Submitting Evidence at a Family Court in Texas: A Step-by-Step Approach

Evidence In The Family Court

The Texas Family Court system takes the discovery of evidence very seriously. And, rightly so, because most family law cases involve a variety of issues that deal with the lives of children and parents. The types of evidence that you could present in your case can range from the everyday ordinary to the obscure. Family Courts are used to dealing with all sorts of issues that the parties at hand could not fully address without the help of the court.
The main types of evidence that you would consider include documents, witness testimony, and physical evidence or validity of documents.
Documents are very common in most family law cases and come in a variety of forms. If you or your ex is paid a salary, then pay statements or W2’s should be considered. If your income is derived from contract work, then copies of income statements or 1099’s prove useful. The purpose of these statements is to obtain evidence that shows your or your ex’s ability to meet support requirements. Other documents like credit card statements show patterns of spending. It is not uncommon to see instances of excessive spending. It’s important to notice that while spending is important to prove , the underlying reason for the spending is not. Family courts are interested in supporting children – not judging adults.
Witnesses also play a big role in family court cases. Most Texas counties have a standing order that requires prior court permission before any witnesses are presented. A court may agree to simple witnesses that sit on the sidelines and simply confirm the obvious. But that can lead to further issues when a party needs to prove something more concrete. Testimonies get complicated because court officials have strict rules about witness contact. Witnesses cannot discuss the case information with anyone.
Physical evidence is another factor of family court. What is physical evidence? In short, tangible objects. This includes photographs, treaty documents, receipts, and communication records. Physical evidence is the key to proving or disproving anything in a family court case. In almost all cases, without some sort of physical evidence regarding an issue, the court could view the issue as irrelevant. Physical evidence makes a statement instead of words.
Evidence is the linchpin for Texas family law. The more information available, the more likely a court is to decide a case in a measured manner.

Rules Governing Evidence Submission In Texas

The Texas Rules of Evidence apply in family court and dictate the process for laying out evidence, including documents, photos, videos, audio and even testimonies. The rules of evidence are designed to help the court make decisions based on reliable, trustworthy information.
Federal rules will not apply to family court matters in Texas. Because every state is different, federal laws are just a guideline as to how a court might address a matter. In order to lay out older documentary evidence, the attorney or whoever is submitting the evidence will need to lay out what’s known as a "predicate." A predicate is simply a showing of the age of a piece of evidence and how it is linked to a party or party representative before submitting it to the court. Predicates are needed for school records, bank records, medical records and older or historical computer printouts. Technological records, such as emails or social media posts, are generally given less weight than other forms of evidence, but may be admissible. Courts may consider the age of a post or whether the party submitting it was its author. If you feel the opposing party’s written discovery (interrogatories, requests for admission, requests for production, etc.) is vague or overbroad, you have a right to file objections to that discovery. If you have objections to an affidavit submitted by an opposing party, you can either file them in the court or simply file them with the attachment. You also have the right to object to evidence submitted by the opposing party based on hearsay, opinion, unfair prejudice, bad faith, no foundation, improperly cumulative, hearsay within hearsay and more. You must object to improper evidence in order to have the right to appeal submitted evidence after a court trial. Failing to object to evidence in advance can lead to loss of the right to argue whether the evidence should be excluded from the record in the first place.

How To Prepare Your Own Evidence

The road to successful presentation of evidence in a Family Court in Texas begins before you ever step foot in the courtroom. Preparing evidence for a Family Court case involves several steps: securing witness statements, organizing documents, and ensuring the relevance and authenticity of the evidence are all necessary components.
First, create a list of witnesses you plan to call and document their positions. For instance, if you have a child support hearing, you may need testimony from the employer of the other parent in order to substantiate his or her income for child support. You may need witnesses to testify about your parenting ability. The witnesses can be family, employers, experienced colleagues, and friends who have firsthand knowledge related to the matter.
Next, prepare the documents that you will be using as evidence. Ask the attorney to prepare the exhibits at least one week in advance of the hearing, so there is time to organize them. Not only will this allow time for the attorney to organize your exhibits, but you will also have an opportunity to review the documentation. Again, this is necessary to ensure everything is complete and organized.
Finally, for evidence to be admissible, it has to be relevant and authentic. Relevance means simply that it needs to be pertinent to the issue being dealt with. For example, if you are involving child custody, evidence related to the child’s third-grade art project would not be relevant. Authentication refers to the process of proving that the evidence is exactly what it is purported to be. A 2010 tax return is authenticated if you show that it is the actual return that was filed with the IRS. This might entail providing the IRS stamp on the return. If you are using a witness’ testimony as evidence, then attorney will prequalify the witness. This means that the attorney will ask the witness questions to establish the witness’ ability to provide the information as evidence.
In the case of documents and physical evidence, the documents will be marked and ruled before the hearing. This means that the sides of the documents will be numbered and lines will be drawn across the top and bottom. This simply makes it easier for the judge to follow the evidence during the hearing.

How To Submit Evidence

The submission of evidence in a Texas family court typically occurs before the presentation of evidence at a hearing or trial. Though the rules of civil procedure generally govern the rules of evidence, they also impact the process of submission. For example, while all documentary evidence must be disclosed to opposing counsel at least 30 days before trial, the court may consider discovery responses submitted after that date if the late production will not unfairly surprise the other party. Regardless of whether the evidence is being used at an interim hearing, temporary orders hearing, final trial or otherwise, the rules are more or less the same. Affidavits and other trial documents. When you submit documents for consideration by the court that are not already part of the trial record, you obtain proof of their authenticity through an affidavit. This means a statement made under oath, which can be enclosed in an attachment or cover sheet, with the signer’s name and signature line. Any party planning to introduce evidence at trial must file and serve a "trial affidavit list" no later than 30 days prior to trial. The purpose of this list, which contains the documents along with the name of the affiant and a brief description, is to both allow the court and the other party to know what will be offered and when it will have been seen. Attached to the affidavit list must be copies of all documents that are going to be introduced in evidence. The exact rules for introducing evidence and taking it into the record may vary from one county to the next, so it is always a good idea to double check and make sure you have followed any local rules. Exhibits and lists. When the documentation is ready to be offered, it must be labeled and brought into the courtroom. Each piece of evidence should be consecutively numbered, and packets or groups of documents should be labeled as a separate exhibit with a number . The following rule helps with this: Submitting affidavits and exhibits into evidence. The introduction of documentary evidence into the record takes place after the direct examination of the witness. When you elicit testimony from a witness, you should have the document in your hand and refer to it. The correction of a transcript error is best done at this stage. Once done, provide a marked copy to the court reporter that is ready for filing. The affidavit can be filed along with an affidavit list listing the specific documents to be introduced as well as the associated witness. Generally, this needs to be done with the court coordinator in advance of trial, but the practice may vary in different courts. Finally, provide a marked copy to each party’s attorney. Obtaining admission. There are two ways to get materials admitted into evidence: It is generally safer to ask or move to admit documents into the record at the point of introduction rather than wait until the voir dire or cross-examination instead. For example, in a paternity action, when an adjudicative relationship is accepted, it is appropriate to introduce a written statement from the father as an exhibit at that trial. If an affidavit is not signed, the contents must be proven by the oral testimony of the witness. However, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure do allow for the admission of an unsworn declaration under penalty of perjury as an alternative to a standard affidavit. This method is governed by Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code, Section 132.001. It allows a party to submit documents in the form of a declaration, under the penalty of prosecution for perjury if the contents are fabricated. In Non-Disclosure (Sealing of Records) proceedings; an Affidavit of Inability to Pay costs is sufficient as well.

Mistakes to Avoid

Whether you’re involved in a contested custody dispute or other family law matter, you probably just want what’s best for your children. There may be financial evidence or other documentation to support your position and why that’s in the best interests of your children. However, when submitting evidence in a Texas family court, it’s easy to make mistakes that could result in your evidence being excluded. When evidence is submitted incorrectly, the court must only consider proper evidence, which may lead to an outcome you’re not happy about.
If you want to be sure that the evidence the court looks at is more favorable to your position in a family law matter, make sure that you avoid these common mistakes:
Failing to Authenticate Evidence In some cases, a party argues that carrying a burden of proof for his or her claims in a family law dispute, the proponent of the evidence is required to authenticate the evidence before it’s submitted. Authentication is a determination from the judge that your evidence is what you say it is, meaning it’s not fake or not altered in any way. If evidence isn’t authenticated, it’s going to fall out of consideration in the court case.
Hearsay Objections You may be objecting to the other party’s evidence provided to the court because of hearsay. The Texas rules relating to hearsay evidence indicate circumstances when a hearsay statement can be offered as evidence and when it should be excluded. The family court will make its determination on whether hearsay evidence offered by the other party will be allowed.
Appealing Evidence Issues During Trial Texas family law matters are tried to the judge as opposed to being tried to a jury. In Texas, there’s no such thing as the mid-trial appeal. Objections and rulings on objections are preserved for appeal purposes, but they have to be made or they’ll be waived. If you think you’re going to appeal certain issues in the family law trial, you have to make timely objections before the trial judge during the course of the trial. Otherwise, those objections will be overruled and, in essence, waived.
Rule 11 Agreements Submitted to a Judge Rule 11 agreements are agreements between parties in a family law case that are put into writing and signed by the parties. As a general rule, Rule 11 agreements are subject to being enforced pursuant to the terms of the agreement, as they are considered a binding contract. However, a family court can refuse to enforce a Rule 11 agreement when some issues of the agreement are uncertain or unreasonably vague. If you submit a Rule 11 agreement to a judge for approval and the court makes changes to the Rule 11 agreement, the agreement can be rejected because it doesn’t accurately abide by the original agreement reached by both parties to the agreement.
Not Submitting Agreed Orders Agreed orders are orders by the court that comply with the agreement of the parties in their family law matter. Agreed orders must be in writing and judgment is signed by the judge, and submitted to the court with the applicable filing fee. The trial court can’t enforce an agreed order, if there isn’t a signed agreed order to enforce. In addition, while it’s not uncommon for trial courts to give litigants a final opportunity to appear and execute an agreed order, the court will not continue this opportunity to parties who fail to submit an agreed order over time.
These are things parties to a family law matter do when submitting evidence in a Texas family court.

Lawyers and Other Resources

Throughout the preparation and submission of evidence in a family court case, obtaining sound legal advice is crucial. Each stage, from investigation and disclosure to objections and advocacy, can significantly affect the outcome of a case. When in doubt, ask an attorney to review your evidence, objections, or advocacy strategy. When you encounter confusion, lack of clarity, and uncertainty as to procedures, seek legal advice. Obtaining information about specific requirements and nuances of Texas family law can help you avoid the additional frustration and difficulty that may come from not knowing the rules. Seek professional assistance by hiring an attorney. Additionally, ask for help from professionals who have familiarity with family law in Texas, such as paralegals, social workers, mediation experts , or other experts who work in the field of family law. TexasLawHelp.org is a free legal resource website with articles written by attorneys who provide general self-help legal information. The website covers a wide range of family law issues and topics and provides instructions on how to proceed legally without the necessity of hiring an attorney. TexasLegalAid.org is an online resource that assists people in obtaining legal representation and referral services based on financial need. The Texas Bar Lawyer Referral Service will help you find local lawyers in your area who will provide a 30-minute consultation for $20. The American Bar Association Guide offers an online referral service that matches a qualified attorney to your legal needs. Finally, the Texas Young Lawyers Association offers a guide to family law issues and a lawyers’ professional referral service. Family law and related matters often seem complicated and difficult to understand. Following the steps discussed above may make the subject of preparing and submitting evidence in family court less intimidating, but the assistance of a legal professional is highly recommended and should not be overlooked.