There has been 2 times that we've filed for a restraining order. The first time, my aunt, who was still living with my grandfather, was abusing his finances. He also complained about how she was treating him, but at the time, we thought it was easier to go after her about his finances. We filed for the temporary restraining order, it was granted. We then went to court a second time for the regular restraining order. We had about 30 family members testify against her and ask for the restraining order to keep her away. The judge denied the restraining order because in the previous 2 months she had no contact with anybody in the family and the judge said she wasn't a threat.
The other time, my partner filed a restraining order against his neighbors a few years ago. He was having problems with the neighbors driving through his yard and harassing him when he got mad at them for driving through his yard. He had the police down there many times, the police even went over to the neighbors and talked to them, but of course they denied it.
The police officer, who is a friend, said you need to file for a restraining order. We did the paperwork and a few days later the neighbors got served. They were pissed off. They came over screaming and carrying on about how they weren't doing that.
They went to court, the judge agreed to a temporary restraining order. But they had to be back in 2 months for the 2 year restraining order. For the next 2 months, the neighbors did absolutely nothing wrong. They didn't drive through the yard. They kept to themselves. When they went to court the second time, they got up and lied their asses off to the judge. Said my partner was a drunk and was constantly having people over. They said that they were being harassed by my partner. Said that my partner went over there one day and grabbed the lady by the throat and threatened her. And they cried about how they would lose their home business if they had a restraining order against them. In the end, the judge didn't issue a 2 year restraining order.
Good luck, getting a restraining order can be a bitch.