Also known as: personal and family history · pedigree exception · family history exception
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Facts concerning a person's birth, adoption, legitimacy, ancestry, marriage, divorce, death, relationship by blood, adoption, or marriage, or similar matters of pedigree. Such facts receive special treatment under hearsay exceptions because they are typically reliable even when the declarant lacks personal knowledge or the statement appears in institutional records.
Paula Pierce died before trial in a quiet-title suit. Her attorney offers testimony that Paula repeatedly called Maya her only daughter and stated Maya was born in Chicago. The statements are offered to prove Maya's status as successor. Because Paula is unavailable, the court admits the testimony as a statement of personal or family history by an unavailable declarant.
Patrick Phan sues an insurer for life-insurance proceeds as Daniel's surviving spouse. The insurer offers a certified entry from Pastor Lewis's regularly kept church marriage register showing no marriage between Patrick and Daniel. The court admits the entry to prove marital status because it is a regularly kept religious record of personal or family history.
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Pedro Pacheco claims shares in a family business as the founder's surviving spouse. He offers testimony from longtime store managers and customers that the retail community widely understood Pedro and the founder to have been married for decades. The court admits the testimony because it reflects reputation in the community concerning a fact of personal or family history.
No. The exception expressly permits statements about personal or family history even when the declarant had no way of acquiring personal knowledge. Family relationships and birth details are often learned through family tradition rather than direct observation.
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A church marriage register is admissible when it is a regularly kept record of a religious organization and contains statements of marriage or similar facts of personal or family history. The exception applies regardless of whether the declarant is available and does not require the record to be a civil public document.
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The proponent must show that the reputation existed among the person's family by blood, adoption, or marriage, or among associates or in the community, and that it concerns a fact of personal or family history such as marriage or ancestry. The reputation need not arise from blood relatives if it is accepted in the relevant community.
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