Claim Timeline Builder and Legal Timeline Template

To make a timeline of events for your lawyer, enter each event with its date, who was involved and the document that proves it. Then sort by date, check the gaps and the events with no document, and print or export the result. The checklist at the end of the eligibility quiz asks you to write a chronological timeline of events and agency contacts, and this builder produces one.

How to Build a Timeline Your Lawyer Can Use

A timeline your lawyer can use is a list of dated events, one per line, where each line names who acted, says what happened and points to the paper behind it. The builder above follows that method in four steps.

1. Put one event on each card. A letter received, a meeting, a phone call and a payment are four events.
2. Give every event a date. If you only remember the month, tick "I only know the month" so the event still sorts into place.
3. Name who was involved, describe what happened and list the document. Add the dollar amount if the event cost you money.
4. Read the checks before you export. Look at the shaded gap rows, the "Events with no supporting document" list and the "Events with no date" list, and fill in what you can.

When the checks are as complete as you can make them, print the timeline, save it as a PDF (Portable Document Format) or download the spreadsheet file. Your lawyer gets the events in date order with the missing pieces already marked.

How to Use the Legal Timeline Template

The builder works as a stack of event cards that feed a sorted table underneath.

Event Cards and Fields

Each event sits on a card headed "Event 1", "Event 2" and so on, with a "Remove" button to delete it. Every card has these fields:

• "Date": a date picker, with a checkbox "I only know the month" for events you can place only by month.
• "Agency or person": who acted, or who you dealt with.
• "What happened": one or two sentences in your own words.
• "Amount lost (optional)": any money the event cost you.
• "Document that proves it": the letter, email, receipt, notice or court record behind the event.

Click "+ Add an event" to add another card.

Example Mode and Clear Example

On your first visit, the builder loads three example events and shows the bar "These are example events. Clear them and enter your own." The "Clear example" button empties the list and leaves two blank events ready for your own entries. Typing in any field also ends example mode, so you can start editing an example card directly if you prefer.

Keeping Your Timeline

Three buttons save your work in different forms:

• "Print / save as PDF" prints only the timeline. The printout carries a "Claim Timeline" title, Name and "Prepared on" lines, one line of directions, the table with its gap rows, any undated events, the total, and blank lines for "Notes for my lawyer".
• "Copy as text" copies the timeline as plain text.
• "Download CSV" saves a file named claim-timeline.csv (comma-separated values) with the columns date, date_precision, agency_or_person, what_happened, document and amount_usd. The file opens in a spreadsheet program.

Your events are kept in your own browser, so refreshing the page does not lose them. Nothing you type is sent to Lawfare Claims or to any agency.

How the Builder Sorts and Flags Events

The builder sorts every dated event by date and then runs four checks: gaps, missing documents, missing dates and the dollar total. The result panel, "Your timeline, in date order", opens with a summary line. It shows the number of events, the first and last dates, the gaps over 90 days, the events without a document and an "Amounts:" total.

The table below the summary has five columns: Date, Agency or person, What happened, Document that proves it, and Amount.

• Date order. Events sort by date.
• Same-day order. Two events on the same date keep the order you entered them.
• Month-only events. These show as, for example, "May 2021 (month only)" and are placed at the 1st of that month.
• The 90-day gap flag. Between two dated events more than 90 days apart, a shaded row reads "N days with no event recorded. Anything happen here? (a letter, a call, a payment, a meeting)". It says "about N days" when either event is month-only.
• No document. An event with an empty document field shows "None yet" in red and is listed under "Events with no supporting document".
• No date. An undated event is listed under "Events with no date" with a prompt to add a date or tick "I only know the month". It stays out of the table until it has one.
• The total. Amounts are added up and rounded to cents. An amount the builder cannot read as dollars, or a negative amount, is left out of the total and flagged so you can fix it.

The 90-day threshold is an assumption of this builder, about one quarter of a year, chosen as a prompt to check for missing events. It does not come from any statute or rule. A gap row is a question for you to answer.

Worked Example With the Built-In Events

The three example events the builder loads produce the result below.

The summary line reads: 3 events, from March 15, 2021 to November 2, 2021; 1 gap over 90 days; 1 event without a document; Amounts: $2,400.00.

The month-only May event sits at May 1, 2021. March 15 to May 1 is 47 days, which is under the flag, so no gap row appears there. May 1 to November 2 is 185 days, and the row says "about" because May is month-only. Event 2 has no document, so it also appears under "Events with no supporting document".

What to Record for Each Event

Each column records one thing about every event.

Write "What happened" the way you would say it to a friend: the action and its result. Name the document by what it is, such as "Accountant invoice".

How a Legal Timeline Feeds an SF-95 Claim

A claim against a federal agency under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) is presented on Standard Form 95 (SF-95), "Claim for Damage, Injury, or Death", published by the General Services Administration (GSA). Several boxes on that form ask for the same facts your timeline holds:

• Item 6, "Date and day of accident", draws on your Date column, and item 7 asks for "Time (A.M. or P.M.)".
• Item 8, "Basis of claim", asks you to "State in detail the known facts and circumstances attending the damage, injury, or death, identifying persons and property involved, the place of occurrence and the cause thereof." Your "What happened" and "Agency or person" columns are the raw material for that answer.
• Item 11 asks for witnesses' names and addresses, so note any witness in "What happened".

Item 8 adds "Use additional pages if necessary". Our guide to filling out Standard Form 95 box by box walks through the rest of the form.

The Document column records the paper behind each event. Under 28 Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) § 14.4, a claimant "may be required to submit" evidence for death, personal injury and property damage claims. For property damage, that list includes proof of ownership and a detailed statement of the amount claimed for each item of property. Each list ends with "Any other evidence or information which may have a bearing on either the responsibility of the United States" for the loss "or the damages claimed."

IRS Unauthorized-Collection Claims

For an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) unauthorized-collection claim, 26 C.F.R. § 301.7433-1(e)(2) says the written administrative claim must include "The grounds, in reasonable detail, for the claim (include copies of any available substantiating documentation or correspondence with the Internal Revenue Service)". The claim must also describe the injuries, with copies of any available substantiating documentation, and state the dollar amount. See whether and how you can sue the IRS for the rest of that process.

When the Timeline Is Not Enough

The builder organizes facts you enter. It does not decide whether you have a claim, which law applies or when anything is due. Do not rely on it to tell you any of those things, and do not treat an empty "Events with no supporting document" list as proof that your record is complete.

Under 28 United States Code (U.S.C.) § 2401(b), an FTCA claim must be presented in writing to the federal agency within two years after it accrues. The builder does not calculate that date; the federal claim deadline calculator does.

The total is simple addition of what you typed. A licensed attorney should review the timeline together with the documents it lists. See our overview of how to sue the federal government under the FTCA.

What to Do Next

Next, take three steps with your saved timeline:

1. Run the federal claim deadline calculator with the date of your first event.
2. Total your losses line by line in the SF-95 damages worksheet.
3. Bring the timeline and its documents to an attorney through find a lawyer.

If you came here from the quiz expecting the Anti-Weaponization Fund, its establishing order was rescinded in August 2026 and there is no fund claims process. Ordinary federal remedies (the FTCA, IRS § 7433 and the Privacy Act) still exist, each with its own deadline, and the how to sue the government hub covers them.

Click "Print / save as PDF" or "Download CSV" now to save your timeline, then open the deadline calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I make a timeline of events?

Enter each event on its own card with its date, who was involved, what happened and the document that proves it. Let the builder sort them by date, then fill the gaps and missing documents it flags before you print or export.

What is the proper format for a legal timeline?

The builder uses five columns: Date, Agency or person, What happened, Document that proves it, and Amount, with one event per row in date order. No rule we cite requires a particular format, so ask your lawyer whether they want anything added.

Can I open my timeline in a spreadsheet?

Yes. "Download CSV" saves claim-timeline.csv with the columns date, date_precision, agency_or_person, what_happened, document and amount_usd, and the file opens in a spreadsheet program.

What should I do about a gap in my timeline?

Think back over the flagged stretch for a letter, a call, a payment or a meeting, and add any you find. The 90-day gap row is only a prompt to check, and a gap with nothing in it can stay as it is.

Is my timeline sent anywhere?

No. Your events are kept in your own browser and nothing is sent to Lawfare Claims or to any agency, so save a PDF or CSV copy to share with your lawyer.