The court will not automatically set specific terms of an order. You must be sure to ask the court for the particular terms that are going to apply in your circumstances and that are going to help keep you safe. If you have a lawyer working for you, you must tell the lawyer all relevant information so that he or she can make the right request on your behalf. It is very important to include a term that gives the police the power to arrest the respondent if the order is broken.

Before you serve the respondent with a copy of any order obtained in his or her absence, you must first file your order with the court. The procedure in each province may vary, but generally you will take the original order and a number of copies to the court. The court will then stamp them as filed and they can be served on the other party.