Unfortunately, individuals who are on the brink of separating or who have recently separated often find themselves as the subject of violence from their spouse. If you find yourself in this situation it is imperative that you consult with a Calgary family lawyer in order to canvass your options to ensure your physical and mental safety. Stewart Sharma Harsanyi has two experienced and trained family law lawyers in our Calgary office who are well-equipped to provide you and your loved ones with advice and assistance in these perilous circumstances.
Our family lawyers will advise you as to the options available to you to help ensure that your assailant cannot harm you in the future. These include a Restraining Order, a Protection Order and an Emergency Protection Order (EPO) all of which have the effect of requiring that the other party must stay away from you. A Protection Order is obtained with notice to the other party and therefore, your spouse will be present at court with you and your family lawyer while your lawyer argues before the judge why you should be afforded protection. Both a Restraining Order and an Emergency Protection Order are by contrast, initially obtained without notice to the other party and therefore, if granted they will initially only remain in effect for a short period of time. You will then be required to report back to court with your lawyer and the other side in order to argue why the order should continue to remain in effect. Both your lawyer and your spouse or his/her lawyer will have the opportunity to address the judge by making submissions at this appearance.
It is essential that you have a lawyer represent you during the course of all of these proceedings as individuals who have been the victim of domestic abuse are often emotionally distraught, fearful of their abuser and therefore extremely unequipped to advocate on their behalf before a judge, particularly when their spouse is in attendance.
At Stewart Sharma Harsanyi our Calgary family lawyers have obtained Restraining, Protection Orders and EPO's on behalf of our clients. We highly recommend that if you find yourself in a situation of domestic violence that you consult with one of our family lawyers in Calgary in order to receive advice as to how to best protect yourself.
Raj Sharma JD LLM
Partner
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