Do you ever find yourself getting overwhelmed by co-parenting? You’re separated, or you’re in the midst of a divorce now, and you’re trying to manage your children as they go back and forth between two separate households. Multiple schedules come into play. Your work time, your ex’s work hours, your kid’s extracurricular activities, and more. It’s enough to stress out even the most amicable of co-parents.
You need a helping hand. Well, pardon the cliché, but there’s an app for that! There are actually many apps for that. When it comes to choosing one, you’re faced with an arsenal of tools at your disposal. So which one is right for you, your ex, and your kids? The last thing you need is more work to do trying to pick one, so the attorneys at Family Matters Law Group want to help you sort through the options. Here’s a rundown of some of the best co-parenting apps available, so you can skip the research and just get on with your busy day.
2Houses
The 2Houses app has a shared interactive calendar to eliminate scheduling conflicts between co-parents. It also stores your children’s important information such as their social security number(s), blood type(s), clothing size(s). There’s also a financial management system to track shared expenses and account balances. It also archives all of your communications with your co-parent, your children, or your mediator. This archive can’t be deleted and can also be printed out.
Cost: 14-day free trial, $10.00 a month.
Coparenter
The Coparenter app has even more advanced scheduling features. The app has the ability to send secure non-trackable notifications to both parents for all child pick-ups and drop-offs. If you feel yourself getting steamed at your ex, Coparenter can help you out there too; smart filters catch any potentially charged language to give you a heads up before you fire off a salty message. If you need more help to mediate and resolve disputes, draft agreements and organize your schedules better, an “on-demand coParenter professional” is available to assist you.
Cost: 30-day free trial; $12.99 per month; $119.99 per year; $199.99 per year for you and a co-parent.
Talking Parents
For a free or low-cost option Talking Parents may be the right tool for you. It’s straightforward and focuses on guiding all parties to maintain clear and respectful communication, whether co-parents or professionals are involved in your kid’s lives, such as judges, lawyers, mediators, or any court-appointed guardians. Like the previous apps, communication records can’t be deleted, tampered with, or lost, but in Talking Parents they can be organized chronologically, coherently, and efficiently. When sharing records using Talking Parents your attorney won’t have to shuffle through messy piles of papers and printouts of screengrabs. This streamlined approach to co-parenting ensures that there won’t be spam, junk, or distractions bogging you down.
Cost: Free for the website only version, or $4.99 a month for the mobile app.
AppClose
Finally, if you’re looking for a completely free option, AppClose may be perfect for you. It’s even useful for communicating with people who don’t use the app, through its solo feature. You can use it to send requests or events to non-app-connected co-parents, childcare providers, lawyers, other family members, or third parties via text, email, or social media. Once you submit a request you will be notified if it was approved, declined, or paid through the built-in payment solution “ipayou.”
AppClose can also scan receipts, attach documents, and keep records of all communications concerning your children. These records can’t be deleted, in case you need to refer to them during a custody hearing or a hearing regarding a visitation adjustment.
Cost: Free; No Monthly charges, no subscription needed.
Contact Your Local Family Law Attorneys
Next time you start to feel overwhelmed with co-parenting duties, help is as close as your fingertips. Take a deep breath, pull out your phone, and let an app handle some of the thornier aspects of co-parenting with your ex on the more trying days. For matters an app can’t handle, turn to your local family law attorney in Fayette, Clayton, and Henry counties and metro Atlanta; we’re here to help you through every aspect of your unique co-parenting journey.
