The veracity of an affidavit is ensured through an oath.
An affidavit is a written or verbal statement whose veracity is assured by an oath before a judicial or administrative authority. This means that the content of the statement is taken as true until proven otherwise.
For example: “Tomorrow I have to present my tax affidavit corresponding to the second quarter of the year” , “The governor has not yet presented his affidavit of assets ” , “When purchasing a vehicle, the buyer must justify the origin of the funds through an affidavit.”
Affidavit and presumption of truthfulness
The presumption of truthfulness of the sworn statement helps to speed up the procedures, since it avoids having to present other documents or go to a third party to testify about any fact. Nowadays, it is common for judicial statements to be presented virtually, through software .
It is important to keep in mind that if a person makes an affidavit with false information or malicious omissions, administrative or even criminal punishment applies. Suppose a man must present a sworn declaration to the treasury to indicate what income he had in a certain period. Depending on the amount you declare, you will have to pay more or less taxes. In order to pay a sum less than what is due, the subject only includes in his sworn statement half of the income he actually received. Some time later, an analysis of various data allows the authorities to detect that the taxpayer lied in his sworn statement. In this situation, a judicial process is initiated.
The need to prepare and present a sworn written declaration to carry out certain procedures says a lot about the way in which we as human beings organize ourselves; for example, the little validity we give to oral language, always in pursuit of writing. Although there are many instances within legal processes in which the spoken word seems to prevail, transcriptions are always made for later archiving .
The content of an affidavit is taken as true until proven otherwise.
Writing and presentation
It is important to highlight that to sign a sworn declaration model it is not necessary to go to a particular office, since it is enough for us to be in the presence of a notary public to give legal character to the procedure. Regarding the drafting of the document, there are countless examples on the Internet, in addition to the fact that lawyers usually help their clients prepare them; It is essential that all facts are stated clearly and concisely , and that all pages are signed and dated appropriately.
Although all sworn statements are not made with the same objectives, they are characterized by focusing on the manifestation of the veracity of what is signed by the person who makes it, always under oath. Taking into account the formality and responsibility that arises from the sworn statement, we can distinguish two main types:
* simple or general : this is a statement that is carried out on a personal basis and of one's own free will, with the aim of alleging the veracity of certain facts. It can be used for a large number of different circumstances, both personal and commercial. It is the least formal type of affidavit;
* notarial and judicial : this can be written or verbal. In this case, given that the facts whose veracity is affirmed under oath are usually of greater weight than in the simple sworn statement, the consequences of a lie can be more serious, both in the administrative and criminal spheres. It must be signed before a notary or a lawyer, for example, who is responsible for collecting the oath and signing it to close the process.