Haque Legal · Bloomfield Hills · Oakland County Family Law
A personal protection order can decide who stays in the home, who can contact whom, and how parenting time works, sometimes before the other side has said a word. Haque Legal represents Oakland County clients on both sides: people who need protection and people who have been served with an order they believe is wrong.
We move quickly because PPO deadlines are short. If you need protection, we help you put the facts before the judge clearly and safely. If you were served, we look at the 14-day window to challenge the order, what it already prohibits, and how it may affect a divorce or custody case.
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Reviewed by Fahd S. Haque, Esq., Founder & Principal Attorney · Updated November 5, 2026
Served with an ex parte PPO?
An ex parte PPO is issued without a hearing and is effective as soon as it is signed. You generally have 14 days after being served or receiving actual notice to file a motion to modify or terminate it (MCR 3.707). After that, the court may still hear a motion, but you must show good cause for the delay.
Follow the order exactly while you challenge it, even if the other person contacts you first. Violating a PPO can lead to arrest and criminal contempt, with penalties of up to 93 days in jail and a $500 fine (MCL 600.2950). Bring the order, the petition, and any related court papers to your consultation.
Knowing how both sides of a PPO hearing are built helps us prepare yours. We present the facts the judge needs, anticipate the other side's evidence, and keep the request or the defense within what the statute allows.
A PPO can affect parenting time, the marital home, and a pending divorce. Our family law team handles those cases too, so one strategy covers every court date. Child custody
Texts, call logs, police reports, and witnesses are organized before the hearing, not the morning of it. Credible, specific evidence is what persuades a judge in a PPO case.
Domestic violence findings can matter for immigration status, VAWA, and U visas. Both sides of that question are reviewed together. Family law and immigration
Senior Attorney
The firm’s lead family law attorney, licensed in Michigan since 1993. Divorce, custody, parenting time, and support in the Oakland, Wayne, and Macomb County circuit courts.
Associate Attorney
J.D., Wayne State University Law School. Custody, child support formula calculations, post-judgment modifications, and contested parenting time.
Principal Attorney & Founder
Michigan trial lawyer since 2014. Super Lawyers® Rising Stars 2022–2026. Contested custody, divorce, and property division, prepared as though the case will be tried.
Custody
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Available against a spouse or former spouse, someone you have a child with, someone you dated, or someone you live or lived with (MCL 600.2950). The order can prohibit entering the home, contact, stalking, and other listed conduct.
When there is no qualifying relationship, a PPO may be based on stalking or sexual assault (MCL 600.2950a). Stalking requires a pattern of conduct, generally two or more separate acts.
A judge can issue a PPO without notice if delay would cause immediate and irreparable injury or notice itself would provoke harm. An ex parte order lasts at least 182 days, and the respondent can ask the court to modify or end it.
A PPO is entered into the statewide law enforcement network, and once the respondent has been served or has notice, police can enforce it throughout Michigan. It can also restrict firearm possession, which carries separate federal consequences.
If you are in danger right now, call 911 first. A PPO is a court order, not a guarantee of safety, and police response comes before any filing. Once you are safe, we focus on what the petition needs to show and which facts the judge will weigh most.
If you were served, the first questions are practical: where you can live, whether you can see your children, and whether a related criminal charge is pending. We then decide whether to challenge the order, negotiate modifications, or prepare for a full hearing.
Where everyone will stay tonight, and exactly what the order prohibits right now.
Messages, call logs, photos, police reports, and witness names, in date order.
What must be proved, who will testify, and how the PPO fits any custody or divorce case.
A PPO is a separate case, but its terms reach into the rest of a family's life. Decisions in one court can shape the others.
A PPO can prohibit entering a home even if the respondent owns it or is on the lease. Going back to the house during a divorce
A PPO does not decide custody, but it can conflict with an existing parenting time order. Exchanges and contact may need a separate order from the family court.
Domestic violence is one of the best-interest factors a judge weighs in custody disputes (MCL 722.23). Findings in a PPO hearing can carry into a custody case.
A PPO may bar purchasing or possessing firearms. That can affect jobs that require carrying a weapon or a security clearance.
Violating a PPO is criminal contempt, and the underlying conduct can also lead to separate criminal charges.
Domestic violence findings and PPO violations can carry immigration consequences for noncitizens. Family law and immigration
Also see: Emergency custody orders · Divorce · VAWA self-petitions
For court locations, Friend of the Court contacts, and local procedures, see our Oakland County Family Court guide.
An ex parte PPO must remain in effect for at least 182 days. Many orders run for one year or longer. The petitioner can ask to extend an order before it expires, and either side can ask the court to modify or end it.
Yes. A judge can issue an ex parte PPO without notice or a hearing when delay would cause immediate and irreparable injury or when notice itself would provoke harm. The respondent then has the right to challenge the order.
You generally have 14 days after being served or receiving actual notice to file a motion to modify or terminate an ex parte PPO (MCR 3.707). Follow the order exactly while the motion is pending.
The order restricts the respondent, not the petitioner. Responding to contact, even invited contact, can still be a violation. Do not rely on the petitioner's permission; ask the court to modify the order instead.
No. Custody and parenting time are decided in the family court case. A PPO can still affect exchanges and contact, and the facts behind it are relevant to the best-interest factor on domestic violence.
Yes. A PPO can prohibit entering the home regardless of who owns it or is on the lease. Ownership and the division of the home are decided later in the divorce.
No. A PPO is a civil order. Violating it is criminal contempt, and the conduct behind it can lead to separate criminal charges.
Michigan does not require one, and the forms are designed for self-represented filers. A lawyer helps most when a hearing is contested, when the PPO overlaps with custody or divorce, or when firearms, employment, or immigration status are at stake.
Yes. The initial consultation is free. We explain fees for your situation at that meeting, before you decide whether to hire the firm.
Official references: MCL 600.2950, domestic relationship PPOs · MCL 600.2950a, stalking and sexual assault PPOs · MCL 722.23, best-interest factors · Oakland County Family Division
Bring the PPO or petition, any police report or criminal case number, related custody or divorce orders, and the messages or records that matter most. If a hearing date is set, tell us when you contact the firm.
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