Wording for family court orders to limit tech abuse
This resource shows examples of wording in court orders that may help end tech abuse, especially when children are involved.
This resource is not legal advice. It’s general legal information about possible wording for family court orders. Connect with a lawyer for legal advice on court orders for your unique situation.
About court orders
Most family court orders cover many different issues. How your court order is worded depends on what is happening in your family.
If your ex-partner is subjecting you to tech abuse, your family court order may help limit his actions. The order can have terms (wording) that explain how your ex-partner may or may not use technology in relation to you and your children.
Not following the terms of a court order is called “breaching the order”. If your ex-partner breaches the order, the court can make a new court order with consequences for your ex-partner. The consequences will depend on the terms of the order that was breached and what your ex-partner did.
Parenting orders and restraining orders
A parenting order is a kind of family court order. It describes how parents are to take care of their children after they separate. This can include how the parents use technology.
Parenting orders are made under s. 28 of the Children’s Law Reform Act or s. 16 of the Divorce Act. To learn more about parenting orders, see the Luke’s Place resource, The Law and Parenting Arrangements after Separation.
A restraining order is another family court order. It limits how your ex-partner can be in contact with you and your children. Restraining orders are made under s. 46 of the Family Law Act or s. 35 of the Children’s Law Reform Act.
Tech abuse in case law
Case law is the collection of decisions made by judges in past family court cases. A person in family court can use case law to show their judge what other judges decided in similar cases.
Each term in a judge’s order is usually numbered. However, in the examples we provide below we have used bullets instead of numbers to make it clear that the terms are just a few examples of what you may want to ask the judge for. We are not suggesting that you need to ask for all of the terms listed below.
In these examples, we have adapted wording from family law cases. Each judge words their decisions a little differently, which you’ll see in the examples.
The exact wording in your court order will depend on the facts in your unique situation. It is always best to get legal advice from a lawyer about this.
Click on the situations below to see examples of court order wording.
Your ex-partner…
- Posts information online about you or the children
- Tracks you or the children, or monitors your online activities somehow
- Sends abusive or excessive texts, emails or any other electronic messages to you or the children
- Has control of an online account that gives him access to your home (e.g. Google Home account, smart thermostat)
- Removed files from your device (e.g. computer, phone)
Also see examples of restraining order wording when there is tech abuse.