Documents and What They Prove
What a piece of paper establishes, what it merely suggests, and the formalities that decide which of the two it is.
Kinds of proof
Ten desks. Each one is a working reference written to be understood on a first read.
Records Somebody Else Holds
How to reach a record that sits with an agency, an employer, a hospital or a bank, and what to do when the holder will not produce it.
Testimony and Credibility
What a person's account can establish, how it is tested, and why an honest witness and a reliable one are not the same thing.
Documents From Another Country
What a foreign record needs before an American decision-maker will rely on it, and what is available when the issuing country cannot produce it.
Evidence That Lives on a Phone
What a device actually holds, who is able to reach it, and why the screenshot everybody offers proves so little.
Opinion That Counts as Evidence
When a professional view becomes evidence rather than commentary, and what makes one opinion survive where another is excluded.
Who Must Prove It
Which side carries the burden, how convincing the proof has to be, and how cases are decided when nobody has proved anything.
Proving a Relationship
How a family tie is established on paper, and what is available when the paper does not exist or is not believed.
Proving Money
How income, assets and transfers are established, and why cash and informal arrangements are the hardest facts to prove.
When the Proof Does Not Exist
What is available when the record was never made, was destroyed on schedule, or is held by the person it would damage.