VIC Ex-partner sabotaging relationship

Australia's #1 for Law
Join 150,000 Australians every month. Ask a question, respond to a question and better understand the law today!
FREE - Join Now

genatura79

Member
24 May 2017
1
0
1
Hi,
I'm trying to help friends, an engaged couple with kids who have recently split up because of the constant interference by her ex (her kids' father). This situation also happened to me and led me to have a 2.5 year relationship that I kept secret from my daughter for fear her father (my ex) would find out and sabotage it (again...he destroyed my bf's car, and tried to get an IVO with falsified statement).

What is stopping a jealous ex from making a false statement and getting an interim IVO against the new partner? Answer: Nothing.
In our case, we spent $5000 on legal rep to fight the interim IVO my ex got on my partner (my daughter was also on it, meaning my partner couldn't live with us, and while I was pregnant). My ex represented himself for the hearings. We had my daughters name dropped from the IVO so we could live together eventually. My ex could get legal aid if he needed to, so it was no skin off his nose to keep going back to court.

In my friend's case, the ex of the girl applied for IVO's on an ongoing basis against the new boyfriend (which they say there was never reason for). The ex also could get legal aid and so didn't care about going to court. My friends work and so had to pay for lawyers.

I'm sure there are many more cases of this kind of thing.

Can you tell me if there's anything that can be done about this malicious prosecution? What it takes to have someone declared a 'malicious prosecutor'?

I think that in these cases, a malicious ex should have to provide hard evidence that they need an IVO and of breaches. Otherwise they can effectively stop the new boyfriend seeing his (and her) children or living with them, making a relationship near on impossible! It's financial abuse (costing the couple $$$ in legal fees if they work), violence and controlling against the abused partner and a breach of human rights for a person to choose a partner.
I want to find out as much as I can on this topic and bring the issue to light...and do something about it if there's a flaw in the legal system!

Thank you very much for reading this and in anticipation of your help,

Regards,
Gen.
 

Lance

Well-Known Member
31 October 2015
852
123
2,394
Hi Gen,
You're right, there is nothing stopping someone from making up a bulls%#t story and trying to destroy someone's life. It helps if they have tried it to numerous partners to help build a case against them. The flip side is if a new partner feels that they are at risk of personal harm they could take out an AVO against the ex. Unfortunately I'm not sure there is a clear solution.
 

Rod

Lawyer
LawConnect (LawTap) Verified
27 May 2014
7,726
1,056
2,894
www.hutchinsonlegal.com.au
The term is vexatious litigant.

What your friends need is an extended litigation restraint order. Reasonably new law only 3 years old in Victoria. Not sure how many lawyers deal with this but any lawyer in Family law can research it easily enough.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lance