October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and it is a good time to talk plainly about one of the most important protections Florida law offers: the injunction for protection against domestic violence. Most people call it a restraining order. Florida law calls it an injunction, and it does more than tell someone to stay away. A domestic violence injunction can decide who stays in the home, set a temporary schedule for the children, and order temporary support, all before a divorce or custody case is ever filed.
If you are in immediate danger, call 911. If you need to talk with someone confidentially, the Florida Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24 hours a day at 1-800-500-1119. This guide explains how injunctions work and how they connect to the rest of a family law case.
What Counts as Domestic Violence in Florida
Florida law defines domestic violence as assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death, when it is committed by one family or household member against another.
"Family or household member" covers more relationships than many people expect. It includes spouses and former spouses, people related by blood or marriage, people who live together as a family or have in the past, and parents of a child in common, whether or not they were ever married. Except for parents who share a child, the people involved must live together now or have lived together in the same home at some point.
Florida has separate injunctions for dating violence, repeat violence, sexual violence, and stalking for situations that fall outside that definition. An attorney can help you identify which one fits your circumstances.
How to Get a Domestic Violence Injunction in Florida
The process starts with a sworn petition filed in circuit court. You can file in the county where you live, even temporarily, where the other person lives, or where the violence happened. There is no filing fee for a domestic violence petition, no bond is required, and you are not required to have an attorney to file. The clerk's office can provide the forms.
The petition should describe specific incidents in detail: what happened, when, and where. Judges decide these cases on the facts in front of them, so dates, messages, photographs, police reports, and names of witnesses all matter.
The Temporary Injunction and the Final Hearing
When a petition shows an immediate and present danger of domestic violence, the judge can issue a temporary injunction the same day, without the other person present. A temporary injunction lasts for a fixed period of no more than 15 days.
The court then sets a full hearing, generally before the temporary injunction expires. The other person must be personally served with the petition and the notice of hearing, and both sides can appear, testify, and present evidence. If the hearing is continued for good cause, the temporary injunction can be extended until the hearing takes place.
At the final hearing, the judge decides whether to enter a final injunction. This is the most important day in the process. Come prepared with your evidence and witnesses, and understand that the other side may be represented by counsel.
What a Final Injunction Can Include
A final injunction does more than order someone to stop the violence and stay away. Under Florida law, the court can also:
- Award one party exclusive use and possession of the home the parties share
- Enter a temporary parenting plan, including a time-sharing schedule that can give up to 100 percent of the time-sharing to the petitioner
- Require that any exchanges of the children take place at a neutral, safe location or through supervised visitation
- Order temporary child support or support for the petitioner
- Order the respondent to complete a batterers' intervention program or other counseling
- Award care and custody of a family pet
A final judgment also states that it is a crime for the respondent to have any firearm or ammunition in their care, custody, possession, or control while the injunction is in effect.
How Long a Domestic Violence Injunction Lasts
A common question is how long a restraining order lasts in Florida. A final injunction can be entered for a fixed period or with no end date. The protective provisions stay in effect until the court modifies or dissolves them, and either party can ask the court to modify or dissolve the injunction at any time.
The time-sharing and support portions work differently. They are temporary by design. They remain in place only until the injunction expires or until a court in a divorce, paternity, or other family law case enters its own order on those issues.
What an Injunction Means for Your Family Law Case
This is where an injunction and a family law case meet, and it is where the stakes are highest.
Time-sharing and parental responsibility. When a Florida court decides a parenting plan, evidence of domestic violence is one of the factors it weighs in determining a child's best interests. The court must consider evidence of domestic violence as evidence of detriment to the child whether or not there is a criminal conviction and whether or not an injunction is in place. If a parent has been convicted of a first-degree misdemeanor or higher involving domestic violence, Florida law creates a rebuttable presumption that shared parental responsibility would be detrimental to the child.
The temporary order is not the final word. The time-sharing schedule and support in an injunction carry over into a divorce or custody case only until that court enters its own orders. The evidence presented at the injunction hearing, and the findings the judge makes, often follow the parties into the larger case.
Violations have real consequences. Violating an injunction can be punished as contempt of court or prosecuted as a crime. A pattern of violations is also the kind of evidence a family court takes seriously when it decides time-sharing.
If an injunction has been filed against you, take it just as seriously. Follow every term of the temporary order, even if you believe the petition is untrue, and do not contact the petitioner to work things out. Speak with a family law attorney before the hearing, because the outcome can affect your time with your children, your access to your home, and your rights going forward.
When to Talk With a Family Law Attorney
You can file for an injunction on your own, and many people do. But an injunction rarely exists in isolation. If you are also facing a divorce, a time-sharing dispute, or questions about support, the decisions made at the injunction hearing can shape everything that follows. Having an attorney involved early helps make sure the evidence is presented clearly and that the temporary orders fit the long-term plan for you and your children.
Daytona Beach Domestic Violence and Family Law Attorneys
No one should have to choose between their safety and their future. If you or someone you love needs protection, or if you are involved in a family law case where domestic violence is an issue, our domestic violence attorneys can help you understand your options and take the right next step.
Ross & Andreassi has spent more than 40 years helping Florida families, with board certified representation in marital and family law. Contact us today at (386) 258-5069 to schedule a confidential consultation. You are not alone.