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The caring and knowledgeable legal specialists at Ramsdens have many years of experience in advising people across a wide range of family issues, including domestic abuse.
If you have been subjected to domestic abuse, you may wish to apply for a Non-Molestation Order to protect you and your family from further abuse. We can help you to obtain this protection quickly, to ensure you are safe. Over the years, we have helped many people in this position, and our solicitors will act with diligence, speed and empathy to provide the help you need and get the required protection in place.
We are recognised as a Law Society-accredited Family Law Solicitors, which means we are well-placed to offer you the help you need.
Operating from our network of offices, our team is ready to support you. Contact us today by calling 01484 821 500 or fill out an online enquiry form, and we will be in touch with you at a time that is suitable, and safe, for you.
What is a Non-Molestation Order?
A Non-Molestation Order can be applied for in various situations. The court can put a Non-Molestation Order in place against a number of associated persons as follows:
- People that are or have been married
- People that do or have lived together
- Relatives
- People that are engaged to be married
- People that have or have had an intimate personal relationship with each other which was of significant duration
- People that are parties to the same family proceedings
A Non-Molestation Order prevents a person, from using or threatening abuse against you or your children. It will also prevent this person from harassing or pestering you. The order is aimed at ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of you and your family.
The order can prevent a person from coming within a certain distance of your property.
In most cases, the respondent (the individual who the order has been made against) does not know that the order is being applied for. They are only made aware of it when they are served with it.
There is no set legal definition for domestic abuse and, arguably, it has been purposely left to wide interpretation but can include, but is not limited to, the following:
- Coercive control (patterns of intimidation, degradation, isolation and control with the use or threat of physical or sexual violence)
- Psychological and/or emotional abuse
- Physical or sexual abuse
- Financial or economic abuse
- Harassment and stalking
- Online or digital abuse
Non-Molestation Orders tend to be valid for six months.
At Ramsdens, we can offer help on all aspects of Non-Molestation Orders. We will handle your case quickly and with the utmost sensitivity. Legal Aid is also available for applicants in Non-Molestation Order proceedings, if financially eligible.
How do I apply for a Non-Molestation Order?
Firstly, in order to apply for a Non-Molestation Order, you must be an ‘associated person’ for the purposes of Section 62 (3) of the Family Law Act 1996. This list can be summarised as follows:
- You are or have been married to the perpetrator
- You are or have been a civil partner of the perpetrator
- You are or have been cohabitants
- You live or have lived in the same household (but note, this does not apply to employer, tenant or lodger)
- You are relatives (this includes full blood relationship but also includes relationships by marriage e.g. step-father)
- You have agreed to marry one another (there must be evidence of this, e.g. an engagement ring)
- You have entered into a Civil Partnership Agreement
- You have had an intimate personal relationship of significant duration (this is assessed on a case by case basis)
If you fall into any of the above categories, you may proceed with an application for a Non-Molestation Order (using application form FL401). In addition to this, you will be required to submit a ‘Statement in Support’ to detail the incidents of domestic abuse to which you have been subjected, with the most recent incident first. For the court to consider making an order, we advise that the most recent incident should be no longer than two weeks prior to making the application.
The deadline for the court to consider making an order on the same day is usually around 3.30pm. If the matter is urgent and there is a serious and real threat to life, we can make an application for the court to consider an application out of its usual hours.
The application can be made ‘ex-parte’, which means that an order can be made without the perpetrator of domestic abuse, ‘the respondent,’ being notified beforehand. The respondent will then be served with the order and the court will list a return hearing, in which they will have the opportunity to make their own representations about the order.
What options are available to the respondent?
- Accept the order with admissions
- Accept the order with no admissions – this means that they do not accept the allegations of domestic abuse but are agreeable to the order remaining in place until expiry
- Provide an undertaking – the respondent can provide an undertaking, which ultimately is a promise to the court in similar terms to the Non-Molestation Order. It is important to note that the court will only accept this if you are also agreeable and if there are no allegations of physical abuse. An undertaking is only advisable in certain circumstances as there is no power of arrest attached to it
- Contest – the respondent may contest the order. If the respondent contests the order, the matter would be listed for a further hearing. At this stage, the respondent would be able to file their own statement, and you would also have an opportunity to file a further statement. It may also be necessary to obtain police disclosure, witness statements and medical disclosure.
What happens if the respondent breaches the order?
The Non-Molestation Order has a power of arrest attached to it, which means that if the respondent breaches the order, you can call the police and the respondent will be arrested. The police will have also been served with a copy of the Non-Molestation Order and, therefore, it will be on their records.
The respondent can face up to five years imprisonment and/or a fine, dependent on the seriousness of the breach.
How can I fund the Non-Molestation Application?
There is no court fee for the application, however, there are fees associated with the application if you choose to instruct a solicitor to assist.
You may be eligible for public funding, which is referred to as ‘Legal Aid’. In order to ascertain whether or not you would be eligible for funding, we would need to ask you a number of questions, including what benefits you are receiving, details of your employment and income, and capital considerations, such as whether you have savings, a property or a car. We would also require three months’ bank statements so that we could review your income and outgoings and assess the merits of applying for Legal Aid. You would be required to provide documentary evidence of your financial circumstances to us prior to the application being made.
If you are receiving income from employment but also receive a passported benefit such as Universal Credit, then it may be that you are eligible for Legal Aid.
In some circumstances, the Legal Aid Agency will pay towards your legal costs, however, they may not fully fund your fees and you may have to pay a monthly contribution or a one off capital contribution.
Can a Non-Molestation Order be extended?
Non-Molestation Orders are usually for a specified period of time. In some situations they can be extended, or they may be made to last until a further order is given.
There is no time limit on the period of time that a Non-Molestation Order can be extended for.
If you are in immediate danger, and you require an emergency Non-Molestation Order, you can apply for this without notice.
