No one likes to think they may have to go to trial, especially in a family matter. The fact is that most family cases resolve amicably. Of those that don't settle by agreement and go to trial, many involve issues of domestic violence and/or child abuse. Domestic abuse and child abuse are co-morbid. In other words, even after the adult parties separate due to interpersonal violence, there is a strong connection between perpetrators who batter their partners and those who abuse their children. Therefore, any and all potential evidence should be maintained, organized and useful for trial.

Children are also known to suffer from the battering of their parent even when they themselves are not physically injured. Therefore, in cases involving domestic violence, while not inevitable, a trial is more likely and child protection may be at the heart of the trial. Accordingly, detailed preparation is critical, especially for victims where there are children in need of protection. Attorneys need to be prepared, and they must prepare their clients. Documentary evidence assists the trier of fact. It can shine a light on the credibility of the victim and therefore the child's need for protection. In doing so, it can also cast doubt on the credibility of the abuser.

Trial preparation begins with knowing the victim client's detailed relationship history with their adult abusive partner. The client should write the history of the relationship, describing not only the physical violence, but what incidents or behaviors lead up to the violence regarding each incident. This history should go back to the relationship before the marriage as that is often where coercion and threats begin even before physical violence has been used as a means of control. In cases of emotional abuse without physical violence, the history should also be written. Details such as name calling, humiliation, labeling followed by apologizing, and gas-lighting behaviors, as well as how an argument started, are important to contextualize events. That history is a critical guide. It is a guide for pretrial and a guide for a trial where the well-being of children is at issue. That evidence is the telling of the story of how the violence began, escalated, continued, and why the matter requires a court to intervene and protect.