Vermont § 1316 - Special Rules of Evidence and Procedure

§ 1316. Special Rules of Evidence and Procedure

• (a) The physical presence of a nonresident party who is an individual in a tribunal of
  this State is not required for the establishment, enforcement, or modification of
  a support order or the rendition of a judgment determining parentage of a child. (b) An affidavit, a document substantially complying with federally mandated forms, or
  a document incorporated by reference in any of them, which would not be excluded under
  the hearsay rule if given in person, is admissible in evidence if given under penalty
  of perjury by a party or witness residing outside this State. (c) A copy of the record of child support payments certified as a true copy of the original
  by the custodian of the record may be forwarded to a responding tribunal. The copy
  is evidence of facts asserted in it, and is admissible to show whether payments were
  made. (d) Copies of bills for testing for parentage of a child, and for prenatal and postnatal
  health care of the mother and child, furnished to the adverse party at least 10 days
  before trial, are admissible in evidence to prove the amount of the charges billed
  and that the charges were reasonable, necessary, and customary. (e) Documentary evidence transmitted from outside this State to a tribunal of this State
  by telephone, telecopier, or other electronic means that do not provide an original
  record may not be excluded from evidence on an objection based on the means of transmission. (f) In a proceeding under this title, a tribunal of this State shall permit a party or
  witness residing outside this State to be deposed or to testify under penalty of perjury
  by telephone, audiovisual means, or other electronic means at a designated tribunal
  or other location. A tribunal of this State shall cooperate with other tribunals in
  designating an appropriate location for the deposition or testimony. (g) If a party called to testify at a civil hearing refuses to answer on the ground that
  the testimony may be self-incriminating, the trier of fact may draw an adverse inference
  from the refusal. (h) A privilege against disclosure of communications between spouses does not apply in
  a proceeding under this title. (i) The defense of immunity based on the relationship of husband and wife or parent and
  child does not apply in a proceeding under this title. (j) A voluntary acknowledgment of paternity, certified as a true copy, is admissible to
  establish parentage of the child. (Added 2015, No. 16, § 2, eff. June 1, 2015.)