Which rule governs statements about the declarant's personal or family history when the declarant is unavailable?

• A. Rule 804. (b)(4)
• B. Rule 805
• C. Rule 901. (a)
• D. Rule 804. (b)(6)

Answer: (A)

When a declarant is unavailable, certain statements about the declarant’s own life or family history can still come in as a hearsay exception. This is governed by Rule 804(b)(4). The idea is that information about who a person is and who their relatives are—births, marriages, lineage, and related facts—are the kinds of truths the declarant would know and which are often reliably established even without the ability to cross-examine. So statements like “my father was a tailor” or “this person is my sister” can be admitted if the declarant is unavailable, under this specific rule.

The other options don’t fit this particular situation: one concerns hearsay within hearsay, another deals with authentication requirements, and the remaining addresses forfeiture by wrongdoing, which relates to unavailability caused by a party but not to the content of the statements about family history.