The use of affidavits in family court can prove to be extremely important for each party involved. In a child custody case, the parent with the higher apprehension about custody loss benefits most when creating a tailored affidavit that fully presents their experience and point of view. As you strive to win the legal child custody agreement that you seek, it is important to avoid the missteps that can lead to harm in the long-term.
In Pakistan, family court continues to be where the jurisdiction presides over child custody, child support and divorce law. In all child custody cases, the Courts favour for the child to be in contact with both parents as much as possible. If no proof exists verifying that either parent has abused or neglected the child, the Court prefers a custody agreement that permits at least half time contact with the child. This means that if either parent is not trying to manipulate the situation, the child will likely have an equal custody arrangement. As such, when presenting evidence to the Court, you are encouraged to show that you are supportive of your spouse’s right to have contact with your child. If you attempt to vilify your spouse in your affidavit, it is likely that the Court will not favour your testimony.
When drafting an affidavit, the information that you include to tell your story must paint an accurate picture. Indeed, if a child custody dispute ends up falling before the judge, the Court will not allow hearsay or information outside of your personal experience to be seen as credible. For this reason, an affidavit designed for a family court procedure must only include the information that relates directly to your personal experience. If you believe that you have great evidence to present on behalf of a witness, you must call them to testify at the hearing rather than put the words in your report.
Most importantly, you should not expect that any judge will ever read an affidavit that is longer than 2 pages. In addition, legal jargon must never be used in an affidavit that you present to the Court. The text must be easy to read, precise and concise. In other words, be truthful and speak clearly.
More importantly, you should use the language that supports your point of view. For instance, when arguing that you have been the primarily care-giver, you may wish to state: “I am responsible for getting my child up and into school every day and often do all of their homework for them.” Notice how this sentence is succinct and direct. It provides two factual sentences that lay out evidence and proves your point.
This type of language creates two opposing opinions and makes the whole point pointless! To avoid this, you can provide verifiable facts over emotion-based claims.
More importantly, if you’ve never worked on any of this before, there’s no sense in putting your client’s credibility and rights on the line. Solicitors/barristers usually handle the drafting of affidavits. And the drafts are provided to the client to review prior to signing. So, you could still assert control over how your evidence is constructed while keeping things simple. For more information on the legal process, you can visit this resource.
To learn more about how to write an affidavit for family court, it is essential to understand the nuances involved in the process.