Family Court Declarations Explained
An overview of family court declaration is essential to understanding the details you should include. This is a document that you will be submitting to the San Diego Family Court Judge. There is a direct correlation between the quality of your declaration and the likelihood of getting a favorable outcome in your case. This is also a document that you want the other party to read in detail. You are essentially trying to convince them to agree with you on all points, so the more compelling your declaration is, the more likely that is.
So what is a family court declaration? It is just one of the many documents that you will be using in the California legal system. Most of the time, declarations are used by non-lawyers to make a statement under penalty of perjury. However, declarations are often used by lawyers to provide detailed, factual information about a case . You cannot absent a declaration, particularly in a family law case. You will hear terms such as "your declaration" and "your response declaration," the difference being who is writing the declaration.
The declaration that you file is essentially going to tell the judge what you think is important about your case. That is, you are going to explain your side of the story in detail including relevant documents, information, and pleadings. This is also the document where you will try to sway the opposing party and the judge.
If you need help with drafting and filing your declaration or you need to quickly respond to the expectation of a responding declaration, consult with an experienced family law attorney. Think about all of the presentation material you submit in the process of your family law case. You can have everything lined up but if your declaration is not well thought out, your entire case will falter.
Essential Components of a Declaration
The dimensional components to a declaration in family court are of utmost importance. After spending such a significant amount of time writing such an important document, it is absolutely essential that one understands how to write a proper declaration.
KEY COMPONENTS
- Personal statements – statements of personal information, background information, and observations of the other party or child’s behavior
- Factual accounts – what happened, when it happened, where it happened, all factual information connected to the subject matter of the declaration
- Supporting evidence or documents – more likely than not supporting evidence to prove or disprove claims made in personal or factual statements
- A Proof of Service (POS) – proof that the person whose declaration is being filed into court has properly served the other party with a copy of the declaration before filing.
Top Tips for Writing Family Court Declarations
Of course you can! This portion of the declaration allows the opportunity to clarify and explain the content of your declaration. Follow the above tips, but also remember to respectfully disagree.
Take the high road. Always be honest. Calculate the costs before declaring them. This includes not only monetary costs, but also emotional and time costs. If there is a sense of urgency in your case, don’t say otherwise; however, use discretion in conveying that urgency.
Consider the audience. The family law judge will know IF you are being truthful or lying. The judge will know IF you are being sincere or deceitful.
State your case after going over the facts and figures:
1. State your purpose for filing the declaration.
2. State how the declaration will impact the proceedings if granted by the court.
Here are tips on writing an effective, concise and error-free family court declaration:
- Use simple words instead of complex words.
- Use concrete language instead of abstract language.
- Use active verbs instead of passive verbs.
- Avoid double negatives.
- Avoid using jargon.
- Use the correct legal terms.
- Organize your thoughts.
- Check your work.
- Ensure that your declaration is understandable.
The declaration should state specific points and clarify them. The documentation used to support your claims and should contain:
- Specifics about the issue.
- Provide dates for when the issue occurred.
- Provide specific times for when the issue occurred.
- Provide specific location where the issue occurred.
- Use quotes when necessary.
- Use your signature and print your name legibly.
- Date the declaration.
Family Court Declaration Pitfalls
One of the most common mistakes made in drafting declarations is confusing it with a letter or a complaint. A declaration must be an efficient, clear and concise work. The court must be able to read every word on the page and determine your position. Oftentimes, I receive a declaration that is longer than the pleadings involved. That is generally, in my experience, a huge turn off. Declarations should not be more than a few pages in length, unless you are recounting some sort of event. Even then, the information in your declaration should be limited to the elements of the claim you are making.
Another common mistake is wasting the court’s time by filing a declaration with information that is not relevant to the proceedings. If you are making a request for a change of venue and there is a serial killer living next door to you, then by all means, mention it and attach the police report. If your spouse has been abusive to you and you do not want the court to place any restrictions on your ability to move out of the state, make sure you explain this in the declaration. If the declaration includes irrelevant information then you run the risk of having the court disregard everything. The court may discount the entire declaration because the majority of it is irrelevant to the matter at hand.
Also, another issue I have seen with declarations is when they are unsigned and incomplete. If you have a minor child and have a custody matter on calendar, you cannot simply say the other parent is a bad parent. You must explain why he is a bad parent and provide details. If you have an issue with property that needs to be resolved and spousal support is at issue, tell the court why you need spousal support. You must go beyond the bare minimum and make sure all issues are covered fully and succinctly.
In terms of divorce or legal separation declarations, I always caution clients that asking for something that is unreasonable is, understandably, a risk. The court will see two people fighting over possession of a compound that costs $500,000 and the parties net about $1,500 a month after operating costs, and the court is going to pick one party or the other? In that case, the reasoning behind the request is flawed. The court is going to dismiss the story as something that needlessly wastes their time as a result of the request.
At the end of the day, the court is made up of people who have a limited amount of time to read through what is submitted in a particular matter. The court wants to see an issue explained in a way that is simple, clear and concise. Making outlandish claims without the basis of proof or evidence to confirm them will not help. Making requests that are clearly unreasonable will not help. Monty Python did it best when they sang, "Always look on the bright side of life." Because at the end of the day, even with all the issues everyone has, it’s always good to know that you’ve done your best and you are living right now.
Declaration Templates
There are some basic formats that court filings such as these generally follow. Below, I give some examples but realize these are not the ONLY ways to frame a filing or declaration as there are many different ways to slice a declaration and many different scenarios in which a declaration can be filed. This is just a starting point:
FOR THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
) FAM NUMBER:
) DECLARATION OF:
) KID: , DECLARATION IN SUPPORT OF:
) MOTION TO _________
_________ ) DATED: ___/___/_____
I, ________ Kid , declare:
- INTRODUCTION. This declaration is filed in support of my motion to ___________.
- RECENT FACTS. (Identify specific facts that recently occurred giving rise to this filing, such as basis for restraining order, denial of visitation, harassment, change in circumstances, etc.)
- RELIEF SOUGHT. (Briefly describe what you want the other party and/or the Court to do).
- PARTICULAR SUPPORT. (Set out in numbered paragraphs your particular support for the relief sought. Each paragraph should be supported by evidence, whether an attached copy of a text message or email or a family picture.)
- CONCLUSION. (Briefly here summarize your position, providing dates and specific facts as per the first suggested section above, accommodating your relief sought.)
- APPENDICES. Attach as exhibits all supporting evidence, labeled for the court’s reference.
Protective Orders and Legal Advice
Legal Assistance with Declarations
Because the declaration is not simply a legal inevitability, but a legal entity, I invite you, and might even advise you, to hire a lawyer to assist you in preparing a declaration. A lawyer will know how to scope the declaration so that it does not contain too much information, or improper information, so that the declaration doesn’t have a showing, which would usually make it subject to court consideration, yet is likely to persuade the judicial officer (if not the opposing party) that there is something for the court to consider (but again, without over-baking it). A lawyer will be able to help you prepare the most important declarations which can be the most compelling, and prepare the others in a way that leaves room for these most important declarations to do their work. A lawyer will know not to stack up a dozen declarations in support of a single element; having one or two detailed narratives is better than a dozen shorter versions of the same thing. And a lawyer will know how to deposit the physical evidence into the declaration, rather than doing it in a natural, non-incorporated way, which can often at least mildly confuse the reader.
Lawyers can also help avoid improper declarations which can waste time, or worse, disrupt your case. The court may sanction, even criminally charge, an unsuccessful declarant (especially where the declarant is disingenuous), so avoid declarations which cannot be verified via physical evidence and/or are deemed to be made in bad faith. This is another reason for hiring an attorney to help you put together a declaration.
How to Submit Your Declaration to Court
Submitting your declaration to the Family Court takes a little bit of attention and forethought. Declarations must be signed under penalty of perjury. This means that if you later lie about something in the declaration, you can be prosecuted for a crime. This is not just a silly rule, but a serious matter of consequences so tell the truth.
But they also have very specific requirements for when and how your declaration must be submitted. The California Rules of Court are the basis for most of the Family Law Courts declarations requirements. A new set of rules goes into effect July 1, 2016, and even though they look similar and you already might be familiar with Family Law Declaration requirements, couple rules will be worth mentioning.
When you submit your declaration, most courts expect you to upload the declaration to the court’s electronic filing system unless the court has been given a waiver or the court is one of the courts that still only accepts paper filings.
If you uploaded the declaration then you can assume that the Family Court will e-serve you with the documents when the judge signs the order. Most courts send out a confirmation e-mail that includes a copy of the declaration.
If you mailed in the declaration , you can only wait until the court sends you a copy faxed or mailed to you after the judge signs it. Generally, the Family Courts do not e-serve declarations that were mailed in.
If your declaration needs to be filed by a certain date, you must make sure that the court receives them in time. For example, if your declarations need to be submitted ten court days before the next hearing, then it doesn’t matter if you submit the documents on the tenth court day, the court won’t consider the declaration because you didn’t file it on the tenth court day before the hearing.
You should also keep in mind that while there are many helpful resources available online, declarations are a specialized area of law that should be carefully examined and individualized in each case. For questions about required declarations or how to draft or draft an effective declaration in a Family Court proceeding, you should consult with an attorney.