I currently have a restraining order on the father of my 2 kids. He also plead guilty to a stalking 3rd degree felony.

Question

There was previously a no contact which we thought would go away after his probation ended but it did not. I had to call the police for an incident that occurred and he took a plea deal by accepting a stalking 3rd degree felony charge and along with it the judge gave a permanent no stalking order. Is there any way to remove this? Also if it becomes known that we are still in contact and seeing each other can child protective services take the kids away from me or only if there is a domestic incident? Thank you in advance.

Leonard R. Boyer · Answer

There are too many unknown facts to provide you with an answer. DCP&P (which replaced DYFES in 2013) could possibly take away your children. But the best way to handle this situation is with a secured video conference or an in-person consultation with an attorney to review all the facts and legal documents and pleadings. Anything else should not be posted online and you should expect an attorney to charge for a consultation in this matter. Good luck. With modern technology, you can be represented by any high-quality 
attorney in New Jersey irrespective of geography.

Richard Diamond · Answer

I don’t mean to be rude, but: 
1. You currently have a domestic violence final restraining order in place against the father of your 2 kids.  
2. You also filed a criminal stalking charge against him after the entry of the final restraining order, resulting in him pleading guilty to a 3rd-degree felony charge for stalking.  
 
Despite all of that background, you and he are secretly back together again, and you are fearful that DCPP will find out about it and potentially assert a claim against you for neglect or abuse of your children because of the setting between the 2 of you.  
And you want assurance that the only way that DCPP can investigate is if you file another domestic violence complaint against him or file another criminal charge against him.  
Obviously, my concern is that based on his actions to date, why would you think that everything is okay and that he will never engage in behavior that violates the domestic violence laws in the future?  
If your true concern is that DCPP not investigate your household setting in the future, then make your ex go to and complete an anger management program to address his actions. If nothing else, it might suggest to DCPP, that you thought that you and he were addressing things more constructively.  
You can also go down to the courthouse and voluntarily dismiss the existing domestic violence final restraining order.

Bari Weinberger · Answer

Thank you for your question about restraining orders.   Your question is very fact specific, and more information is required in order to give a proper answer.  It would also be helpful to review both the restraining order as well as the no-contact orders. There is a procedure by which you can as the court to vacate the restraining order, but in order to see if your request would be granted, a lawyer will need to review the court record.  I suggest you contact a family law attorney to provide you with specific advice, especially as it relates to DCP&P.

Q: I currently have a restraining order on the father of my 2 kids. He also plead guilty to a stalking 3rd degree felony.