Temporary Injunctions

The dissolution of marriage sometimes produces situations in which you need the help of a court to stop your spouse from doing something improper, such as selling marital property (either real property or personal property), leaving the state with a child, harassing or abusing you or a child, hiding property, and so forth.

If you need the help of the court to prevent harm to yourself or your children, please review the article titled "Domestic Violence Injunctions." If, on the other hand, you want to stop your spouse from selling marital property, from squandering the assets acquired during the marriage, or to prevent a spouse from relocating with the minor children or to prohibit your spouse from any other action, please read on.

A temporary injunction order can help prevent a spouse from stealing or hiding property, bank accounts, home or business investments, or stocks and bonds. The temporary injunction can also legally prohibit one spouse from leaving the state with a child. In fact, the court can issue any order that is necessary to protect the rights of the people involved in the dissolution or to make existing orders of the court more effective.

Under certain conditions, the court may grant a temporary injunction order without even having a hearing. The other side may move to dissolve or change it at any time. If a party moves to dissolve or modify the order, the motion must be heard by the judge within five days after the hearing date is requested. At this hearing, the court may keep the order in effect, or it may change it or cancel it.

In the court's final judgment of dissolution, it may make permanent injunction orders which are effective until they are changed by the court at a future time. Because of the difficulty in getting some types of temporary injunction orders, it is often hard for an individual, acting as his or her own attorney, to get a temporary injunction order from the court. If you feel you need a temporary injunction order issued against your spouse during the dissolution process, you should consult an attorney and get advice about the best way to proceed.

Because of the complicated procedures involved in a legal proceeding and the fact that the law is changing and evolving, it is very important to consult an attorney if you have a case pending in court.