Top 10 tips for Family Court
DISCLAIMER: This general guide is not legal advice and is general information only. You should get legal advice on your circumstances.
TOP 10 TIPS FOR FAMILY COURT
Going to Court is deeply stressful event for most people. Perhaps it is not knowing what happens at Court, having to see the other person, or simply just the fact of having a Court decide your family’s future.
This list cannot definitively give you a recipe for success in the Family Court, but here are our top pointers for going to the Family Court:-
1. Be Prepared:
The Family Court is busy. The Judges have very limited time and if you make their job easier, they will be more inclined to listen to you. Being prepared includes:
- having relevant documents that prove your points ready to hand to the Judge or in your Affidavit.
- preparing written submissions that can be handed up to the Judge.
- if there is a long history to your dispute a chronology of events will make the timeline clear.
- write out the Orders you seek from the Court (what you would like the Court to do).
If you have a lawyer, giving them your own drafts of the above documents will assist them to prepare your case and might even save some legal expense.
2. Affidavits are your case:
Evidence in the Family and Federal Circuit Courts for property settlement and parenting matters is all primarily given in your Affidavit. This means if something it is not in your Affidavit; the Court will not take it into account. At a trial, your Affidavit is your primary evidence. When you give evidence the first part is to confirm that the contents of your Affidavit is true and correct, the second part is usually the opposing party or their lawyer cross-examining and asking you questions on the contents of your Affidavit. So, if there is any important information that you want the Court to consider, make sure it is in your Affidavit.
3. Dress to Impress:
First impressions can be important to some degree. The general rule is wearing what you would wear to a job interview. Court is a formal occasion so dress is a way to indicate to the Court that you appreciate the importance of being at Court.
4. Court etiquette and respect:
Without speaking for the Judges, we understand that Judges see and can mostly hear what happens in their Court even if they may not appear to be taking particular notice. When you enter or leave the Courtroom, it is etiquette to bow to the Judge. Stand up when the Judge is talking to you. Make sure your phone is switched off. Obviously, this will not necessarily affect the outcome of your case, however in our view observing Court etiquette gives the Judge an indication of your character.
5. Keep calm under fire:
Family Court can be highly charged with emotion and you will not always agree with what is said in the Court. As noted in the previous point, the Judge will usually be watching the reactions of people in the Court. It is usually much better to appear interested and calm when listening to the proceedings, rather than having outbursts or constantly instructing your lawyer on every point that is raised. If you appear calm and reasonable in Court, then hopefully the perception the Judge will take from you is that you are generally a calm and reasonable person. There is no problem with informing your lawyer of something that needs to be corrected, but just be mindful of how the Judge may perceive your reactions to events in Court.
6. You will be asked questions
Family Court matters are highly dependant on the circumstances of the parties. It is necessary for the Judge and all persons involved to understand the background of the issues in significant detail prior to making a decision. When you are asked a question, listen carefully the question, and then directly answer that specific question. Given the time constraints of the Court, Judges usually prefer direct and straightforward answers to questions. If there is some explanation necessary to answer the question that is appropriate, however try to make sure that you answer the specific question asked.
7. Don’t be evasive
Barristers and lawyers can be a bit tricky at times when asking questions of a witness. In response, plenty of witnesses try to preempt the reason behind what the lawyer is asking and then give their answers in a way to suit their case. By not answering questions directly, witnesses run the risk of appearing evasive or misleading. Obviously on particular issues you should seek legal advice, however answering questions directly and following with any necessary explanation is best to avoid the Court adopting an opinion that the witness evidence is evasive or unhelpful.
8. Engage with the experts
Courts are usually faced with two opposing parties with very different views and different versions of the facts. In those circumstances, the opinion of an objective third party will be highly persuasive to the Court. In parenting cases there will usually be a Family Report by a Family Consultant. When attending the family report interviews (or when dealing with any Court appointed expert) it is important to engage with them in an appropriate way which involves answering their queries directly and openly. Court appointed experts will formulate their opinions based on their observations and interactions with the parties, so presenting to them and interacting in a reasonable, open, and child focused way is important.
9. Parents do not have rights in the Family Court
This point only applies to parenting cases in the Family Court, but it is included because of its importance. In the Family Court parents do not have a right to see their children; their children have a right to see them. This change in perception is important because parenting disputes are determined by what is in the best interests of the children, without any consideration about a parent having a right to see or spend time with their child. It is important to understand that the Court is child focused. The Family Court will encourage a child to have a meaning relationship with both of their parents, if the Court considers that to be in the best interests of the child, not because the parents have any right to their children. If parents adopt the child focused point of view, they will have a much easier time talking with Court experts, giving evidence at Court, and preferably being able to agree for arrangements for their children before ever getting to Court.
10. Have insight, not incite
We must give credit a Barrister for this phrase (he will know who he is if he ever reads this article). The Family Court can be somewhat forgiving of past poor behaviour, if the person has insight into their past behaviour.
For example, if a parent of a child had in the past engaged in some degree of substance abuse that effected their ability to parent their children, and that parent then freely and of their own volition undertakes rehabilitation followed by a period of reform, then they demonstrate some insight to the Court that they may understand the effect that their substance abuse had on their children and their ability to parent. In this scenario there is a relatively higher likelihood the Court may accept that there is minimal ongoing risk in this respect.
If in the same situation the parent who had in the past engaged in some degree of substance abuse reacted to the issue by making various counter allegations, not admitting to the drug use, avoiding drug tests, and generally not admitting there had ever been an issue, then the Court may well decide that as the parent has no insight into their problems, that there is an ongoing risk in terms of their ability to parent their children.
This does not mean that you should accept without challenge any allegations made. It does mean however that if there have been past decisions that are regretted, then displaying insight into how that behaviour occurred, how it has been rectified, and explaining why it will not occur again in the future would usually be a more assuring response.
The idea of less incite, meaning less fight, is particularly important when parties seek a shared parenting arrangement. It is a catch 22 that if two parents appear in Court to be inciting a fight with each other at every opportunity, then it is difficult for a Court to see how a shared parenting arrangement could possibly work or be in the best interests of the children.
This brief top 10 tips for the Family Court is obviously not intended to be exhaustive and should not be relied on the in absence of legal advice.
Millwater Tyrrell Law offer a free initial appointment for legal advice with a partner of our firm. Our partners are local Ipswich lawyers that are experts in Family Law. If you need any assistance on your family law matters do not hesitate to give us a call on 3447 0416.It’s stressful enough being in Court or needing a lawyer, so keeping your legal costs to a manageable minimum is pretty helpful to be honest.
David Millwater
David is a Partner of Millwater Tyrrell Law and holds Bachelor Degrees in both Law and Science from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT).
David was admitted as a lawyer in 2003 and has been working in the Ipswich area since that time. For the last 10 years David has primarily practiced in family law, and is an accredited family law resolution practitioner.
He has assisted countless clients to achieve favourable results in their matters by both agreement and Court proceedings.
His experience includes:-
-Complicated and high value property settlement negotiations and agreements
- Relocation parenting cases
- Agreements for parenting arrangements for children
- Child support agreements
- Spousal maintenance agreements
- Mediation and conferencing
- Family violence protection applications (DVOs)
- Criminal and traffic matters
- Litigation
David has an empathetic approach and understands how important it is for people to understand their future when developing a plan of action for each client.