It’s hard to protect yourself against false allegations in the family court
It is very difficult to protect yourself against false allegations in the family court. Unfortunately, there is often little reliable evidence in family court proceedings to help the court make good decisions for the child (or children). Parents in conflict often exaggerate or even fabricate the harm done by the other and there are rarely reliable or independent witnesses to help the court to decide what is true. The court may end up hearing a litany of ‘he said/she said’ allegations on which it has to arbitrate.
What is good evidence?
False allegations may be made by either parent and no assumption can be made that either men or women are more likely to make them. When you are faced with your ex making false allegations about you the best way to help the court come to a good decision and to protect your child is to provide reliable, compelling evidence that contradicts the allegations, when at all possible. The best evidence is:
- Contemporaneous records or records made very soon after the event;
- A thorough and detailed account of what actually happened saying what exactly was done, by whom, when, where and with what result;
- Supported by some additional evidence such as photos, documents, audio or video recordings;
- Not edited, altered or in any way tampered with once the record has been made, to avoid being seen as unreliable or untrustworthy.
An example of false allegations
Let’s take a typical example of the kind of false allegations that are made by parents in conflict over their child. For example, a father with shared care is faced with the mother who seems to be trying to undermine his relationship with their daughter. She starts by telling her attorney that their daughter is reluctant to go to him although he himself hasn’t seen any change in the child’s attitude to him. She claims that the child has told her he has frightened her by getting angry and impatient during visitation. The father does not believe this is true and suspects that the mother is encouraging the child to be anxious. He starts to worry that she is intending to apply to court to try to reduce his visitation rights and is fearful of what other more serious allegations she may make against him. His attorney warns him that the mother may use any excuse to make an allegation against him and that he must be very careful about any interaction he has with her and be ready to prove that his time with the child is enjoyable. His attorney advises him to download and use the ONRECORD mobile app (App Store, Google Play) to keep a detailed record of everything that happens in relation to visitation.
How the best evidence is gathered and shared
He links his ONRECORD account to his attorney so that his attorney can keep track in real time of what is happening and can offer any necessary advice using ONRECORD’s confidential messaging facility. This is how he uses it:
- He makes a record of what is said and done every time he meets or speaks to the mother and, using the mobile app, he can do so on the spot and immediately after each interaction. The app records where and when the record was made and uploaded;
- He makes a particular note of any threats or allegations made by the mother, quoting verbatim, marking them as ‘high impact’ and noting when and where they were made;
- He takes and uploads a photo each time he collects the child in order to show that he was where he was supposed to be at the time expected;
- He takes and uploads photos and short videos of his time with the child to show that the child is happy and enjoying their time together;
- He uploads every email and a screenshot of every text message from the mother;
- He organises his records using a variety of appropriate Labels (‘Visitations’, ‘Emails’, ‘Texts’, ‘Phone calls’) to make them easily followed by his attorney.
ONRECORD helps to prove false allegations in the family court
As time goes on, the mother escalates the seriousness of her allegations, accusing him of smacking the child during visitation. Fortunately he has made a short video towards the end of that particular visitation, showing the child happy and relaxed with no sign of distress. His attorney sees that they now have evidence suggesting that the mother is making false allegations His comprehensive record keeping enables him to disprove the false allegations the mother is making and even establishes to the court’s satisfaction that it is the mother who is acting abusively towards the child by undermining her relationship with her father.
Help the court to know the truth
Proving that the mother is making false allegations to the family court and that her evidence can no longer be trusted is key to the father proving that he is the more reliable and trustworthy parent. Good and reliable evidence helps the court to understand what is truly happening in this family and is empowered, by the evidence, to protect the child.