A Protection from Abuse (PFA) Order in Pennsylvania helps victims of abuse seek legal protection from their abusers. A PFA is a type of protection order that an individual can take against another. In some cases, the PFA can protect the victim’s children from abuse as well. When a PFA order names a child or children for protection, it brings custody into question. In Pennsylvania, the court can legally address custody in a PFA. Below are frequent questions and answers:
What is a PFA?
A PFA is a type of restraining order, allowing an individual to request legal protection from abuse or the threat of abuse by another individual. You can only file a PFA against a member of the family or household, an intimate partner, or the co-parent of your child. A PFA orders the defendant (the person it’s filed against) to stop abuse, threats, harassment, or stalking of the plaintiff (the person filing the PFA).
The PFA can also do the following:
- Prevent the defendant from entering the plaintiff’s home—even if they share a home—as well as their business, place of employment, or the child’s school
- Prohibit the defendant from contacting the plaintiff
- Require the defendant to reimburse the plaintiff for expenses incurred as part of the abuse
- Order the defendant to pay temporary child custody/spousal support to the plaintiff
Is a PFA a criminal matter or a civil matter?
There are civil court cases and criminal court cases. A PFA is a civil matter. This means that the standard of proof is much lower, called a “preponderance of the evidence” standard.
In a civil case, the judge looks to see whether the alleged accuser’s allegations are more likely than not to have occurred. That is a much lower standard than “beyond a reasonable doubt” in a criminal case.
Who may file for a PFA?
You may file for a PFA if you are (1) a family or household member of the alleged abuser, a sexual or intimate partner with the alleged abuser, or a person who shares biological children with the alleged abuser; and (2) the alleged abuser:
- Attempted to cause or intentionally, knowingly or recklessly caused bodily injury, serious bodily injury, rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault or incest with or without a deadly weapon;
- Places you in reasonable fear of imminent serious bodily injury;
- Inflicted of false imprisonment pursuant to 18 Pa. C.S. §2903 (relating to False Imprisonment);
- Physically or sexually abused minor children, including such terms as defined in Chapter 63 (relating to Child Protective Services)
- Knowingly engaged in a course of conduct or repeatedly committing acts toward you, including following you, without proper authority, under circumstances which placed you in reasonable fear of bodily injury.
How does a PFA impact Custody?
If the plaintiff and defendant share children, and the plaintiff alleges that their children are in danger of being abused by the defendant, the PFA can extend to the children. When an individual requests a PFA, they can ask for restrictions on contacting or visiting their children. This means that if the court believes abuse has occurred or is likely to occur against the children, the defendant can be restricted in the type of contact they have with the children or would not be permitted to have any contact with the children while the PFA is in effect. Those rights and visitation times may be set by the plaintiff or at the court’s discretion.
If no allegations of abuse against the children are found, a PFA Order will not supersede custody and visitations rights, which means the defendant will be allowed to see or visit their children while the PFA is in effect, subject to any other restrictions in the PFA.
Can a PFA grant custody rights if there’s no current Custody Order?
Yes, a PFA Order can set forth custody arrangements even if there are none in place by the court. The protection order can grant temporary custody to the plaintiff and deny custodial rights to the defendant if the abuse in question involves the parties’ children. The court can prohibit custody, partial custody, or unsupervised visitation to a defendant for a few reasons: (1) if the defendant has abused or threatened to abuse the children of the two parties involved in the protection order; (2) if the defendant has abused the plaintiff or another child (not the child named in the PFA), the court may allow custodial access to the defendant, but only if it’s supervised.
Does a PFA override a current Custody Order?
In some circumstances, yes, a PFA supersedes pre-existing custody orders. If the court finds that the defendant is likely to abuse the children or remove them from the jurisdiction before the court’s final PFA hearing, it can take away custody. However, if your children are not named in the protection order, then the court cannot revoke your custody rights unless it finds you have or are likely to inflict abuse upon the children. In many circumstances, what a PFA Order does is modify how and when the parents can communicate with one another. It will typically restrict the subject matter and type of contact the parents may have with one another. Any contact falling outside of those restrictions would be considered a violation of the PFA Order and subject the defendant to criminal penalties.
Can I still file for custody after a PFA Order is entered?
Yes. While the PFA Order is in effect, nothing prevents either party from petitioning for custody, or requesting to modify the existing custody order. If you’re subject to a PFA, you can petition the court for custody immediately, and your requests may granted, so long as it doesn’t conflict with the PFA Order. For example, communication with the plaintiff may be allowed in a limited capacity so that the two parties can arrange custody exchanges.
However, if your children are protected under the PFA Order, and you’ve been denied custodial or visitation rights under the PFA, then a custody court would not be able to grant you custody, as that would violate the PFA. In this scenario, you would have to wait until the PFA Order expires. But, if your children aren’t protected under the PFA Order, you can petition for custody or modify the current custody order immediately. Keep in mind, that one of the factors for granting custody is each parent’s and adult household member’s past and present abusive conduct. This conduct can include abuse as it’s defined under the PFA Act in Pennsylvania.
Mooney Law is a leading Family law law firm in Central Pennsylvania. If you have a Family Law issue, call us today at 717-200-HELP or 717-632-4656. you can also Schedule a Consultation at our website.
