Custody evidence tracker (free spreadsheet + printable).

What’s in the tracker

Ten columns, one row per item. The same columns are in the spreadsheet and the printable.

• Item #Your own running number: 1, 2, 3. Give it when you save the item and never reuse it.
• Date of eventThe day the thing happened: the day the text was sent, the photo was taken or the call came in.
• Date collectedThe day you saved, printed, requested or received your copy.
• TypeText, photo, email, record, call or other. The spreadsheet offers these as a dropdown, and you can type your own.
• Short descriptionWhat it is, in one line a stranger would understand.
• Source / where the original is keptThe exact place: which phone, which email account, which folder or box.
• Who it involvesThe people in it or who sent it.
• Related toA topic tag: schedule, school, medical, communication, safety or other. Filter on it later.
• Exhibit #Optional and blank by default. If you later need exhibit labels, use whatever system your attorney or your court’s materials describe.
• NotesAnything else that helps you find or understand the item later, like a backup copy or a related row.

How to fill it in

Organizing tips only. They don’t say which items to collect or how a court will see them; your court’s rules and a licensed attorney where you live can answer that.

• One row per item.One screenshot, photo, email, record or call per row. A long text conversation can be one row with its date range in the description.
• Write both dates.The date it happened and the date you saved it are different facts. Keeping both makes the list easy to sort into a timeline later.
• Keep an unedited original.Many people keep the original file or paper as it is and make a separate copy to crop or highlight, so the original is easy to find later. Note the copy in Notes.
• Say exactly where the original lives.“My phone” is a start; “my phone, plus a copy in the Case folder on my backup drive” is better. If you move it, update the row.
• Number as you go.Item # never changes. Exhibit # is a separate, optional column: if you later need exhibit labels, use the system your attorney or your court’s materials describe.
• Keep descriptions short and plain.Short, plain descriptions are easiest to scan later, for example “Text from [name] moving Friday pickup to 7 pm.”
• Add rows the same day.A row written the day you save something is easier than rebuilding the list from memory months later.
• Sort and filter, don’t retype.In the spreadsheet, sort by Date of event to see things in order, or filter by Related to to pull every school or medical item.

More free tools for the same job

• Family court evidence index template, for a one-page index of the items you are organizing.
• Custody binder printables + log templates: tab checklist, timeline, cover sheets, and custody, visitation and call logs.
• Child custody evidence checklist, to think through which records exist and where they are.
• How to organize evidence for a custody hearing, step by step.
• Free text message log preview: see your texts numbered MSG-00001 onward. Your texts never leave your device.

An organizing template, not legal advice and not a court form. For advice about your situation, talk with a licensed attorney where you live. More free downloads are on the free templates page.