NSW Is Character Reference Relevant in Family Court?

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Steve1905

Well-Known Member
21 November 2014
44
1
124
Sydney
Hi All,

Is a character reference relevant in the Family Court? I have had many offers from people to give a statutory declaration on my character but also have been told they have to be in an Affidavit to be relevant.

Thank you in advance.
 

AllForHer

Well-Known Member
23 July 2014
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Not really, no. You're not persuading the court that you're a good guy - your child has a right to have a relationship with you, good guy or not. What you need to show the court instead is that the orders you're seeking are in your child's best interests. Thus, unless you're providing affidavits from witnesses to incidents or events that are related to your child's best interests, there won't be much Old Joe from up the road can say that will be of any use in your case.

Hope this helps.
 

Steve1905

Well-Known Member
21 November 2014
44
1
124
Sydney
Not really, no. You're not persuading the court that you're a good guy - your child has a right to have a relationship with you, good guy or not. What you need to show the court instead is that the orders you're seeking are in your child's best interests. Thus, unless you're providing affidavits from witnesses to incidents or events that are related to your child's best interests, there won't be much Old Joe from up the road can say that will be of any use in your case.

Hope this helps.

Thank you. It does help. The offers were for views on my parenting and how my other two boys benefited from me being the primary carer more than the type of person I am as I have custody of my two boys from a previous relationship.
 

AllForHer

Well-Known Member
23 July 2014
3,664
684
2,894
Of course, it's nice to have people sharing their positive opinions about your parenting, but the court has to rely on facts to make its decision. Thus, any affidavits from other people are best left out unless they're a qualified expert of some description. :)