If your case has not been settled, then you need to prepare for your trial or evidentiary hearing. Generally, the parties will be the key witness at their trial or evidentiary hearing. However, there is third-party testimony or records that may be the silver bullet to winning the case or a combination of both.
Often it is the quality, not the number of witnesses. If you are a party to a contested custody dispute, then you will be the primary witness to your own case. However, is there a witness who is credible that can bolster your testimony?
When a witness is on the stand, there are three parts to the direct testimony: a short background to establish credibility; how the witness knows or is acquainted with the Petitioner or Respondent who he or she will be testifying about; and what he/she has seen or heard to which he/she is testifying.
For example, there is a large difference in the credibility of a witness who was convicted versus a local church member. Then there are the circumstances surrounding how the witness has come to know the facts.
