You may find yourself on the receiving end of a non-molestation order and wonder why it has been served and what you can do to contest it.
Has someone falsely accused you of domestic abuse? Domestic abuse is an incident or pattern of physical or sexual violence, emotional and psychological abuse such as gas-lighting, financial abuse and coercive control.
Have you got evidence to rebut these false allegations?
Collating Evidence To Contest Non-Molestation Orders
We strongly advise gathering this evidence as soon as possible to include it within your response statement to strengthen your defence.
Unfortunately, applications for non-molestation orders are inappropriately applied for in an attempt to gain an advantage in family proceedings, to access legal aid or maliciously.
It is worth noting that in the Family and Civil Courts, the applicant has to prove their case on the “balance of probabilities”, i.e. 51%.
Providing the Court with as much supporting evidence as possible will quite often lead a Judge to discharge a non-molestation order, accept undertakings or cross-undertakings if appropriate.
Tip: We find that some of the most useful evidence can be text/instant messages between the applicant and our client. Did you know there is a quick and easy way to download your messages on Whatsapp by exporting your chat? You can do this by following these steps:
1. Select the particular conversation you wish to download
2. Go onto the contact info
3. Scroll down and select ‘export chat’ with or without media
This will create a full transcript of your conversation in a zip document which you can then forward to our specialist legal team via email to be considered.
Deleted Communications Could Still Be Retrieved
We strongly recommend that you do not delete any evidence until the proceedings are concluded.
However, suppose you have previously deleted any supporting evidence such as text messages or emails. In that case, you can speak to our IT and cyber specialists who can assist in retrieving deleted messages.
Our specialist legal team will carefully consider your evidence and advise you on the strengths of your evidence and ensure your evidence is included within your response statement, so the Judge is aware of the full background before making a final decision.
If you or someone you know needs expert advice on contesting a non-molestation order (or any of the points above), do not hesitate to get in touch. A member of our team will be pleased to assist you.
You can find the best contact details for Monan Gozzett below.
If you would like to speak to our expert legal team about this, or any related subject then please contact our team by phone on 0207 936 6329, Email or by completing our Quick Contact Form below.