Documentary evidence rule requires proof of written contractual terms through the instrument, while permitting oral proof of collateral facts.

Terms of contracts, grants, property dispositions, and matters legally required to be reduced to writing must be proved through the document itself or admissible secondary evidence of its contents. The rule applies to terms contained in one or several instruments, while proof of one original is sufficient where multiple originals exist. Oral evidence remains admissible to prove independent facts recorded in a document, rather than the written terms themselves.

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