Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

You pose a common scenario and have explained yourself well. Many people are in your shoes, or similar ones such that they can relate to much of what you write above. Each case is slightly different based on different facts that occur in each case. For our purposes, I will attempt to address the point that you raise, but please understand that my ability to do so is limited given the amount of information you have provided and the form in which we are communicating. Before you do anything or act on what I write below, I cannot emphasize strongly enough how important it is for you to seek legal counsel who can have a dialogue with you to flesh out all the details that you simply cannot do through this website.

Having written the above, here are my thoughts. First, before the NCO expires, you can file to extend it. You will need to explain to the court the basis of your petition to extend the NCO for whatever period of time you are asking for. If you can document the inappropriate use of third-party contact as you indicated above, that may very well serve as the basis to continue the NCO, either at is it is currently written or in some modified fashion.

Second, while I could clearly understand that you do not wish to get your ex into trouble and that you wish him well so long as he just leaves you alone, the problem is there is no way to do this nicely if you have to return to court. I have never met anybody who did not take offense to being hauled in front of a judge, where the judge is considering whether to enter or continue a NCO. You just have to accept that this comes with the territory, and know that it is not your fault, but at the same time know that you have to do this because to do nothing at all is far worse.

Third, each of the four options you pose above are all a type of restraining order to keep someone from either contacting you, or coming near you, or both. For example, a conventional restraining order may not impose a firearms restriction, whereas an Order of Protection necessarily requires it. An antiharassment order would not be applicable to your case because those are generally used outside of the family law sphere for unrelated persons. An order of protection would have similar provisions as in antiharassment order (and then some), and I am willing to bet your current NCO has similar provisions.

Last, if you cannot afford an attorney, your best bet would be to go to your local county courthouse and ask to speak to a domestic violence facilitator. While it is not the same as working with an attorney, it is better than having nobody there to help, and the people who work in those offices are generally dedicated and will do their level best to help you. However, if you can afford to hire an attorney, I strongly recommend you do so. If you would like a referral for somebody close to you, I am happy to suggest some names to you. Alternatively, you may want to look and see if your local County Bar Association has an attorney referral program, which would refer you to a qualified attorney who has been screened before being referred to you. It's not perfect, but it is better than picking a name out of a hat at random.

I wish I could be more specific, but this gives you an idea of what to look for and what options are available to you. I wish you all the best.

Amir John Showrai