Burden of Proof

The obligation to prove a fact that's in dispute in your case. The general rule, in family court as elsewhere, is that 'he who asserts must prove' — the party who makes an allegation or asserts a fact bears the burden of proving it. So if you allege domestic abuse, you must prove it happened; if you claim an asset is non-matrimonial (inherited or pre-acquired) and so shouldn't be shared, you must prove that — Standish v Standish put the burden of proving 'matrimonialisation' on the party claiming it. If you allege the other party has hidden assets, you must produce some basis for that (though non-disclosure can then trigger adverse inferences). The burden can shift in limited circumstances — for example, once a party has shown enough to raise an issue, the other party may have to rebut it — but the starting point is always on the party making the assertion. If the party who bears the burden doesn't discharge it, the fact isn't found and the allegation fails. The standard the burden must be discharged to is the 'balance of probabilities'.