Printing WhatsApp messages for a divorce or custody case

Practical guidance, not legal advice. Rules differ by country and court. Your lawyer has the final word.

Arrangements about children, money and handovers often happen on WhatsApp. If things end up with lawyers, those messages can matter, and how you present them matters too.

What lawyers usually want

• The full conversation, not a handful of screenshots. Context counts, including your own replies.
• Dates and times on every message, so events can be put in order.
• Something easy to refer to: numbered messages and numbered pages (“see message 312 on page EXH-A-000019”).
• The original file kept safe, so the printout can be checked against it.

Step by step

1. Export the chat from your phone (iPhone · Android). Choose “with media” if photos matter, e.g. pictures of handovers or receipts.
2. Store the exported .zip somewhere safe and don’t change it.
3. Open it in Paperthread, choose the Records layout, set a page-reference prefix your lawyer suggests (or e.g. EXH-A), and filter to the period that matters.
4. Check the free preview, then download the full PDF and send it to your lawyer together with the original export.

Things to avoid

• Deleting messages before exporting, even embarrassing ones.
• Retyping or “tidying up” messages in a Word document.
• Sharing the conversation publicly or with people outside the case.

Related: General checklist for evidence