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Difference between revisions of "How Do I Prepare an Affidavit?"
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*'''Supreme Court:''' If your family law action is in the Supreme Court, the form you must usually use is [[Form F30 Affidavit|Form F30]] and the rules about affidavits are set out in Rule 10-4 of the Supreme Court Family Rules. The form is available online. See the [[Supreme Court Forms (Family Law)|Supreme Court Forms]] section. | *'''Supreme Court:''' If your family law action is in the Supreme Court, the form you must usually use is [[Form F30 Affidavit|Form F30]] and the rules about affidavits are set out in Rule 10-4 of the Supreme Court Family Rules. The form is available online. See the [[Supreme Court Forms (Family Law)|Supreme Court Forms]] section. | ||
*'''Provincial Court:''' If your family law action is in the Provincial Court, the form you must usually use is Form | *'''Provincial Court:''' If your family law action is in the Provincial Court, the form you must usually use is Form 45 and the rules about affidavits are set out in Part 12, Division 3 of the Provincial Court Family Rules. The form is available online (www.gov.bc.ca/court-forms) or at any Provincial Court Registry. | ||
==Formal requirements== | ==Formal requirements== | ||
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:{| | :{| | ||
|- valign="top" | |- valign="top" | ||
| align=right | <tt>2.</tt>||<tt>I make this my affidavit in support of my application by Notice of Application dated 1 April | | align=right | <tt>2.</tt>||<tt>I make this my affidavit in support of my application by Notice of Application dated 1 April 2023.</tt> | ||
|} | |} | ||
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<tt><blockquote><blockquote>This is the 3rd affidavit<br> | <tt><blockquote><blockquote>This is the 3rd affidavit<br> | ||
of J.A. Doe in this case<br> | of J.A. Doe in this case<br> | ||
and was made on 1 April | and was made on 1 April 2023</blockquote></blockquote></tt> | ||
Once your affidavit is done, you must have it ''notarized''. Affidavits can be notarized by lawyers, notaries public, and certain court clerks, or anyone else who is authorized to take oaths in British Columbia. | Once your affidavit is done, you must have it ''notarized''. Affidavits can be notarized by lawyers, notaries public, and certain court clerks, or anyone else who is authorized to take oaths in British Columbia. | ||
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| align=right | ||<tt>'''Application'''</tt> | | align=right | ||<tt>'''Application'''</tt> | ||
|- valign="top" | |- valign="top" | ||
| align=right | <tt>2.</tt>||<tt>In my application, by Notice of Application dated 15 January | | align=right | <tt>2.</tt>||<tt>In my application, by Notice of Application dated 15 January 2023, I seek an order that the Respondent be restrained from removing the children, Sally Ann Doe, born on 1 January 2018, and John Fred Doe, born on 1 January 2019, from Kelowna, British Columbia, and an order that the Respondent pay support to me for the benefit of the children. </tt> | ||
|- valign="top" | |- valign="top" | ||
| align=right | <tt>3.</tt>||<tt>In the Respondent's application, by Notice of Application dated 1 January | | align=right | <tt>3.</tt>||<tt>In the Respondent's application, by Notice of Application dated 1 January 2023, he seeks an order that I pay spousal support to him. I oppose the Respondent's application because he works full-time and is self-sufficient.</tt> | ||
|- valign="top" | |- valign="top" | ||
| align=right | ||<tt>'''Background'''</tt> | | align=right | ||<tt>'''Background'''</tt> | ||
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| align=right | <tt>5.</tt>||<tt>The Respondent is 34 years old and works full-time as a bricklayer with ABC Contracting. He earns about $38,000 per year.</tt> | | align=right | <tt>5.</tt>||<tt>The Respondent is 34 years old and works full-time as a bricklayer with ABC Contracting. He earns about $38,000 per year.</tt> | ||
|- valign="top" | |- valign="top" | ||
| align=right | <tt>6.</tt>||<tt>The Respondent and I met in the summer of | | align=right | <tt>6.</tt>||<tt>The Respondent and I met in the summer of 2013, and moved in together on 1 January 2014. We lived together in a unmarried relationship until 1 January 2022, when the Respondent left our home.</tt> | ||
|- valign="top" | |- valign="top" | ||
| align=right | <tt>7.</tt>||<tt>The Respondent and I have two children, Sally Ann Doe, who is 5 years old and in Grade 1 at Foggy Bottom Elementary, and John Fred Doe, who is 4 years old and in pre-school at ABC Community Centre.</tt> | | align=right | <tt>7.</tt>||<tt>The Respondent and I have two children, Sally Ann Doe, who is 5 years old and in Grade 1 at Foggy Bottom Elementary, and John Fred Doe, who is 4 years old and in pre-school at ABC Community Centre.</tt> | ||
|- valign="top" | |- valign="top" | ||
| align=right | <tt>8.</tt>||<tt>I started this action on 1 July | | align=right | <tt>8.</tt>||<tt>I started this action on 1 July 2022, when I filed my Notice of Family Claim. I am asking for an order that the Respondent and I share parental responsibility for the children, that the children live mostly with me, and that the Respondent have parenting time with the children every other weekend and overnight every Wednesday. I also seek an order that the Respondent pay child support to me for the benefit of the children.</tt> | ||
|- valign="top" | |- valign="top" | ||
| align=right | <tt>9.</tt>||<tt>On 1 September | | align=right | <tt>9.</tt>||<tt>On 1 September 2022, Master Smith made an order that the Respondent and I share parental responsibility for our children. The Master did not make an order for parenting time or child support, but the Respondent has been seeing the children on weekends and has been paying $200 per month to me as child support.</tt> | ||
|} | |} | ||
...and so on. Keep in mind that lawyers often write out their clients' affidavits for them, using what they've learned during interviews of their client, just as I am demonstrating here in this example. But this is the evidence of that person, and written for them in their voice. Once I'm done introducing the basic background of the parties, I'll describe the events that led the applicant to be making the specific application before the court. | ...and so on. Keep in mind that lawyers often write out their clients' affidavits for them, using what they've learned during interviews of their client, just as I am demonstrating here in this example. But this is the evidence of that person, and written for them in their voice. Once I'm done introducing the basic background of the parties, I'll describe the events that led the applicant to be making the specific application before the court. | ||
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| align=right | || <tt>'''Circumstances of application'''</tt> | | align=right | || <tt>'''Circumstances of application'''</tt> | ||
|- valign="top" | |- valign="top" | ||
| align=right | <tt>21.</tt>||<tt>On 25 December | | align=right | <tt>21.</tt>||<tt>On 25 December 2022, the Respondent had Sally and John from noon until 7:00pm. We had agreed that he would return the children to my home at that time.</tt> | ||
|- valign="top" | |- valign="top" | ||
| align=right | <tt>22.</tt>||<tt>The Respondent did not return the children as we agreed. I phoned him to find out what was wrong at 8:00pm. He told me that he was keeping the children until 27 December | | align=right | <tt>22.</tt>||<tt>The Respondent did not return the children as we agreed. I phoned him to find out what was wrong at 8:00pm. He told me that he was keeping the children until 27 December 2022 because his family wanted to see them on Boxing Day. He also said that he and the children would be moving to Calgary, Alberta.</tt> | ||
|- valign="top" | |- valign="top" | ||
| align=right | <tt>23.</tt>||<tt>The Respondent has family in Calgary. I am afraid that he intends to remove the children from Kelowna, where they have spent all of their lives and where they have family and friends.</tt> | | align=right | <tt>23.</tt>||<tt>The Respondent has family in Calgary. I am afraid that he intends to remove the children from Kelowna, where they have spent all of their lives and where they have family and friends.</tt> | ||
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| align=right | <tt>16.</tt>||<tt>I have a lovely home on two acres of <span class="noglossary">land</span>. There are three bedrooms, a sauna, an outdoor swimming pool, and a private petting zoo for when Michael comes over. Attached to this my Affidavit as EXHIBIT "G" are true copies of photographs of my home.</tt> | | align=right | <tt>16.</tt>||<tt>I have a lovely home on two acres of <span class="noglossary">land</span>. There are three bedrooms, a sauna, an outdoor swimming pool, and a private petting zoo for when Michael comes over. Attached to this my Affidavit as EXHIBIT "G" are true copies of photographs of my home.</tt> | ||
|- valign="top" | |- valign="top" | ||
| align=right | <tt>17.</tt>||<tt>My home is worth about $350,000. Attached to this my Affidavit as EXHIBIT "H" is a true copy of the | | align=right | <tt>17.</tt>||<tt>My home is worth about $350,000. Attached to this my Affidavit as EXHIBIT "H" is a true copy of the 2023 BC Assessment for my home. | ||
|} | |} | ||
Each separate exhibit is marked as an exhibit and shows which exhibit it is. Lawyers and notaries public <span class="noglossary">will</span> have a stamp that they use to give the basic information. The stamp says something like this: | Each separate exhibit is marked as an exhibit and shows which exhibit it is. Lawyers and notaries public <span class="noglossary">will</span> have a stamp that they use to give the basic information. The stamp says something like this: | ||
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The stamp also provides a space for the lawyer's or notary's signature, and the phrase "A Commissioner for the taking of Oaths for the Province of British Columbia." Filled out, the stamp <span class="noglossary">will</span> read like this: | The stamp also provides a space for the lawyer's or notary's signature, and the phrase "A Commissioner for the taking of Oaths for the Province of British Columbia." Filled out, the stamp <span class="noglossary">will</span> read like this: | ||
<tt><blockquote><blockquote>This is Exhibit "'''D'''" in the Affidavit of '''Jane Alice Doe''', sworn before me at '''Nanaimo''', British Columbia, this '''20th''' day of '''March''', 20''' | <tt><blockquote><blockquote>This is Exhibit "'''D'''" in the Affidavit of '''Jane Alice Doe''', sworn before me at '''Nanaimo''', British Columbia, this '''20th''' day of '''March''', 20'''23'''.</blockquote></blockquote></tt> | ||
The important thing about exhibits is that they are ''hearsay''. Just because you've attached something as an exhibit doesn't make the statements made in the exhibit true. While business information like a bank statement or a receipt <span class="noglossary">will</span> be taken as true, subjective information — like the contents of a letter from your mother, brother, friend, or co-worker — won't be automatically accepted by the court. | The important thing about exhibits is that they are ''hearsay''. Just because you've attached something as an exhibit doesn't make the statements made in the exhibit true. While business information like a bank statement or a receipt <span class="noglossary">will</span> be taken as true, subjective information — like the contents of a letter from your mother, brother, friend, or co-worker — won't be automatically accepted by the court. | ||
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{{REVIEWED | reviewer = [[ | {{REVIEWED | reviewer = [[Trudy Hopman]], September 22, 2023}} | ||
{{JP Boyd on Family Law Navbox|type=how}} | {{JP Boyd on Family Law Navbox|type=how}} | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Helpful Guides & Common Questions|P]] | ||
[[Category:Affidavits in Family Law Actions]] | [[Category:Affidavits in Family Law Actions]] | ||
[[Category:JP Boyd on Family Law]] | [[Category:JP Boyd on Family Law]] | ||
{{Creative Commons for JP Boyd}} | {{Creative Commons for JP Boyd}} | ||