Can emails be used as proof of harrassment, affair, etc. in court even though it is quite easy to alter an email and make it say things that it truly doesn’t say. My STBX has taken to emailing me instead of talking even though we live under the same roof (which is FINE WITH ME!!! It actually keeps him from starting major arguments in front of the girls) but I’m wondering if he alters them and prints them out, can they be utilized as proof? I DO have emails from HIM harrassing me and can print them out, including headers, etc. without altering them and I’m wondering what can be used (or what the judge will see) as proof. I have a journal that I’ve kept for almost a year and a half, some audio/video recordings of him yelling at me and calling names, etc. I also have my parents and my children (if the judge or whomever will speak to them – they are 8 and 10 and my 10 year old is very, very mature! The 8 year old, not so much). That brings up another question. If the children are brought in and spoken to regarding the situation, who makes the decision regarding whether they are mature enough to speak to someone and how much weight is given to what they say? The girls beg me every day for them and myself to move, they cry because their father is mean to them all the time, they beg me to go with them when they go somewhere with their father because they don’t want to be alone with him. I want them to have their voice and be able to express their desires and frustrations to someone who might actually be able to DO something but I don’t want to push it because I was told that if a parent demands that the children be spoken to, it makes it look as if they were “coached” and that’s certainly not the case (at least not from my end). I guess I just would like to know the best way to proceed.
Thank you so much.