If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-799-7233 (TTY: 1-800-787-3224). Safe Link MA is available at 877-785-2020. This article provides general legal information, please prioritize your safety first.
The law is on your side. Massachusetts offers some of the strongest legal protections in the country for survivors leaving an abusive marriage, but those protections only work when you know they exist and how to use them.
Chapter 209A: Massachusetts Protective Orders
Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 209A allows victims of domestic abuse, defined to include causing or attempting physical harm, placing someone in fear of imminent serious physical harm, causing involuntary sexual relations, and coercive control, to petition for a civil restraining order. A 209A order can:
- Order the abuser to stop contacting you
- Require the abuser to leave the family home immediately, even if they own or rent it jointly
- Award you temporary custody of your children
- Order the abuser to pay support and mortgage/rent during the order period
- Prohibit the abuser from possessing firearms
Emergency orders (called ex parte orders) can be obtained the same day, without the abuser present, and remain in effect for up to ten court business days, until a hearing is held. If you need an order outside of court hours, police can issue a temporary emergency order that remains in effect until the next court session.
How to Obtain a 209A Order
209A petitions can be filed at the District Court, the Probate and Family Court, or the Boston Municipal Court in your area. If a divorce is already pending, the Probate and Family Court is usually the right venue. Courthouse staff can provide forms.
Describe the abuse with as much specific detail as possible, dates, specific acts, words used, injuries, witnesses. Courts evaluate the level of threat and the history of abuse in deciding what relief to grant.
You will appear before a judge briefly to explain the situation. If granted, the order takes effect immediately. The abuser will be served with the order, typically by police.
Within 10 business days, both parties appear before the court. The abuser has the right to contest the order. An attorney can significantly help you present your case clearly and respond to the abuser's arguments.
If the court finds sufficient cause, it may extend the order for up to one year, and renewals can extend protection indefinitely. A permanent order requires a separate hearing.
How a Restraining Order Affects Your Divorce
A 209A order is a civil protection measure, it is separate from your divorce case, but the two interact significantly. The court can grant temporary support and temporary custody as part of the order. These temporary orders frequently become the starting point for divorce negotiations. The factual findings made in a 209A proceeding, that abuse occurred, that the respondent was ordered out of the home, are part of the court record and can be relevant to the divorce court's analysis of custody and property issues.
Do not negotiate custody or financial matters directly with an abusive spouse. Power imbalances that exist in the relationship do not disappear in a mediation room or across a kitchen table. All negotiations should occur through attorneys or a structured process with proper safeguards, not in private conversations that you may not be safe to walk away from.
Child Custody When Domestic Violence Is Present
Massachusetts courts must consider evidence of domestic abuse when making custody determinations. The law creates a rebuttable presumption that a parent who has committed abuse should not be awarded sole or shared legal custody. This does not mean an abusive parent receives no parenting time, courts evaluate each case individually, but it means the court takes documented abuse seriously in custody decisions.
Documenting abuse for the custody proceeding is critically important. Medical records, police reports, photographs, communications, witness statements, and a journal of incidents all contribute to the record the court will consider.
You are not starting over with nothing. You are starting over with the law behind you.
The Address Confidentiality Program
Massachusetts operates an Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking. Program participants receive a substitute address, a P.O. Box maintained by the Secretary of State's office, that can be used for all legal and government purposes. This prevents an abusive former spouse from learning your new address through public records.
Enrollment is through the Secretary of State's office. There is no fee. If you are relocating as part of leaving the marriage, enrolling in the ACP before you move can protect your new location from the start.