The Atlanta Lawyer February / March 2019 | Page 19

comprehensive schedule, com-
munication, and information
management to facilitate co-par-
enting. Apps can help family law
clients with things like coordinat-
ing parenting time schedules with
their ex-spouse, keeping track
of expenses and payments, and
providing a dedicated platform
for communicating about the chil-
dren. Also, because all the infor-
mation is in one place, it provides
evidence that is easily produced by
the client, easily reviewed by the
attorney, and easily presented in
and digested by the court.
There are plenty of robust co-par-
enting apps from which to choose
at a variety of price points. Many
co-parenting apps share the same
basic services. Most co-parenting
apps have in-app communication
platforms that range in sophistica-
tion from similar to text messaging
to more like email. These commu-
nications can be downloaded into
a single document, showing the
entire record of communication
between the parties. Co-parenting
apps also feature shared calendars,
which can sync with other calen-
dar platforms, such as Google,
and some of which allow you to
propose schedule changes on the
calendar itself for the other party
to accept or reject. Knowing that
finances can be a point of conflict,
these apps also include systems for
tracking child support payments
and calculating, requesting, and
tracking reimbursements. To keep
both parents on the same page,
apps include platforms for sharing
documents and photos, as well as
databases for important contacts
like school and doctors.
While many co-parenting apps
contain the same basic features,
there are a few with unique fea-
tures that stand out and might be
the best fit for a client’s particular
situation. For those families who
are bi-lingual or multi-lingual,
2houses is available in several lan-
guages, including English, French,
Italian, and Dutch. When one
parent is always late or missing
exchanges, Fayr has a geo location
log with voluntary check-ins so the
parents can each document their
arrival at exchanges. Coparently
helps the whole family keep track
of the schedule by allowing guest
access for children or other third
parties to view the calendar.
Anger or aggression from one (or
both) parties and support pay-
ment issues are two challenges
that can produce extremely high
conflict, but co-parenting apps are
prepared to address these. Even
when using a co-parenting app, it
can be too easy for a party to send
off a poorly worded message to the
other party. Our Family Wizard
offers ToneMeter, which analyzes
a message and suggests revisions
prior to sending, helps users send
more appropriate messages to
their ex. Some parents are just not
going to bother to mail a physical
check to the other parent. Smart-
Coparent allows in-app payment
of child support or reimburse-
ments, and it even allows users to
pay through PayPal.
Budget is often a concern for fami-
lies, especially when going through
litigation. For families on a tight
budget, AppClose is a free co-
parenting app that, among other
things, can connect with LawPay
to process legal fees. One drawback
of Appclose is that its messaging
platform is in text message format,
which is not always the best way to
have an in-depth discussion about
your kids. However, families can
use the app in connection with
Talking Parents, which is a free,
robust communication platform
for co-parents, but Talking Parents
lacks some features of other co-
parenting apps.
While these co-parenting apps are
not going to magically resolve your
family law case or suddenly make
high-conflict parents get along,
they can make the experience at
least a little better for everyone
involved. Whether it is facilitating
co-parenting communications,
making it easier to coordinate
calendars, or providing a platform
for document and information
sharing, apps ease some of the
challenges of a difficult experience.
Nonetheless, it is important to note
that these apps are not a one-size-
fits-all solution. It is important to
evaluate each of the apps’ features,
pricing, and accessibility to make
sure the programs are relevant to
a client’s specific needs.
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