A. 16-5-94).
Until the hearing, follow the order exactly as
entered, even if you believe it is unfair. The time to be heard is at the hearing,
not by contacting the petitioner.
Common questions if an order was filed against you
Could this affect my service, what do I do?
Follow the order exactly, because a violation hurts you most of all. Raise your side at the hearing. We help you prepare it.
Can I contact her to protect our housing or pay?
No. Any contact can violate the order and make things worse. Those matters can be handled through the court. Save your account for the hearing.
What happens next?
A judge reviews the evidence and decides what continues. A free case evaluation helps you understand the order and get ready.
Have the order and the hearing date in hand. A free case evaluation can help you sort what to do first and what to avoid.
Call (770) 285-1673 for a free case evaluation.