FAPA Protection in Oregon: What You Need to Know

In many family law matters, you or your children may feel unsafe and need special protection. In situations which are abusive or otherwise dangerous for yourself or your kids, you can utilize the Family Abuse Prevention Act, or FAPA, to help ensure your safety. The following are some things you should know about FAPA.

What is the Family Abuse Prevention Act?

In the state of Oregon, the FAPA is an official document which prevents individuals from engaging in threatening and abusive behavior towards those who they are in a familial relationship with. This document is essentially a restraining order. A FAPA is signed by a judge. Many requirements must be met to prove you need protection under FAPA.

First, the person you file against has to be someone known to you. The person can be a domestic partner, spouse or former spouse, the biological parent to your child, any person who is blood related to you, or those who are related through marriage or adoption. The order can also be filed against someone you have had an intimate relationship with.

To file, the abuse must have happened within 180 days of your request for protection. If you cannot prove the abuse occurred within this timeframe, you have to prove you are in serious danger of future abuse. You also have to file in the county where one or both of you live.

How Can You Get FAPA Protection?

To obtain FAPA protection, visit the courthouse in your county to fill out the necessary paperwork. The paperwork is a petition on which you have to describe the abuse committed against you or your child. You will receive a date to appear before a judge to talk more about the case. At that point, the judge will decide if he or she will sign the order.

If the FAPA order is signed, the person against whom you filed will have to abide by the order. This can include the injunction to stay a certain distance away from you and your child, no contact with you by any means, and possibly the surrender of firearms, division of property, or any additional discretionary protections the judge deems necessary.

What Happens Next?

If the FAPA is signed by the judge and served to the person who committed the abuse, he or she can challenge the order within 30 days by asking the court for a hearing. In some cases, the court can set a hearing even if the abuser does not ask for it, particularly when children or custody issues are involved.

If a hearing is requested, both you and the person against whom you have filed the order have to go to court to speak to the judge. You can bring witnesses and evidence to support your need for FAPA protection. If you do not attend the hearing, your request for the order can be dropped. If the other party does not appear, the order will likely stay in place.

When you both appear, the judge then has to evaluate the claim, along with any corroborating evidence, and make a determination as to whether the order will remain, dismissed, or modified.

The violation of the rights of another person through victimization and abuse is a major issue. A FAPA order is an ideal way to make sure you and your family remain safe. Remember that a FAPA order is serious and you should not file without provable allegations. If you file for FAPA protection simply out of spite, you could get into legal trouble.

If you need protection from someone in your family or from someone whom you are in an intimate relationship with, you can consider filing for FAPA protection. Please contact us at Hazlett & Associates for assistance in this matter.