This is an extremely important issue.
You can and should ask for an ex-parte order. This temporary emergency order will protect without the need to have a hearing or inform your abuser. If you don’t get an ex-parte order, not only will you have to serve notice on your abuser, but a hearing will be scheduled. In that hearing, your abuser will be allowed to testify and to contest your protection order. If the judge denies your request for an ex-parte order, you can schedule a hearing within 21 days for a standard protection order.
Either way, the order becomes effective the moment the judge signs it. The order itself will state that it is effective immediately and enforceable anywhere in Michigan or the United States. It will list the prohibited actions and the consequences of violating the order. It will also contain the expiration date of the order as well as the law enforcement agency that will be enforcing it. For additional information, click here.
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