Trial Notebook workbooks
Excel and Google Sheets systems for turning a contested case into organized tabs: state rules, timeline, custody or financial issues, discovery, exhibits, witnesses, relief requested, deadlines, and final checks.
For people representing themselves
Get your case out of your head and into a system.
Steadycase gives self-represented custody and divorce litigants a structured place for the dates, documents, evidence, witnesses, rules, and relief that otherwise scatter across texts, folders, and memory.
Created by David Martino, a Maryland family-law attorney licensed since 1995. About Steadycase.
Legal information, not legal advice
Official-source research maps
Downloadable files you keep
The Steadycase system
Built for the part of family court that overwhelms people first: organization.
You still make your own decisions, verify your own rules, and seek legal advice when you need it. Steadycase gives you the structure to stop losing the thread.
Steadycase Compass
A 50-state plus DC official-source map. Compass points you to where rules, forms, fees, calculators, and self-help resources live so you can verify the current source yourself.
Plain-language manuals
Each notebook includes a user manual and getting-started guide so you know what each tab is for, what to enter first, and how the pieces feed a hearing or trial.
Why Steadycase
Attorney-created, but not attorney representation.
Steadycase was created by David Martino, a Maryland family-law attorney licensed since 1995, and is owned and sold by AlbusWorks LLC.
The point is practical organization, not case-specific legal advice. AlbusWorks LLC is not a law firm, and buying or using Steadycase does not create an attorney-client relationship or include legal review, consultation, representation, or access to David.
About SteadycaseChoose your starting point
Different case types need different notebooks.
The notebooks are not a bundle of disconnected templates. Each one is a case-preparation system matched to the legal problems it is built to organize.
Steadycase Custody Trial Notebook
For contested custody cases: parenting evidence, best-interest factors, schedules, communications, discovery, witnesses, exhibits, deadlines, and requested custody terms.
$69
Add Steadycase Compass for your state for $20.
View custody notebookSteadycase Divorce Trial Notebook
For contested divorce with children: everything in the custody system, plus property, debts, accounts, income, support, business value, and divorce-specific relief.
$99
Add Steadycase Compass for your state for $20.
View divorce notebookSteadycase Compass
A research map to official family-law sources in your state. It tells you where the rule lives, not what answer applies to your facts.
$29
Available standalone or as a notebook add-on.
View CompassInside a Trial Notebook
Every tab has a job.
The workbook is designed to move from first triage to trial prep. You do not have to fill it in perfectly on day one. You build it as your case develops.
See the workflow
Rules
State Rules
Enter your state-specific citations, deadlines, forms, fee sources, calculators, and best-interest factors so the rest of the workbook has a verified reference point.
Facts
Timeline, custody, and financial tabs
Turn scattered events, parenting evidence, property, debt, income, and support information into rows you can sort, review, and connect to proof.
Proof
Discovery, exhibits, and witnesses
Track requests, subpoenas, exhibit numbers, foundation notes, admission status, witness outlines, and the documents each witness authenticates.
Court
Relief, pretrial statement, opening, and closing
Pull the organized case into the documents and presentations the court actually sees.
Control
Deadlines and Checks
Keep every trigger date and computed deadline in one place, then run the workbook's internal review before printing or relying on it for court.
Files and add-ons
Core notebook files, plus Compass only if you add it.
Each notebook is delivered as a working case file, not a static packet. You can continue adding facts, documents, witnesses, sources, deadlines, and court-prep notes as new issues appear.
Workbook
Excel and Google Sheets editions
Use the format that fits your computer and comfort level.
Guides
User manual and getting-started guide
Start quickly, then use the full manual when you need tab-by-tab help.
Compass
Optional state-source map
Add your state edition when you want help finding official rules, forms, fees, calculators, and self-help resources.
What Steadycase does
Structure the work.
- Gives you a dedicated place for each major category of case preparation.
- Helps you connect facts to exhibits, witnesses, deadlines, and requested relief.
- Points you to official state sources through Steadycase Compass.
- Lets you keep the files and continue updating them as your case changes.
What it does not do
Replace legal advice.
- It does not decide what you should file, argue, concede, or ask for.
- It does not apply law to your specific facts.
- It does not promise a result in court.
- It does not remove the need to verify rules, deadlines, and court orders.
Free download
Family Court Prep Checklist
A short, general checklist for the documents, dates, and practical tasks that tend to get lost when a case starts moving quickly.
Enter a real email address. A confirmation email arrives first; the confirm button opens the checklist. The checklist is general legal information, not legal advice, and is current as of its publication date. Always verify requirements with your court's official sources.