Domestic violence is a serious matter and victims are offered protection under Texas law. While it can be difficult to take a stand against your abuser, Texas offers several protective orders that are intended to keep an abuser away from a victim, his or her children, or other family members.

Restraining orders are often mixed up with protective orders, and it is important to note that restraining orders only require one party not to contact the other. Protective orders, on the other hand, are more comprehensive and can require an abuser to stop engaging in abuse, threats, or stalking. Here is an overview of the protective orders available to Texans. If you or someone you love is suffering from domestic violence, consider getting the help of a Texas family law attorney right away. 

Order of Emergency Protection

Given in the most serious situations, a magistrate in a criminal court can approve an order of emergency protection when a victim of domestic violence, an arresting officer, a guardian, or a prosecutor requests it. Orders of emergency protection are issued after an alleged abuser commits sexual assault or other sexual abuse, human trafficking, indecent exposure, or stalking and has been arrested. 

Every child has two biological parents. However, there are some situations where a person may not be recognized as a child’s legal parent, and in these cases, paternity may need to be established through the legal system. Doing so will protect the rights of the parent and the child. Both parents will be able to maintain a relationship with their child and be involved in raising them, and the child will have the right to receive child support to ensure that their needs will be met. Paternity can also provide other benefits, such as making sure a child has access to family medical history and giving a child the right to receive an inheritance from their parent or qualify for certain types of benefits, such as Social Security. Parents will want to understand the procedures that can be followed to legally establish paternity.

Acknowledgment of Paternity and Court-Ordered Paternity

It is usually unnecessary to establish paternity when parents are married, since a mother’s spouse is presumed to be a child’s legal parent. In addition, a person will be presumed to be a child’s parent if they were formerly married to the child’s mother, and the child was born within 300 days after the couple’s marriage ended, including through a divorce, annulment, or death. A presumption of paternity will also apply if a person lived in the same home as the child during the first two years after the child was born and told others that they were the child’s parent.

In situations that do not meet the criteria described above, parents will need to take additional steps to establish paternity. The simplest and easiest way to do so is through an acknowledgment of paternity (AOP). This is a legal document that both parents will complete and sign. If necessary, an AOP may state that the child’s presumed father is not the biological father. In these cases, the presumed father will also need to file a denial of paternity.

October is designated as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The campaign was established in 1987 as a way to raise awareness about domestic violence issues. Despite more than three decades of work by countless organizations and advocates, domestic violence is still an underreported problem, occurring to millions of victims across the country from every walk of life and every socio-economic background.

Intimate Partner Violence

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) uses the term intimate partner violence (IPV) to describe physical, psychological, or sexual harm that is inflicted on a spouse or partner. National statistics show that about one in three women will experience IPV in their lifetimes. Although women are the majority of domestic violence victims, it is not just women who are abused. Men and women both experience it in hetero and same-sex marriages and partnerships. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCDAV), about 20 people per minute are victims of IPV every minute in the U.S. This comes out to more than 10 million women and men each year.

Other alarming statistics provided by the NCDAV include: