Ms. Jane had lived in the same Texas community her whole life. As an older woman managing serious, disabling health conditions on a fixed income, she had weathered a great deal. What she didn’t expect so late in life was to live in fear for her safety inside her own home.
Her marriage lasted little more than a year. Over its final months, as her husband’s drinking grew heavier, so did his cruelty. The verbal abuse came first, in the form of name-calling and threats. He told her almost daily that he would kill her. In time, the threats turned physical. One night, he attacked her and again threatened her life. A neighbor heard what was happening and called the police; Ms. Jane called them too, and her husband was arrested shortly after.
Ms. Jane still felt uneasy after the arrest, so she called upon Lone Star Legal Aid to review her case and give her advice on how to proceed safely.
Her local LSLA office took on her case with two aims: her safety and her freedom. The first step was a protective order. In the days before the hearing, our attorneys sat down with Ms. Jane, went through the petition with her line by line, and prepared her for what the court would ask. Because her husband had been served and had filed nothing in response, he would not be brought to the hearing — a point LSLA explained ahead of time so Ms. Jane would know exactly what to expect when she walked into the courtroom.
At the hearing, Ms. Jane testified about the threats and the abuse she had endured. The court granted her a two-year protective order. Afterward, LSLA made sure the order was filed, helped her obtain certified copies, and advised her to give one to her leasing office, so the protection would follow her home. Lone Star Legal Aid stood with Ms. Jane through the parallel criminal proceedings against her husband, walking her through what came next.
The protective order gave Ms. Jane a measure of safety, but it wasn’t the end of our work. We went on to secure a Final Decree of Divorce, ending the marriage that had bound Ms. Jane to her abuser.
Together, the protective order and the divorce gave Ms. Jane a clean break. The marriage that tied her to her abuser is over, and if her former husband violates the order, he can be jailed.
Leaving an abusive relationship is rarely as simple as walking out the door. The legal bonds of a marriage, the fear of what an abuser might do next, and the cost of hiring a lawyer can keep a person trapped long after they have decided to go. By guiding Ms. Jane through both the protective order and the divorce, Lone Star Legal Aid gave her a way out and a brand new future.
*Names have been changed to protect identities
Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit law firm focused on advocacy for low-income populations by providing free legal education, advice, and representation. LSLA serves millions of people at 125% of federal poverty guidelines, who live in 72 counties in the eastern and Gulf Coast regions of Texas, and 4 counties in Southwest Arkansas. To learn more about Lone Star Legal Aid, visit our website at www.LoneStarLegal.org.
Media contact: media@lonestarlegal.org