Keeping a timeline of events: the method for a solid case file

In a conflict that settles in — a separation, a neighbour dispute, a dispute with an employer or an administration — the facts pile up and memory blurs. Dates get confused, the order of events is lost, and you find yourself defending your situation with a general recollection rather than with precise material. A timeline of events — dated, factual, sourced — is the backbone of a solid file. Here, in a documentary way, is why it matters and how to keep it.

Why dating the facts changes everything

• Memory degrades. Recorded cold, months later, facts lose precision — yet it is precision that convinces.
• Justice reasons on facts situated in time. A dated, located and verifiable event carries quite a different weight from an impression.
• A dated series reveals a pattern. An isolated fact can be argued over; a sequence of dated facts that repeat draws a pattern that is hard to contest.

Does a log of facts have value in court?

Yes, provided you understand its exact role. In civil matters, the proof of a fact is free: Article 1358 of the Civil Code states that "except in cases where the law provides otherwise, evidence may be adduced by any means". A dated record of facts is therefore an element that the judge may take into account and assesses at their sole discretion.

There is, however, a nuance to know. The principle that "no one may create a title for themselves" (Article 1363 of the Civil Code) recalls that one does not prove a claim by a document one has drawn up oneself. This principle targets primarily legal acts; for facts, evidence remains free — but a written record you keep alone is worth above all what corroborates it.

In other words: the timeline organises and dates; it is the objective documents that carry conviction. Text messages, e-mails, witness statements, medical certificates, reports by a commissaire de justice… come to anchor themselves on your timeline. It is the spine to which you attach your evidence. On the forms of evidence themselves, see our guide Building an evidence file for the family court judge.

The method, step by step

1. Record as it occurs. The same evening, or as soon as possible. Do not wait to "have time": it is regularity that gives the log its value.
2. One fact = when + where + what. A date (the time if it matters), a place, and what happened, described in a factual and verifiable way. No legal characterisation, no imputation of intent.
3. Distinguish three registers. What you saw or experienced; what a third party observed; what you feel or assume. The judge makes this distinction — make it before them.
4. Attach each fact to its document. When a fact is backed by a document (a message, an order, a certificate), note its reference and number the exhibit so you can refer back to it.
5. Stay fair and measured. A timeline records facts; it does not serve to fabricate evidence or to justify an intrusion into the other person's private life. On the limits not to cross, see the "fairness of evidence" section of our guide on the evidence file.
6. Re-read regularly. Spot the repetitions, the gaps, the documents still to be retrieved while they are accessible.

A simple format

The medium matters little; it is the rigour that counts. A table is enough:

What makes this table useful is not its style: it is that each line is dated, factual, attached to an exhibit when one exists, and honest about what is seen or only assumed.

The mistakes to avoid

• The indictment. Piling up value judgments ("he is irresponsible", "she is manipulative") undermines your point. Describe the facts; characterisations are the judge's business.
• Vagueness. "Often", "all the time", "a few weeks ago" prove nothing. A date, a place, a fact.
• Exaggeration. An honest file is more credible than a one-sided one. A single spotted exaggeration weakens the whole.
• Mixing fact and opinion. Always separate what happened from what you think about it.
• Keeping it all in your head. What is not written, dated and sourced is lost — and cannot be proved.

What the judge does with it

The judge assesses at their sole discretion the material submitted to them. A clear timeline does not "prove" on its own, but it makes readable the whole of your file: it situates each document in time, highlights the sequences and brings out what would otherwise remain a diffuse feeling. It is a work of organisation — and it is often what sets a convincing file apart from a confused one.

This is exactly what Aridelle is for: recording dated facts, attaching your documents to them, and preparing the questions to ask a professional — in a private and confidential space.

Further reading

• What are the forms of evidence in a civil trial? (service-public.gouv.fr, F1800)
• Article 1358 of the Civil Code — evidence by any means (Légifrance)
• Our related guides: Building an evidence file for the JAF · The witness statement (Article 202 CPC) · The formal notice