What Documents Should I Bring to Family Court?
This page provides general legal information, not legal advice. Court rules and procedures can change. A qualified attorney can advise you about your situation.
Bring the hearing notice, current orders, filed papers, and any other materials the court's instructions require. Organize copies by issue and do not assume a document can be considered just because you carry it into the courtroom.
Separate filed papers from supporting records
Create a short index so you can locate each item without searching through a large stack. California’s family-hearing guide says supporting documents generally must be filed and served before the hearing for the judge to consider them, and it tells filers to remove private information such as Social Security numbers (California Courts — Submit documents for your family law hearing).
Court instructions can differ. For example, the current Texas Rules of Civil Procedure separately set statewide rules for filing and service, while a court may have additional local instructions (Supreme Court of Texas — Texas Rules of Civil Procedure). Use the state directory to find local instructions and ask the clerk about procedure, not whether a specific record proves your position.
Read Getting Your Case Ready for a focused case-file structure.
Part of Getting Your Case Ready.