Facebook or Face facts?

The advent of social media has added a new element to 'custody' disputes in family law courts in Australia and - judging by articles from commentators in other countries - in many other regions.

As this article discusses, the value of so called 'evidence' gathered from Facebook is questionable. And for those who think it is a good idea to get a friend to friend your ex on Facebook to gather sordid details to put before the court - this is generally not going to win you brownie points.

Why?

Well, for the same reason that the court doesn't have much sympathy for a spouse who claims that their ex must be earning more than they say they are from the (former) family business because "we always took cash under the table when we were together."

Or the person who claims an asset it only worth $500,000 yet their statement of position to the bank when they applied for a loan declared it at $3million...

When parties cannot agree on what is best for their children or how they should divide their property, unfortunately the court has to decide for them.

If it comes to that stage, if you and your ex disagree about facts, you want to have real evidence to prove it. As a judge of the Family Court used to say to clients when he was a barrister "if you want something in life you have to tender the right currency - and the currency of the Court is 'evidence'."

I have a very simple analogy I use to explain this:

If you say the cow is brown and he says it is black and white, the only way to prove to the judge what colour the cow is (short of bringing it to court - which would not 'moo-ve' the judge in the right direction!) is to produce a photo of the cow that you both agree is the cow. The judge can then see the colour of the cow.

If you don't produce a photo of the cow, then it is your ex's word against yours.

You may think that you have a strong case but beware - your case is at its strongest before you step into the witness box to be cross examined by your ex's lawyer (who can be best described as a pit bull hoping to tear your case to shreds. If you think it will be a walk in the park, ask a room full of lawyers how many of THEM would like to be cross examined!)

If you have at any stage stretched the truth, elaborated a little or acted less than honestly, be assured your ex's lawyer will latch onto that (even if it is irrelevant to the issue being decided) to try to persuade the court that you are 'less than truthful' and therefore if it is your word against your ex's, to believe your ex.

The title of this blog is 'Brisbane Collaborative Law' for a reason: because there is a way to resolve disputes without the stress and warfare that litigation often generates.

But if you are unfortunate enough to already be embroiled in litigation, remember that honesty is valued by the court.