Evidence Act for Family Lawyers 2024 - On Demand CPD

Package includes:

On Demand CPD Module  l  Electronic booklet  l  PowerPoint Presentation

Package Fee (incl GST)

• $185 - NZLS members and Associate members
• $240 - Non-members

Note: Access to the online files is via your "My CPD" page. If you would like to purchase multiple packages, please contact us here.

On Demand CPD Module

Without evidence, your client has no case. But what is evidence and what rules apply during Family Court proceedings? The lax approach so many seem to take to such an important matter must be avoided through the application of the Evidence Act 2006.

This module will take the practitioner through the application of the Evidence Act 2006 and the Family Court Rules 2002. We will caution use of the often-touted “any evidence rule” when considering the Family Court Act 1980.

We will consider some of the key themes emerging from the case law and assist you in gaining an enhanced understanding of the practical implications of the Evidence Act 2006 in a family law context through the lens of the following three stages of a case:

• The drafting of compliant written evidence (stage 1)
• Managing pre-hearing evidential issues through interlocutory remedies (stage 2)
• Preparing and presenting effective court room advocacy at a defended hearing (stage 3).

Learning objectives

By completing this module you will:

• Understand the importance of drafting and filing compliant evidence.
• Identify evidentiary issues, and employ efficient methods to challenge this evidence.
• Obtain the tools needed to prepare for a defended hearing.
• Recognise the ways in which oral evidence can be challenged during a defended hearing.

Electronic paper 

Authors: Brintyn Smith, Alice Strang
Published: 6 June 2024
Pages: 24

Introduction

Put simply evidence is information that assists the court in determining the facts and issues before it.

The general rule is that all facts in dispute must be proven by admissible evidence “on the balance of probabilities”. Usually, the onus of proof is on the party who intends to prove the fact.

The Evidence Act 2006 applies to most Family Court proceedings. However, s 12A of the Family Court Act 1980 provides the Court hearing a proceeding may receive “any evidence” (whether admissible under the Evidence Act 2006) that the Court considers may assist it in determining the proceedings.

This allows the Family Court to consider a variety of matters to determine the facts of a case but carries with it certain disadvantages. Clients can feel frustrated when presented with evidence that may appear non-compliant and inadmissible.

We argue that the “any evidence rule” must be sparingly relied on. As identified in Lowe:

The obvious danger in permitting irrelevant or otherwise unacceptable evidence to remain on a file is that the other party will feel obliged to address it. The volume of irrelevant and/or unacceptable evidence then mushrooms very quickly.

This seminar will set out best practice methods that practitioners should aim to always adhere to in the first instance.

PowerPoint Presentation

These are the slides included in the presentation.