Leaders in Family Law

• Home
• About Us
• Our Family Law Services
  • Separation and Divorce
  • Property Settlements
    • Four Step Process
    • Superannuation
    • Court Orders in Property Matters
    • Consent Orders
    • Homemaker and Parenting Contributions (Direct and Indirect) in Property Matters
    • Financial Contributions (Direct and Indirect) in Property Matters
    • Future Needs of Parties in Property Matters
    • Valuations
    • The Case Assessment Conference
    • Conciliation Conference
  • Parenting Arrangements (Child Custody)
    • Compulsory Dispute Resolution in Parenting Matters
    • Court Orders in Parenting Matters
    • Consent Orders
    • Famly Consultants
    • Child Dispute Conference
    • Contravention
    • Preventing a Child Leaving Australia
    • Family Reports
  • Child Support
  • Spousal Maintenance
    • Consent Orders
  • De Facto Relationships
  • Financial Agreements in Marriages (including Pre-Nup)
  • Financial Agreements in De Facto Matters
  • Court Representation
    • Affidavits
    • Subpoena
  • Domestic Violence (including apprehended violence orders)
  • Mediation and Dispute Resolution
  • Collaborative Law
• Our Family Lawyers
• Case Studies
• Our Fees
• Useful Websites
• Contact Us

Affidavits

Family Law, Divorce Lawyer, Property Settlement, Child Custody, Defacto Law

An Affidavit is a written statement made by a person either on oath (a religious promise of truth) or affirmation (a declaration that a statement the person makes is accurate). The person making an Affidavit is called the Deponent. The Affidavit must be signed in the presence of a suitable witness such as a Lawyer or Justice of the Peace. The witness must also sign the Affidavit with the Deponent.

An Affidavit is most often used in Court proceedings and contains the Deponent’s evidence about what they may have said, done, heard or witnessed about a particular event. In the Family Court and the Federal Magistrates Court, evidence-in-chief is given by a Deponent by way of Affidavit unless the Court orders otherwise.

When preparing any Affidavit, there are various rules that must be complied with including but not limited to rules as to the proper form of the Affidavit, the making of the Affidavit and other general requirements.

It is very important that any Affidavit contains an honest recollection, to the best of the Deponent’s knowledge and ability, only of the matters that they personally may have heard, said or did. It cannot for example contain statements that are argumentative or statements of a Deponent’s opinion about a certain subject matter (unless the Deponent is a qualified expert who is able to provide a particular opinion such as a doctor).

There are very severe penalties for people who knowingly make an Affidavit that contains false or misleading statements. A person who willfully lies can be imprisoned or fined for doing so.

At Doolan Wagner & Callaghan our Lawyers are very experienced at drafting Affidavits and can assist you in ensuring that all of the necessary and relevant evidence required in your case is properly drafted and contained in Affidavit form.