Family Code · §6.501

Temporary Restraining Orders in Divorce Cases

Temporary Restraining Orders in Divorce Cases (§6.501): key points and worked practice questions for Texas peace officer exam preparation.

Key points

  • A suit for dissolution of marriage has been filed
  • On a party's motion or the court's own motion; may be granted without notice to the adverse party
  • For preservation of property and protection of the parties (e.g. no bodily injury or threats to the other party or a child of either party; no destroying or concealing property)

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Worked examples

Worked example 1

After a suit for dissolution of marriage is filed, Tex. Fam. Code §6.501 allows the court to grant a temporary restraining order:

  1. Only after an evidentiary hearing with notice to both parties
  2. On a party's motion or on the court's own motion, without notice to the adverse party, for the preservation of the property and the protection of the parties as necessary — for example, prohibiting a party from causing bodily injury to the other party or to a child of either party Correct
  3. Only on the motion of the district attorney
  4. Only to divide the marital estate between the parties
Why: Section 6.501(a) provides that after a suit for dissolution of a marriage is filed, on the motion of a party or on the court's own motion, the court may grant a temporary restraining order without notice to the adverse party for the preservation of the property and for the protection of the parties as necessary. The listed examples include prohibiting a party from intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing bodily injury to the other party or to a child of either party, threatening the other party or a child with imminent bodily injury, and destroying, removing, or concealing property to obstruct the court's division of the estate. The order preserves property during the suit; it does not divide the estate.
Statute: Tex. Fam. Code §6.501