ROANOKE, Va. ā As local courtrooms are ordering parents in custody battles to use co-parenting apps, 10 News looked into the pros and cons of their usage.
āOur Family Wizardā is one of several apps now available on the app store for people co-parenting in volatile situations.
āHaving practiced family law myself, I know that sometimes what starts out as a pretty smooth sailing between parents can go awry,ā Danielle Kestnbaum of the co-parenting app OurFamilyWizard, said.
The apps are free or paid. You can sign up on your own, but local judges also order parents in a dispute having difficulty communicating to use one.
They allow you to have limited contact with your ex ā only talking about whatās necessary through recorded phone calls or texts.
āNone of the communication can be altered or deleted in any way,ā Kestnbaum said. āFolks tend to move to their best behavior because theyāre aware that everything that they write can be seen by a judge or a lawyer.ā
The apps have multiple functions. You can make payments, share medical records and have your location tracked when meeting up with your childās parent.
āWe have GPS-enabled check-in feature where they can show where theyāve arrived,ā Kestnbaum said. āOne of the big things is that they do not have to have one anotherās email or phone number.ā
Roanokeās Total Action for Progress (TAP) warns an app should never be a substitution for safety planning, such as meeting at a supervised safe exchange zone, or trying to develop conflict resolution skills.