Straight off the bat, I'm not a lawyer, so anything I say is simply my own thoughts and are not based on any experiences, as my situation is ongoing, so I'm yet to see how effective this strategy will be, but this is my intended course of action. I'm not a wordsmith either, so I appoligise in advance if it comes across a little clumsy.
I have come to realise that the truth and evidence alone does not necessarily achieve the desired outcome, far from it in fact, which leaves us with strategy, amongst other things. I’ve discussed this with my own counsel, with mixed opinions, but the driving force governing their opinion is cost. I am the respondent, so I have to pay, but watch this space, more on that another time. Their argument is a sound one, declaring that even if I claim a partial victory in defeating some aspects of the IO, I'll be facing the same accusations in the Family Court, so why pay twice? What an excellent question.
I have seen many here give that same, exact, advice. It’s not bad advice, but if you find yourself in a similar situation as myself, where my ex-partner repeatedly lied during her testimony and subsequently on her Affidavit, going straight to the Family Court might not be in your best interest, cost aside.
I view my current situation as if I am in Check(think Chess), and as such, my next move is critical. If I chose to go directly to the Family Court, I’m essentially giving them a free ride, and by that I mean they can simply regurgitate the arguments that they used in having the IO approved. Think about that for a minute. So, now I’m all in, defending myself against the allegations being made, whilst offering my own truths and evidence to support my own claims, all in the court where it really matters, where it will be determined what, if any, access I get to once again be involved in the raising my child. If I lose, it’s Checkmate, game over. That’s what I consider to be a high-risk strategy. Lawyers don’t necessarily inform you of that, they focus more on what they know you can and can’t afford, which again is maybe the #1 consideration, but it’s definitely not the wisest course of action, which brings me back to giving them that free ride.
Allowing the applicant to get away with lies and misrepresenting the facts, when you have hard, indisputable evidence that proves otherwise, that would leave no doubt in the court's mind, that on at least some of the issues that she may have raised, whilst under oath, were either false, misleading or both, the court then has to consider if she is a reliable witness, which can have a huge impact on your final outcome. Now, I’m not suggesting any of this will get your case across the line, it may not, the court may still have doubts, err on the side of caution and rule against you, but what it may do depends a lot on the judges written findings, specifically, if he highlights some of the inaccuracies of her sworn testimony and Affidavit. Here’s the kicker, I now don’t feel like I’m in Check, despite the fact that I may still have lost the case, but what I did do was highlight some of the lies and misrepresentations that were being made. That’s a win.
Moving on and now I find myself in the Family Court. Here’s what’s not going to happen. Any evidence that they previously used, if found to be either false or misleading, it’s almost guaranteed they won’t attempt to reintroduce that same testimony into the Family Court. No lawyer is going to risk their career by allowing their client to provide testimony that was previously deemed to be either a blatant lie or misleading in nature by another Judge. The Family Court doesn’t have to consider any judgements that are made in any other courts or jurisdictions, but a Judge who in his findings highlights any discrepencies, they simply can’t ignore it. Now you're in with a fighting chance, maybe tilted the scales in your favor, who knows, it’s yet to play out in my own unique set of circumstances.
So, why not just go to the Family Court, make the same case and hope that the court finds similar inaccuracies with her sworn testimony? Simply put, it’s a game of probabilities and make no mistake, it is a twisted horrible game that’s being played out here, don’t ever lose sight of that fun fact. Ignoring the IO, they may have say 20 examples to support their arguments and you the same, 20 to counter theirs and support your own rebuttal. Do the maths, you’ve a 50/50 chance of being successful, but remember this, the courts will always lean towards a child's safety above all else, so that approach could work, but why take the risk if you don't have to? Say you take my approach and they can now only use 15 of their intended examples, but you still have 20 to call upon, now the numbers start to add up in your favor, and the picture begins to complete itself.
Why did I start to think about all of this, well, firstly it was my lawyer who taught me that strategies and tactics are paramount, regardless of how good an argument I may be able to put forward. Then, as I recently discovered, the applicant does not want to go to trial, no sir, they want to go straight to the Family Court, in the guise that it’s financially the preferred option for all concerned and ultimately where the final decision will be made regarding custody. Hang on a minute, she’s not paying for anything, is government funded, so I’m calling bulls**t on the financial implications, so why would they prefer to avoid a trial? For the very reasons that I’ve just outlined, their getting a free ride by doing so. Tactics people, tactics. I myself have had to learn to take the emotion out of it and purely think strategically. Am I being a little cynical about their motives, maybe, but as many a wise man before me has said, you don’t get something for nothing, there is always a payoff at the end, but in these instances, the cost is the relationship that we have with our children, and I for one am not going to standy by and simply allow lies and misrepresentations to go unchallenged.
Am I being naive, maybe, is my thinking flawed, maybe, but considering the alternatives, no thanks, I’ll take my chances.
In saying that, I’m more than happy to hear differing opinions, correct any misleading perceptions that I may have of the processes involved, that’s why I’m putting it out there, to sharpen the tool, but just be civil please, no arguments or confrontations, we’re all here for similar reasons. Constructive criticism would be awesome
Cheers
I have come to realise that the truth and evidence alone does not necessarily achieve the desired outcome, far from it in fact, which leaves us with strategy, amongst other things. I’ve discussed this with my own counsel, with mixed opinions, but the driving force governing their opinion is cost. I am the respondent, so I have to pay, but watch this space, more on that another time. Their argument is a sound one, declaring that even if I claim a partial victory in defeating some aspects of the IO, I'll be facing the same accusations in the Family Court, so why pay twice? What an excellent question.
I have seen many here give that same, exact, advice. It’s not bad advice, but if you find yourself in a similar situation as myself, where my ex-partner repeatedly lied during her testimony and subsequently on her Affidavit, going straight to the Family Court might not be in your best interest, cost aside.
I view my current situation as if I am in Check(think Chess), and as such, my next move is critical. If I chose to go directly to the Family Court, I’m essentially giving them a free ride, and by that I mean they can simply regurgitate the arguments that they used in having the IO approved. Think about that for a minute. So, now I’m all in, defending myself against the allegations being made, whilst offering my own truths and evidence to support my own claims, all in the court where it really matters, where it will be determined what, if any, access I get to once again be involved in the raising my child. If I lose, it’s Checkmate, game over. That’s what I consider to be a high-risk strategy. Lawyers don’t necessarily inform you of that, they focus more on what they know you can and can’t afford, which again is maybe the #1 consideration, but it’s definitely not the wisest course of action, which brings me back to giving them that free ride.
Allowing the applicant to get away with lies and misrepresenting the facts, when you have hard, indisputable evidence that proves otherwise, that would leave no doubt in the court's mind, that on at least some of the issues that she may have raised, whilst under oath, were either false, misleading or both, the court then has to consider if she is a reliable witness, which can have a huge impact on your final outcome. Now, I’m not suggesting any of this will get your case across the line, it may not, the court may still have doubts, err on the side of caution and rule against you, but what it may do depends a lot on the judges written findings, specifically, if he highlights some of the inaccuracies of her sworn testimony and Affidavit. Here’s the kicker, I now don’t feel like I’m in Check, despite the fact that I may still have lost the case, but what I did do was highlight some of the lies and misrepresentations that were being made. That’s a win.
Moving on and now I find myself in the Family Court. Here’s what’s not going to happen. Any evidence that they previously used, if found to be either false or misleading, it’s almost guaranteed they won’t attempt to reintroduce that same testimony into the Family Court. No lawyer is going to risk their career by allowing their client to provide testimony that was previously deemed to be either a blatant lie or misleading in nature by another Judge. The Family Court doesn’t have to consider any judgements that are made in any other courts or jurisdictions, but a Judge who in his findings highlights any discrepencies, they simply can’t ignore it. Now you're in with a fighting chance, maybe tilted the scales in your favor, who knows, it’s yet to play out in my own unique set of circumstances.
So, why not just go to the Family Court, make the same case and hope that the court finds similar inaccuracies with her sworn testimony? Simply put, it’s a game of probabilities and make no mistake, it is a twisted horrible game that’s being played out here, don’t ever lose sight of that fun fact. Ignoring the IO, they may have say 20 examples to support their arguments and you the same, 20 to counter theirs and support your own rebuttal. Do the maths, you’ve a 50/50 chance of being successful, but remember this, the courts will always lean towards a child's safety above all else, so that approach could work, but why take the risk if you don't have to? Say you take my approach and they can now only use 15 of their intended examples, but you still have 20 to call upon, now the numbers start to add up in your favor, and the picture begins to complete itself.
Why did I start to think about all of this, well, firstly it was my lawyer who taught me that strategies and tactics are paramount, regardless of how good an argument I may be able to put forward. Then, as I recently discovered, the applicant does not want to go to trial, no sir, they want to go straight to the Family Court, in the guise that it’s financially the preferred option for all concerned and ultimately where the final decision will be made regarding custody. Hang on a minute, she’s not paying for anything, is government funded, so I’m calling bulls**t on the financial implications, so why would they prefer to avoid a trial? For the very reasons that I’ve just outlined, their getting a free ride by doing so. Tactics people, tactics. I myself have had to learn to take the emotion out of it and purely think strategically. Am I being a little cynical about their motives, maybe, but as many a wise man before me has said, you don’t get something for nothing, there is always a payoff at the end, but in these instances, the cost is the relationship that we have with our children, and I for one am not going to standy by and simply allow lies and misrepresentations to go unchallenged.
Am I being naive, maybe, is my thinking flawed, maybe, but considering the alternatives, no thanks, I’ll take my chances.
In saying that, I’m more than happy to hear differing opinions, correct any misleading perceptions that I may have of the processes involved, that’s why I’m putting it out there, to sharpen the tool, but just be civil please, no arguments or confrontations, we’re all here for similar reasons. Constructive criticism would be awesome
Cheers
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