Custody Documentation: The Record That Holds Up

Why documentation is the whole game

Every state in our verified set decides custody on best-interest factors — 20 statutory factors in Florida (§61.13(3)), the 9 Holley factors in Texas (case law), the 4 §3011 considerations in California, the Eschbach totality in New York (case law), both Illinois lists (§602.5 and §602.7), and Ohio's 10 §3109.04(F)(1) factors. None of those lists rewards memory. They reward records: who had the child, who showed up, who took her to the doctor, what was said and when.

The daily log

One dated entry per day: overnights, exchanges (happened, late, or did not happen — with time and place), caregiving acts, school and medical involvement, and incidents stated factually, without editorializing. Write it the same day. Correct an entry by adding a dated correction, never by rewriting it. If you reconstruct past weeks, label the reconstruction honestly — never backdate.

Communication records

One written channel where you can. Save everything. Log phone calls immediately after they happen — date, time, what was agreed. Keep messages short, child-focused, and readable by a judge. Never put in writing what you would not read aloud in a courtroom.

Map records to factors

A log nobody can use is a diary. The Custody Documentation Kit organizes the log, the calendar, and the communication record factor by factor for your state — and the Door 3 decoder prints your state's factor list and presumption status free.

Questions

What should a custody log contain?

Dated entries covering overnights, exchanges with times and places, caregiving acts, school and medical involvement, and factual incident notes — written the same day, corrected only by dated additions.

How far back should I reconstruct?

Only as far as you can do honestly, and label reconstructed entries as reconstructions with the date you wrote them. Never backdate.

Does documentation change the legal test?

No. Your state's factors and presumption status stay what they are. Documentation is how facts reach the court in a form it can use.

Rules checked October 2026. General information, not legal advice.