Protection Orders

When you are afraid of another person, a partner, a family member, a stalker, a harasser, the law's first job is to put enforceable distance between you. Washington consolidated its civil protection orders into a single modern statute, Chapter 7.105 RCW, designed to make protection faster to get and harder to evade. The Law Office of Chad Foster represents both petitioners seeking protection and respondents facing orders in King and Snohomish Counties.

The Six Types of Protection Orders

  • Domestic violence protection orders: for abuse, threats, or coercive control by intimate partners or family and household members
  • Sexual assault protection orders: for victims of nonconsensual sexual conduct, regardless of relationship
  • Stalking protection orders: for repeated following, surveillance, or contact causing fear
  • Anti-harassment protection orders: for serious, course-of-conduct harassment outside intimate or family relationships, such as neighbors or acquaintances
  • Vulnerable adult protection orders: protecting adults vulnerable due to age or disability from abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation
  • Extreme risk protection orders: temporarily removing firearms from a person who poses a significant danger to self or others

Choosing the right order matters: each has its own legal standard, and filing under the wrong type can cost weeks.

How the Process Works

A petition is filed in court, for most order types with no filing fee, describing the conduct under oath. If the petition shows an immediate danger, the court can issue a temporary protection order the same day, without notice to the respondent, lasting until a full hearing that is typically set about fourteen days out. At the full hearing, both sides present evidence, and the court decides whether to issue a full order, commonly for a year or more, and in appropriate cases for a fixed longer period or permanently.

A protection order can do far more than order no contact. Depending on the type, courts can exclude the respondent from a shared home, require stay-away distances from your work, school, or vehicle, address temporary care of children, protect pets, and, critically, require the surrender of firearms and prohibit new purchases while the order is in effect (RCW 9.41.800).

Violating a protection order is a crime, and repeat violations or violations involving assault can be charged as felonies. Violations also carry immediate arrest consequences and can be enforced across state lines.

Protection Orders and Family Law Cases

Protection orders frequently run alongside divorce and parenting plan cases, and findings of domestic violence carry over: under RCW 26.09.191, they can limit a parent's residential time and decision-making. Coordinating the two cases, what is alleged where, and when, is part of doing either one well.

If an Order Has Been Filed Against You

We also represent respondents, and we say plainly: take it seriously and get advice before the hearing. A full protection order can remove you from your home, restrict contact with your children, require surrender of firearms, and appear in background checks, consequences that follow you for years. The full hearing is usually your one real opportunity to contest the allegations with evidence; respondents who skip it or walk in unprepared lose by default. Agreeing to an order "just to make it go away" has consequences people rarely understand at the time.

Common Questions

Can I get protection today?

If the court finds immediate danger, yes. Temporary orders can issue the same day the petition is filed, before the respondent is even notified. Protection then continues through the full hearing if the order is granted there.

What evidence do I need?

Your own sworn account is evidence. Texts, voicemails, photos, medical records, police reports, and witnesses all strengthen a petition, but do not wait to gather a perfect file before seeking protection. Bring what you have; we help organize the rest before the full hearing.

Will a protection order affect custody?

It can. Domestic violence findings trigger parenting plan limitations under RCW 26.09.191, and judges in both the protection order and family law case will see the full record. This cuts both ways: it protects children of abusive relationships, and it is why false or tactical allegations are treated seriously by courts.

Our protection order services include:

  • Emergency temporary orders and full-hearing representation for petitioners
  • Respondent defense at protection order hearings
  • Renewals, modifications, and terminations of existing orders
  • Vulnerable adult protection, including financial exploitation cases
  • Coordination with parenting plans and dissolution proceedings

Get Started

Protection order cases move in days, not months, whichever side of one you are on. Contact the Law Office of Chad Foster now.

Call us at 425.785.8679 or email help@ChadAtLaw.com. If you are in immediate danger, call 911 first.