Colorado Divorce Law - Communication Apps for Effective Co-Parenting

Not surprisingly, many parents face difficulty co-parenting following a divorce, whether due to resentment, miscommunication, or the irreconcilable differences that led them to divorce in the first place. Accordingly, many parents may unintentionally lose focus on the what is most important – the best interests of their children.

Fortunately, in this day and age, there are various online and mobile apps that parents may use to alleviate communication concerns. Many family law attorneys recommend these apps, many of which are free, and Colorado courts even order parents to use them at times.

Some of our most highly recommended apps are as follows:

Talking Parents

Talking Parents is a free service described as being “designed as a secure communication system for divorced and separated parents.” The system operates such that messages cannot be edited or deleted, allowing the parents to keep a verified record of their past communications. You can also upload files, photos, and other attachments, which is useful for out-of-state parents who may want to send and receive pictures, report cards, etc. Talking Parents also tracks when parents sign in and out of the system and when they view each message for the first time, which may come in handy where parents are required to communicate and check their messages a certain amount of times per day per a Court order.

OurFamilyWizard

OurFamilyWizard (OFW) offers a variety of additional tools to help parents create parenting schedules, log their children’s expenses, send expense reimbursements, and share important family information. OFW also has a unique feature called ToneMeter, which will actually identify and flag sentences within your OFW messages that are “emotionally charged.” Although OFW appears to have more options than Talking Parents, it comes at a price of $99.00 per year for each parent.

2Houses

2Houses is very similar to OurFamilyWizard, albeit less expensive at only $10.00 per month, or $120.00 per year for a whole family. 2Houses offers a calendar to organize events, share information about appointments, a journal to record notes and important reminders, and an expense module to manage child-related expenses for both parents. You can also upload and export photo albums.

AppClose

AppClose, like Talking Parents, is free of charge, and reviewers have described it as very user friendly. It also has most of the features listed above to address common parenting disputes. For instance, it tracks messages and provides a shared calendar and schedule templates that can be customized by both parents. You can also create events, notify family members, and create reminders for said events. Additionally, parents can request parenting time trade or drop off/pick up modifications through the app, and there is a reimbursement request option that allows you to attach photos of receipts.