> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.rytz.com.au/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Respond to the other party
> Their affidavit is filed. You need to answer. The platform reads their affidavit, identifies what you must respond to (and what you should leave alone), and structures your response.
import { Steps, Step, Frame, Note, Tip, Warning, CardGroup, Card, Check } from '@mintlify/components'
The **Respond** path handles the most-common drafting moment in active proceedings: their affidavit has been filed and served, and you need to file your own. The platform reads their affidavit, walks you through it paragraph by paragraph, and helps you build the response systematically.
Route: `app.rytz.com.au/affidavit-preparation/respond`.
## Before you start
* [ ] You have a copy of their affidavit (the version filed and served on you, with all annexures)
* [ ] You know your court-imposed deadline for responding
* [ ] You've read their affidavit at least twice on your own
* [ ] You've taken a break between reading and drafting (24 hours minimum)
* [ ] Your Master Case File and Evidence Portfolio are current
Read the other party's affidavit twice before opening the platform. The first read is emotional — you'll want to refute everything. The second read is analytical — you'll see what actually requires response and what is harmless or even helpful to your case. The 24-hour break between reads matters more than people expect.
## How to think about a response affidavit
The most-common mistake first-time responders make is **trying to refute everything**. A response affidavit doesn't need to address every paragraph the other party wrote. It needs to:
1. **Address the central factual claims** that bear on the orders being sought
2. **Provide your version** of contested events, anchored to evidence
3. **Concede what's true** (not contesting helpful or neutral facts saves credibility)
4. **Stay silent on what's irrelevant** (refuting trivia signals you're rattled)
5. **Add new material** the other party didn't cover but the court should hear
The platform's Respond path is built around this framework.
## The structured response flow
From the Affidavit Preparation hub, click **Respond to the other party**. Or go directly to `app.rytz.com.au/affidavit-preparation/respond`.
Upload as PDF or DOCX. The platform reads the text, extracts paragraphs, identifies annexure references, and notes any sworn/affirmed details (deponent, date, witness).
For paper-served documents, scan to PDF first. The platform handles OCR for scanned documents but accuracy is best with text-native PDFs.
The platform asks:
* **What deadline are you under?** (Court-imposed; defaults to 14 days if unknown.) Drives urgency-aware pacing.
* **What stage is this response for?** Interim hearing, trial preparation, etc.
* **What orders are at stake?** What the other party is seeking; what you're seeking in opposition.
Most populated from your Master Case File and the Case Roadmap stage.
The platform shows their affidavit one paragraph at a time. For each, you choose one of five responses:
| Choice | When to use |
| ---------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Admit** | The fact is true. You concede it. (Saves credibility.) |
| **Deny** | The fact is false. You assert the contrary, with evidence. |
| **Partially admit** | True in part, false in part. The platform helps draft the partial admission with the corrective. |
| **Don't admit** | You don't have direct knowledge — neither admitting nor denying. (For things you weren't there for.) |
| **No response needed** | The paragraph is irrelevant or harmless. Save your response budget for what matters. |
Each choice opens a structured prompt for the corresponding paragraph in your response. The platform applies admissibility hygiene as you draft.
A useful instinct: if you read their paragraph and your response would be "well, technically yes, but ..." — that's almost always **Admit + add context elsewhere**, not Deny. Denying things that are true is the fastest way to lose credibility.
After working through their affidavit, the platform asks: **what hasn't been said?**
Common categories the prompts cover:
* Events the other party didn't mention but the court should know
* Your account of the relationship history (if theirs is incomplete)
* Updates since their affidavit was sworn (their affidavit may be weeks or months old by the time you respond)
* Your own positive evidence on parenting capacity, financial responsibility, or whatever the orders concern
This section runs the same Substantive Content prompts as the [Create from scratch wizard](/affidavits/create-from-scratch), scoped to topics not already covered in the response.
Same as [Create from scratch](/affidavits/create-from-scratch) — the platform cross-references your Evidence Portfolio and proposes annexures for assertions, auto-assigning labels in citation order.
For a response affidavit, annexure labels follow the same convention: your initials, sequential numbers (JL-1, JL-2, ...). The other party's annexures retain their original labels (LP-1, LP-2, ...).
Same compliance check as [Create from scratch](/affidavits/create-from-scratch):
* Paragraph numbering
* Header
* Capacity statement
* Annexure cross-references
* Jurat block
* Pagination
Once clean, export DOCX + PDF.
Before swearing, run the response through the [Improve audit](/affidavits/improve-an-existing-draft). Particularly useful for response affidavits because the audit catches:
* Paragraphs where you've gone too hard on a partial admission
* Places where you've drifted into refuting trivia (low-impact responses that crowd out the high-impact ones)
* Tone issues (response affidavits are particularly prone to defensive or accusatory tone)
Same process as any affidavit. Swear or affirm before an authorised witness. File via the Commonwealth Courts Portal (FCFCOA's filing system). Serve a copy on the other party — your response affidavit is not "in evidence" until they have it.
## What to leave un-responded
The hardest discipline in response drafting is **silence**. Things the platform helps you leave alone:
"She is unreliable" / "He has a temper" — opinion, not fact. The court won't act on personality attacks. Don't dignify them with a denial.
"Sarah told me Lucy said ..." — inadmissible hearsay. The court will ignore it whether you respond or not. A formal "I do not admit" line is sometimes worth it for record-keeping; otherwise leave it.
Events from years ago that have no bearing on the orders sought. Refuting them treats them as live; staying silent treats them as the past.
The other party may take swipes at your representation choices. Not relevant to the orders. Stay silent.
## Specific patterns
### Their narrative includes events you've forgotten
Common, especially for events from early in the relationship. Three options:
1. **Say what you remember and acknowledge what you don't.** "I do not specifically recall the conversation referred to at paragraph 14 but it is consistent with our practice at the time of \[...]." Honest and credible.
2. **Don't admit (preserve)** the paragraph if you can't remember and can't verify either way.
3. **Investigate** — your phone records, calendars, contemporaneous diaries may refresh memory. The platform's Evidence Portfolio search can help.
### Their annexures conflict with what you have
If their JL-1 is a screenshot of a message exchange and you have the same exchange showing different content (perhaps redacted differently, or with messages they omitted), annexure your version. Cross-reference: "I have read the document the deponent attaches as 'JL-1' and observe that messages I sent on \[...] do not appear. I attach the complete exchange marked 'XX-1'."
### Their affidavit is sworn, but contains demonstrably false statements
Allege the falsity factually, with evidence. Don't allege perjury directly — that's a criminal allegation that the court won't act on in family-law proceedings. The court draws its own conclusions about credibility.
A false statement you can prove false on the affidavit's face is one of the strongest evidentiary positions. But it requires evidence — not assertion. "Lucy says at paragraph 22 that she dropped Sophia at school on 14 March; the school's attendance record (annexed as JL-7) shows Sophia did not attend that day" is devastating. "Lucy is lying" without the school record is just noise.
## Time pressure considerations
Response affidavits often run on a court-imposed clock. The platform sequences the work to make a 14-day deadline workable:
| Day | Goal |
| ---- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 1 | Read their affidavit twice. Don't draft anything. |
| 2 | Re-read with fresh eyes. Note paragraphs you have to address. |
| 3–5 | Walk the platform's paragraph-by-paragraph response |
| 6–7 | Add new material section |
| 8 | Annexure assignment |
| 9–10 | Form check, then audit, then revisions |
| 11 | Stand down. Don't look at it. |
| 12 | Final read. Edits. Print. |
| 13 | Swear before witness. |
| 14 | File and serve. |
Tighter deadlines compress the early days; the standing-down day is the one to keep — fresh eyes catch errors that tired eyes miss.
## What's next
Run the audit on your response before swearing.
Paragraph-level refinement before swearing.
Bundle annexures into a court-ready PDF.
Where response affidavits fit in the FCFCOA process.