3 Common Mistakes To Avoid Making In Family Court
Unless you are a studier of the law, or for some reason find yourself in courts on a regular basis, the idea of attending the Family Court can be a daunting one. Even your family lawyers at www.familylawassist.com.au, for whom the Family Court is very familiar surroundings will admit to getting a little nervous each time they are in court, given that the outcome can have a profound impact on families and especially their children.
Regardless of whether it is your first time in the Family Court or the umpteenth time, you should be aware that there are certain rules, standards, and modes of behaviour that must be followed and adhered to at all times. Whilst it mainly deals with matters relating to family law, doing something within the family court, which is considered illegal, can soon find you facing a criminal court instead.
What we are about to outline 3 of the main mistakes that people make when they appear in the family court. These will most certainly do damage to your case, or at best delay it further, and in some cases almost certainly see you being considered as having committing an offense and facing the appropriate consequences of doing so.
#1 Not Having Legal Representation
Whilst you are perfectly within your rights to conduct any case in the Family Court yourself, the risks of doing so, especially on matters that are extremely important to you, are great. This is multiplied even further if the person opposing you, such as an ex-partner, already have a family lawyer representing them.
The question has to be how much the monitory cost of employing a lawyer stacks up against the emotional cost and the pain of you losing the case simply because you did not know all the legal processes and were not properly prepared to submit your case effectively in court?
Do not see paying for a lawyer as a cost, but rather, an investment in your future, especially if you believe that your case is a strong one, and that provided it is presented properly in court by your lawyer you should get the outcome you want.
#2 Lying In Court
We assume that everyone knows that to lie under oath in a courtroom is a serious offense, but yet there are those still prepared to take the risk. Yes, the stakes can be high, especially if the case involves your children and your rights and responsibilities as a parent, but regardless, it simply is not worth it to tell falsehoods.
If you are caught lying, apart from damaging your credibility with the judge who is hearing your case, you could find yourself charged with contempt of court which has penalties that include imprisonment.
#3 Weaponising Your Children
It is a sad and tragic truth that when some parents are going to the Family Court in matters relating to divorce, financial support, and their children, that, rather than looking out for the welfare of those children, they try to use them as some kind of weapon against their former partner.
This often takes the form of bad-mouthing the other parent in the hope that it poisons the child’s mind against them. In a Family Court, judges are more than capable of telling when a child is speaking from the heart, and when it appears that words have been put in their mouth. If the latter they will take a very dim view of the parent guilty of this, especially with regards to them being suitable for the child to live with.
