Evidence
Most states model their rules on the Federal Rules of Evidence. Authenticating text messages, hearsay and its exceptions, why your screenshots are weaker than you think.
The complete U.S. family court handbook — custody, support, evidence, and procedure, for the parent who has to walk in and do this.
Family court doesn’t decide what is true. It decides what has been shown. This book is about the difference.
The family court market is full of “survival systems” that teach you how to sound in front of a judge. Tone is the easy part. What actually decides cases is procedure, evidence, and documentation — and that is exactly what those products leave out, because writing it requires knowing it.
Generic books are vague because they are written without research. This one is general because a large part of the subject genuinely is — and the part that isn’t gets flagged on the page where it matters.
Most states model their rules on the Federal Rules of Evidence. Authenticating text messages, hearsay and its exceptions, why your screenshots are weaker than you think.
Which state decides custody when parents live apart, how support crosses state lines, why protective orders are enforceable everywhere.
Splitting retirement accounts, survivor elections, health coverage after divorce, and the alimony tax change most people still get wrong.
Temporary orders, discovery, mediation, custody evaluation, trial. Names vary by state. The sequence does not.
In roughly a fifth of the country, secretly recording your ex is a crime — and offering that recording in court proves nothing while telling the judge a great deal about you. This is Figure 6.1, reproduced exactly as it appears in the book.
Figure 6.1 — Consent requirements for recording a private conversation you are part of. Categories are simplified and several states are genuinely contested. The book pairs every map and table like this one with a Verify In Your State box, because a map orients you — it does not answer your question.
Reproducible, licensed for your own case, and designed so that an attorney can pick them up and work from them without reconstructing your timeline at $400 an hour.
The contemporaneous entry format, with the field most parents omit — what you did as a parent that day.
For significant events. Facts only, structured so it survives cross-examination.
Two weeks out, one week out, the day itself.
Six exhibits, numbered, each with one line on what it proves and how you authenticate it.
One page per statutory best-interest factor, including what the other side will argue.
The document that quietly tests whether the schedule you are requesting actually works.
Nine questions before you press send.
Must have, would like, will trade — written down before you walk in.
What you requested, from whom, when it arrived, and where it is filed.
Competing products in this category run five-star testimonials from parents who cannot be identified. A careful buyer discounts those instantly. So this page will carry real reviews or none — and the way to have real ones on launch day is to put the book in readers’ hands before it.
The complete PDF, at no cost, before the paperback goes on sale. No obligation to say anything positive.
Post it wherever you bought books last — or send it here and we will publish it under your first name and case type.
Early readers shape the next edition. The chapters people ask for are the chapters that get written.
Point the button at your email capture. Aim for 20–30 advance readers — that is normally enough to open with a genuine review count. Replace this whole section with the reviews as they arrive.
Instant download of the PDF and EPUB. Paperback ships separately. Point the buy button at your checkout before launch.
This book is legal information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship. It is not a substitute for advice from a lawyer licensed in the state where your case is filed. Family law is state law: procedures, deadlines, forms, and statutory factors differ by state and change over time.
If you or your child are in danger, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is reached by dialing or texting 988.