Ameeta Bhuhi
Solicitor, Care Proceedings
English
Our Child Care Proceedings Solicitors are here to offer you practical legal advice and support on obtaining and responding to a Non-Molestation Order, as well as breaches of Non-Molestation Orders.
If you need to get a Non-Molestation Order, we understand how frightening and stressful this situation can be. Our Child Care Proceedings Team has been helping parties involved in Non-Molestation proceedings for more than 30 years and can support you in obtaining a Non-Molestation Order quickly. We’ll do everything we can to make the whole process as straightforward as possible for you.
Our goal is to ensure that you, and if applicable, your children are safe. We tailor our service to your unique situation, and our Solicitors will always communicate with you in plain English, avoiding legal jargon.
If you receive a Non-Molestation application, it is important you obtain clear, precise, and prompt advice on how to respond. There are serious criminal consequences for breaching a Non-Molestation Order.
We have an excellent national reputation in all aspects of Family Law, including obtaining Non-Molestation Orders. We are accredited by the Law Society of England and Wales.
In certain circumstances, you may be able to get Legal Aid. If Legal Aid is unavailable, our legal experts offer hourly rates and will explain your costs and payment options upfront, so you’ll know exactly where you stand
For initial legal advice, get in touch with our Child Care Proceedings Solicitors.
Fill in the form below to get in touch with one of our dedicated team members, or call our team today on: 0800 260 5010
An injunction is a Court Order that orders a person to do or refrain from doing a certain action. For example, the Court may issue an injunction that says that someone must not come within 100 metres of a certain individual or their home address.
If you breach an injunction, you may be arrested or required to pay compensation to another person, depending on what it says on the Court Order.
A Non-Molestation Order (NMO) is a type of injunction that prevents a person who has committed domestic abuse from ‘molesting’ you and, if applicable, your children.
‘Molesting’ does not only mean physical abuse. An NMO also protects you from:
Our Child Care Proceedings Solicitors understand that the law around NMOs can be overwhelming and full of legal jargon. We’ll make the process clear and easy to understand, supporting you throughout the entire application process.
NMOs are used to protect a person from being physically, emotionally, sexually, and/or economically abused by ordering the abuser to stay away.
If you are applying for an NMO, you may want to prevent the Respondent from using or threatening physical violence, intimidating, harassing, pestering, or communicating with you. An NMO achieves this by ordering that the Respondent cannot contact you, or come within a certain distance of your home, workplace, or any other specific location. The terms of the order can be adapted to suit your specific needs.
When deciding whether to grant an NMO, the Court’s main concern is your safety and well-being. But there are certain conditions that must be met before the Court will grant an NMO, including:
You need to provide evidence that there is a clear and immediate risk of harm. Examples of useful evidence include:
Do not worry if all you have is your word at this early stage, as we are happy to discuss this with you. We’ll help you put together strong evidence that shows the Judge an NMO is necessary to keep you safe.
To apply for a Non-Molestation Order you must be an ‘associated person’. Section 62(3) and (4) of the Family Law Act 1996 (FLA 1996) defines associated persons as those who:
When it comes to getting an NMO for a child, an associated person is either the child’s parent or someone with Parental Responsibility.
You may be entitled to Legal Aid to cover your legal fees. This means you may only pay part of your Solicitor’s costs, or none at all, depending on your income. We will swiftly assess your eligibility for Legal Aid and apply on your behalf. If Legal Aid is unavailable, we will provide a clear and transparent cost estimate for any work that is required.
A Non-Molestation Order is obtained by completing the form FL401. We would complete this on your behalf, prepare a witness statement, and gather any other relevant evidence. This is then submitted to the Court.
If you do not want the Respondent alerted immediately about your application for an NMO, you can apply ex-parte or ‘without notice’. In this case, the Court will consider the application and decide whether to issue an Order before the Respondent is made aware that you are seeking protection.
Yes, NMO applications usually require both you and the Respondent to attend Court. If you feel this would be unsafe, there are protective measures that can be put in place to ensure your safety.
NMO’s are typically granted for six to twelve months. However, the Court can issue them for longer if necessary. If the NMO is granted without notifying the Respondent, it will usually only last until the date the Respondent attends Court to present their case.
You can apply for an NMO without a Solicitor. However, if you are applying for an NMO, you are likely to be feeling scared and vulnerable. The last thing you need is to struggle with complex forms and navigate the legal system alone.
We’ll take care of everything for you, so you can focus on your well-being and ensuring that you and your children feel safe, both mentally and physically. And because you may be eligible for Legal Aid, you may not need to worry about paying for legal help.
We are sensitive, friendly, dependable, and most importantly, our Child Care Proceedings team is recognised as one of the best in the country. We understand how frightening and stressful it can be to apply for an NMO. We’ll be the people you can trust to support you, ensuring that you and your children are protected.
Our Child Care Proceedings Solicitors are ranked in the Legal 500 and hold Accreditation from the Law Society of England and Wales. This demonstrates our team’s dedication to providing exceptional legal advice and representation to all our clients.
We’ll help you prepare for your Court hearing by advising you as to how the session will run and the possible outcomes. By this stage, we would have put together all the required evidence and the application form would have been submitted. You can be confident that we’ll be by your side. You don’t need to worry about the proceedings as we will have everything under control.
An NMO is issued by the Family court.
An NMO provides a legal safeguard against the person harming you. It prevents them from contacting you and coming within a certain distance of you and, if applicable, your children. If they breach the order, you can take immediate action against them.
Social workers were concerned about the welfare of four children aged from 9 months to 6 years old, as neighbours had heard shouting in the home and bottles smashing. The police attended the family home and found the father being drunk and abusive.
Charlotte (not her real name) contacted our Care Proceedings Solicitors for help when she was told that Social Services were starting Court proceedings because of their concerns about her children. Charlotte had 3 children aged 3, 5 and 7. She’d been struggling with her mental health for some time and recently things had gone downhill at home.
A Section 20 is a voluntary agreement where social workers invite a person with Parental Responsibility to agree to have their child temporarily placed in alternative accommodation such as foster care. If a social worker has asked you to consider Section 20, you might be feeling worried about what happens next. It’s important you consider your options carefully before making any decisions.
Doing anything that is prohibited under the NMO is a criminal offence. For example, if the NMO states that your abuser cannot come within a certain distance of your workplace and they violate this, you can call the police. The police have the power to make an arrest for someone breaching an NMO. If the breach is serious or happens multiple times, the Court can sentence the offender to prison.
A Restraining Order is used to protect the victim of a crime. If criminal proceedings are brought against the person accused of committing an offence, the victim may fear that the accused will harass, threaten, or act violently against them. A Restraining Order, which is granted under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, can be issued even if the accused is found not guilty of committing a criminal offence. Similar to an NMO, a Restraining Order prohibit the accused from contacting and/or coming within a certain distance of the victim.
There are no Court fees charged when applying for an NMO, so you only have to pay for your legal fees. As mentioned above, you may be eligible for Legal Aid. We will let you know at your initial consultation meeting if this applies to you.
Along with the application form, you will need to submit a witness statement explaining why the NMO is needed. We will also attach supporting evidence, such as police and medical reports and additional witness statements.
Once we issue your NMO application, a hearing will be scheduled. The first Court session will be a short ‘directions appointment’ to see if the case can be resolved without an NMO. If it can’t, the Court may issue an NMO immediately, provided the evidence shows you need immediate protection. The Order can be challenged later.
If the Court does not make the NMO order at the first hearing, your case will be listed for a final hearing. The Court will review witness statements and evidence from both parties before deciding whether to grant an NMO.
The Respondent may choose to contest the NMO application made against them. If this happens and the Court does not feel an NMO is necessary and proportionate, it may ask the Respondent to provide ‘undertakings’. Undertakings are formal promises made to the Court to either do, or refrain from doing, something. The Court may apply the same restrictions to the undertaking as they would have if they made an NMO.
However, unlike an NMO, breaching an undertaking is not a criminal offence, though it can result in contempt of Court proceedings.
An emergency injunction is a Court Order that can be granted when immediate action is required to protect a person or property from harm. If you need an emergency injunction, it is vital to get our help. We have the expertise needed to ensure the injunction has the best chance of being granted, as we know what evidence the Court needs to see to demonstrate that the emergency injunction is necessary and proportionate.
A hearing for an emergency injunction can take place outside normal Court hours.
You need to prove that your safety is at immediate risk. The Courts have recently made clear that NMOs, especially if applied for without notice, will only be granted if the case is exceptional and there is a significant risk to the applicant’s safety. The most important thing is to contact us immediately, so we can file your application in Court as soon as possible and gather the necessary evidence to show why the NMO must be granted.
Clare’s Law, formally known as the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS), is a Home Office initiative that was put in place across all police departments in England and Wales. Under Clare’s law, people who are experiencing domestic abuse or fear they may suffer abuse can request that the police disclose whether their partner, close friend, or family member has a history of domestic violence or violent offending. Third parties can also submit a disclosure request. Several criteria must be met before the police can disclose information about a person’s history of violence.
The police should disclose any convictions or cautions relevant to domestic abuse. Therefore, if an NMO is granted and later breaches, resulting in a conviction, this information may be disclosed under Clare’s Law.
It will not show in a standard or basic DBS check, but it may show up on an enhanced DBS check.
The police can issue Domestic Violence Protection Orders (DVPOs) and Domestic Violence Protection Notices (DVPNs).
Most NMO orders are granted for six to twelve months. Emergency injunctions typically last for one to two weeks but can be extended.
Yes. If you need extra protection, NMOs can be extended and/or the conditions of the Order (what the Respondent can and cannot do) can be changed.
If the Respondent has breached the NMO, you must call the police immediately. Once you’re safe, contact our Solicitors and we’ll advise you on the next best steps.
A hearing for an NMO will normally be held within a few weeks. If you need emergency protection, a same-day application can be made without the abuser having to be notified.
If the NMO does not name your children as individuals needing protection, the other parent can still have contact with them.
It can make arrangements difficult, depending on the conditions attached to the NMO. For example, if you are not allowed within a certain distance of the person protected by the Order, handovers can be challenging. Do not breach the conditions of the NMO to see your children. Talk to our Solicitors who can provide advice on how you can visit them without committing a breach.
Breaches of NMO’s are extremely serious. The person protected by the Order can call the police and have you arrested. Repeated or serious breaches could result in you going to prison.
An NMO is a Court Order and must be issued by the Court. If the police issue a DVPN, a hearing in the Magistrates’ Court must take place within 48 hours.
It can appear on an advanced DBS search. But unless you breach the Order, you will not have a criminal record.
Fill in the form below to get in touch with one of our dedicated team members, or call our team today on: 0800 260 5010
