Getting a protective order (PO) provides some feeling of security and safety when the person you are filing it against is likely to be very dangerous or seek you out to harm you. However, you should not be the one to serve this order yourself. You could, but you definitely should not. Here are three reasons for requesting that a third party serve this order to the other person. 

If You Really Believe That He or She Will React Violently, You Do Not Want to Be Present

The purpose of the protective order is to protect you and your children. Does it make a lot of sense, then, if you serve the order personally? No, it does not. Protection begins the minute the order is approved, and if you want that protection guaranteed, you cannot go anywhere near the other person mentioned in your protective order. 

Your Order May Be Nullified If You Void It Personally

Most POs are nullified when the person serving the order violates the order personally by getting close to the person against whom the order has been filed. If this order is that important to you and your safety, you do not want to mess that up by getting too close to the other person. The third-party protective order service ensures that your order remains intact by keeping you far away from this other person when the order is served. 

If You Have a Separation or Divorce Proceeding, You Want to Show That You Have Reason to Be Afraid

If and when you have a protective order against a spouse, and you are attempting to leave him or her via a divorce/separation agreement, you need to honor the terms of your own protective order. Failing to do so may tell the judge in your divorce case that you are not really afraid of your spouse, and that you are just abusing this legal document for your divorce case. That is not the impression you want to give the judge at all, especially if you are genuinely afraid of your spouse and he or she has caused you or your children physical or sexual harm.

The third-party service delivers your order to your spouse and allows you to show that you do live in fear of him or her. Things in court are almost always about how they are presented, and if it is presented that you served this order, then they may think you are not half as afraid as you say you are. The judge may not take you seriously. 

For more information about protective order services, reach out to someone like Roseline D. Feral Attorney at Law.