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In your divorce case, you will have to prove your case at a trial unless you reach a settlement. If there are documents or other "things" that tend to prove your side of the case, you will need to have that evidence "admitted" into evidence by the judge during the trial. This can be complicated for do-it-yourself divorces, because the rules even baffle some lawyers.

Proof requires evidence. Evidence can be documents, records or "things" or it can be testimony by a witness. Here are six tips to get some common divorce evidence documents admitted at trial:

1. Deeds and Mortgages for Real Estate - you must get certified copies from the Clerk of Court office. There is a fee for the copies and another fee to certify the copy. The certification is a special stamp used by the Clerk. Courts will accept certified records.

2. Photographs - who took the picture does not matter. As long as you say the "magic words," the court will accept and look at the photos. Those magic words are: "I am familiar with the scenes in these photographs. The photos fairly and accurately depict those scenes at the time the picture was taken."

3. Cancelled checks - the court should accept and look at cancelled checks under a special provision of the business statutes (called the UCC). They are known as "commercial instruments" and should be readily accepted by the court. If you can identify the signatures on the checks, that is another way to have checks admitted.

4. Government records - records, on official forms, from any official Florida or United States agency, should be accepted under a rule called the "public documents rule."

5. Tax returns - under court rules, tax returns are normally accepted. If you want to make absolute sure they will be accepted, get a copy directly from the Internal Revenue Service. This can be in the form of the original tax return or a transcript of the return. Again, if you recognize the signatures on the return, that is another way to have the return admitted into evidence.

6. Other documents or records must be "authenticated." They can be more difficult to enter into evidence because each document or record has to be separately authenticated. The authentication process can be done by a records custodian. The records custodian must testify or, if you used the Non-Party Production rule, provide an affidavit when sending you the records. Unless the document is authenticated, the judge will not look at it.

Deeds, mortgages, tax returns and checks are some of the most common evidence in divorce trials. Admitting these documents into evidence can be done by a do-it-yourselfer willing to follow the rules. Remember, when preparing for a do-it-yourself divorce trial, you need admissible evidence to prove your case. Without evidence, you have no proof. Without proof, you cannot win a divorce case.

For more information about Florida family law and to learn about a free Tele-Test Drive Basic Florida Law course, go to http://www.diydivorcefl.com/

Pamela S. Wynn is a Florida family attorney with more than 23 years experience in Florida courts.


Article source: DivorceKit.com