NSW Affidavit - How Do I Correctly Prepare?

[littlehelpplease]

Hello all,
I am preparing an affidavit as a respondent in a family law matter and I am wondering if I can phrase items like:

29. In responce to item 10 of "such and such's" affidavit

I also wish to add a few photos, screenshots of text messages, previous consent orders proposals and would like to offer my laptop and mobile phone on the day if the honourable wishes to see absolute originals.

Having her affidavit prepared by a lawyer at hand helps with legal stuff like annexed herein etc etc just wanted to know if any of the above might annoy the honourable or may be out of bounds etc.

Kind Regards.

 

[Sarah J]

1. The affidavit (if you're Christian) or affirmation (if you're not religious or non-Christian) only contains the evidence that you wish to rely upon to make your case. It is facts case. You should not be pleading anything (i.e. making any assertions, arguments, stating any law). The affirmation/affidavit is best made in chronological order.

2. If you wish to directly respond to something the other side stated, it is best to paraphrase that the claim is and state "you deny it" and then state what your version is. However, this is just a personal preference. Nevertheless, it is best to paragraph so that the judge knows exactly what it is you're responding to without having to refer to the other person's affirmation/affidavit.

3. You can submit physical evidence. You do this by including it as an "exhibit" (exhibit [initials] - [number]). You must refer to the exhibit (i.e. introduce the physical evidence) by saying something like "a true copy of [what physical evidence is (e.g. screenshots of the text messages") is now shown to me and produced here as exhibit AB-1"

 

[AllForHer]

In addition to the above, most family law cases are run as a "less adversarial" hearing, which means the usual rules of evidence don't apply. Anything you put into an affidavit is taken to be the truth and fact, so producing a copy of document as an Annexure or exhibit will suffice and you won't need bring your laptop to show the absolute original as you would in, say, a criminal trial. If the other party does not agree with something stated in your affidavit, they will attempt to discredit it by way of cross-examination, and you are given the same opportunity in return.

In my experience, any interim hearings are usually swift if the case is a fairly simple one with few issues to be addressed. We didn't bother wasting time on mountains of text messages or anything because the judge at those mentions just didn't have the time or need to read it all in a busy duty list. We also wanted to reach an agreement outside of court, and the more vilified the other party feels, the less likely that is to happen (but an agreement wasn't reached anyway so a hearing is set for next year).

Anyway, I hope this has helped.

 

[littlehelpplease]

Yes it helps heaps, I basically feel I have to defend myself in response to her affidavit which is full of lies that I can prove with the hard evidence of the text messages.
She is going for all assets and full custody and trying to paint me as a psychopath.
One thing I do want to ask is if I am cross examined by her lawyer if I state "no comment" does that mean I have to respond to all her questions like that or can I pick and choose???