A few tidbits regarding restraining orders

On Monday, I had a chance to talk with a GAL as we were waiting for our case to be called.  He pointed out a couple of things that I hadn't thought about and so I would like to share that information with you.

First, the statutes state that if the respondent was not served by the time of the hearing, the petitioner is entitled to one 14 day extension of the temporary restraining order.  So in our case when the Judge only gave us a 7 day extension, the GAL was able to successfully ask for an additional 7 day extension (for a total the 14 days).  I'm not sure if all Judges would agree to this but it is one way to think a little more creatively.

Secondly, the GAL pointed out that in a case where service is going to be a challenge, we might want to consider filing and NOT asking for the temporary restraining order.  This would give additional time to attempt to serve the respondent without the limitation of one 14 day extension.  The standard rules of service would apply in this case.  The one concern I have with this is that until an actually hearing is held after the respondent has been served, there would be no temporary restraining order in place.  But on the other hand the temporary restraining order is unenforceable until served.