In today’s blog, we provide the Best Kelowna Vancouver Family Lawyers Affidavit Tips. These Best Kelowna Vancouver Family Lawyers Affidavit Tips were prepared by our Kelowna family lawyers Lorne MacLean KC and Fraser MacLean who can be reached at our Kelowna Office, Tel 778 754 1657.
MacLean Law has set numerous winning record judgments and won numerous awards for top family law firm In BC and Canada.
Our firm has set the law for some of the highest spousal support ( $100,000 a month), child support ( $21,000 for one child), restraining order profit division ( $50,000 a month), Mareva injunction Orders on multimillions overseas ( $50,000,000), Anton Pillar raids to expose lies and jail for lying husband, fines of over $50,000 and special cost awards of up to $1.5,000,000 million for a single case where we exposed a party’s perjury.
When you face a high net worth “scorched earth” policy case you need to hire lawyers who will expose the truth and get you the millions you deserve.
MacLean Family Law has 6 offices across Western Canada including Vancouver, West Vancouver, Victoria, Surrey, Calgary, and Richmond. Call our intake specialists toll free at 1-877-602-9900. Our Senior family lawyers and mediators are pleased to meet with you at our downtown Kelowna office.
Kelowna Family Law Affidavits Are Crucial
Most family law cases do not proceed to trial but many do proceed to an interim family law Chambers hearing and on these interim hearings, parties do not take the stand to give evidence but instead file affidavits to tell their story. To succeed in Chambers we suggest you follow these Best Kelowna Vancouver Family Lawyers Affidavit Tips.
Remember tight focused affidavits are critical and long rambling ones do more damage than good in a Kelowna family law case. Our award winning family lawyers will help you get to the point and offer winning strategies to you.
Lorne MacLean KC and Fraser MacLean have a storied history of the highest spousal and child support awards totaling $116,000 a month, highest interim support awards totaling $105,000 a month, highest special costs awards at $1,500,000 and highest interim legal fee advance awards at $800,000.
Kelowna Vancouver Family Lawyers Affidavit Tips
Six Points to Remember when Working with your Lawyer to Draft an Affidavit
An family law affidavit is a document that contains the facts that you rely on in support of the relief you are seeking from the court. Depending on the type of the court hearing, the evidence of the parties or other witnesses may be provided to the court by way of an affidavit or oral evidence given in a witness box or both.
Generally speaking, the outcome of a hearing may very well turn on the evidence you provide in your affidavit. Therefore, it is of paramount importance that your affidavit complies with the rules of evidence and that it is persuasive. Here are some very important points to remember:
- The facts deposed to (that you provide) in an affidavit must be true and the deponent (you, the person swearing or affirming the affidavit) swears under oath or affirms the facts to be true. Intentionally making false statements under oath is an offense called perjury and punishable under the Criminal Code of Canada. More importantly, false statements may have damage your credibility so much in the eyes of the courts such that the court may not accept any of your evidence. A judge may ask, “If you are lying about X, why should I believe what you are saying about Z?” Remember that the other party may obtain the court’s permission to orally cross-examine you on your affidavit evidence or to compel you to provide documents to support your affidavit evidence.
- The facts stated in your affidavit, just like any other evidence, must be relevant. Avoid the temptation to include everything that you find blameworthy about the other person unless it is relevant to the issues before the court.
- An affidavit must include facts, not arguments, conclusions, or opinions. For example, instead of stating the other party is violent, you may wish to state that the other side has yelled, screamed, hit, or beaten others in the past. Only experts (such as medical professionals, professional appraisers, business valuators, etc) should provide their opinion to the court. It is important that when you make allegations, that your allegations and facts are supported by clear examples or supporting documents (see “Exhibits” below).
- Beware of hearsay evidence. As a general principle, if you want to prove a fact by stating something that someone has said or written outside of court, that person must be in court so the other side has an opportunity to cross-examine them. Otherwise, the evidence obtained from that person will be excluded as hearsay. It is true that hearsay evidence may sometimes be allowed at interim (or even final) hearings in family law. However, if you are relying on a fact that you heard from someone else, it is important that you state so and also state that you believe that fact to be true. It may also be necessary to have third parties swear or affirm their own affidavits. One exception that may apply is the evidence of a child as it may be preferable to avoid having the child called as a witness.
- Supporting documents attached to your affidavit are called exhibits and make your affidavit powerful as they are objective evidence. The exhibits must comply with the aforementioned rules and all other rules of evidence. They may include emails, letters, bank statements, receipts, recordings, etc. It is very important that you take the time to search your records for objective evidence that supports your claim.
- You affidavit will be more persuasive if it is detailed and specific. Dates, times, names of places and persons, numbers, etc are important.
The lawyers at MacLean Family Law strive to work with you to obtain out of court resolutions if at all possible, to the issues arising from your separation and divorce.
In the event that we cannot resolve your family law case through negotiation we will steadfastly represent you in court, we will work with you to ensure that you have excellent, comprehensive and cogent affidavit material before the Court which is compliant with the British Columbia Supreme Court Rules and which will help to support you in obtaining the best possible outcome.
We hope these Kelowna Vancouver Family Lawyers Affidavit Tips have helped you. Contact us toll free across Canada at 1-877-602-9900.
