FAQ: Hit with a bogus order of protection?

Unfortunately, it is very common for a person to make a false allegation of domestic violence in order to get a leg up in an Illinois divorce. I’ve talked to many people who don’t think it will happen to them . . . until it does. If your relationship with your spouse is getting heated, then you need to read this article the educate yourself about orders of protection.

What is an order protection?

There are civil and criminal orders of protection. This article will be about civil orders of protection because that’s the type someone can get just by going to court without the police being involved.

An order of protection is a court order that protects the “protected party.” For the purposes of this article – since it is about civil orders of protection resulting from false allegations – I’m going to call the protected party the Accuser. Then going to call the other person the Accused.

I wrote several articles about orders of protection in the past. Check them out here:

1. Served with an order of protection?
2. FAQ: Served with an order of protection?
3. Need an order of protection? Then realize . . .
4. Basic information about Illinois order of protection

An order of protection might order that the Accused stays away from the Accuser. It can also prevent other activities, such as posting on social media, going to persons place of work, interfering with the accusers belongings, and so forth. It can private harassment online, and in person.

Why would an accuser make a false allegation?

One thing you should know is that people are rarely, if ever, punished from making a false allegation. In my experience, the biggest is risk someone has for making a false allegation is having a judge think that they overreacted. But truly, that’s not much of a risk.

I have a lot of experience with defending people against false accusations of domestic violence.

So many ways, there’s nothing to lose. For people who are desperate, immoral, or both, filing a petition for an order of protection is a great way to attack a spouse – even if none of the allegations are true.

So what is there to gain by making a false allegation?

In the context of a divorce in Illinois, I’d say the most popular thing that a false Accuser is trying to get is to get the Accused kicked out of the house.

If people are getting divorced in Illinois, there’s a very limited number of ways that a person can’t get kicked out of one’s own house. Generally speaking, the quickest way is for the Accuser to get an order protection.

What if I don’t think my spouse will do that to me?

If you don’t think your spouse will make a false allegation against you, then you are a member of a very large club. 

I’ve had many clients who have been very shocked but all the false allegations made against them. Some of them have been falsely accused of domestic violence, and caked out of their house by an order of protection.

Some of them have even faced criminal charges.

I’ve even had clients falsely accused of sexually molesting their kids.

If you don’t think your spouse will do that to you, then you might be wrong. Many of my other clients have been wrong.

Are there any warning signs?

Sometimes I meet with clients before they’ve been falsely accused. I hear what’s going on in the relationship, and I tell them that when they are around their spouse, they are risk of being kicked out of their house due to a false allegation.

Usually, they don’t think it will happen. Then it does.

There are certainly warning signs for when one spouse is going to make a false allegation against the other.

Do you wonder how it is so easy for me to predict?

It’s because I’ve seen it all before. Here are some of the warning signs that you are going to be the hooked him up a false allegation.

1. You know you’re supposed to be a liar.
2. Your spouse has told you he or she is going to call the police on you.
3. Your spouse is made false allegations against you in the past.
4. Your spouse is easily influenced, such as being influenced by friends who will coach him or her how to make false allegations.
5. Your spouse really hates your guts, and wants revenge . . .perhaps because you cheated

What can I do to protect myself from false allegations?

As a divorce lawyer in Illinois, one of my most important jobs is helping to protect my clients for false allegations

I interview clients, and help them come up with some stuff to protect themselves.

I also help clients gather evidence which might help them defend against false allegations. Not all divorce lawyers are going to think ahead like this.

Here are just a few of the steps people can take to protect themselves against false allegations:

1. Move out of the house.
2. put up surveillance cameras inside and outside the house, but not in the bedroom bathroom
3. Make sure that you can save all your text messages
4. Communicate primarily in writing with your spouse, so that you can capture any evidence that might help you
5. Start a divorce

So what should I do now?

If you are even reading this article, then you probably need to take action now. If you wait, you could find yourself kicked out of your own house, and defending yourself against false allegations that lead to an order protection against you.

You can contact us here to start protecting yourself now!

If you wait until you are the victim of a bogus order protection, your case will be more difficult, and more expensive