Our Family Wizard (OFW) is a co-parenting tool and mobile App that allows parents to communicate and share centralized child-centered information and communications regarding the child with their co-parent. Parents can upload and manage the child’s activities, calendar, and the co-parenting schedules; track expenses; share medical and school files; and send secure messages to each other through the platform. The most basic service starts at $99 per year per parent, and can be tailored for the parties’ needs and the circumstances of the family.
The Good. Co-parents sharing custody, parenting time, and financial arrangements for children need to communicate regularly. Managing multiple text, phone, and e-mail messages can prove unwieldy. OFW allows the parents one place and platform for matters concerning the child. There, the parents can share copies of medical information, doctors’ appointments, COVID-19 status and information, insurance cards, emergency contact information, pictures of parenting time events, and log and calculate receipts for expenses such as child care and unreimbursed medical expenses. The mobile App allows parents to send messages in a manner very similar to e-mail and text. Further, the Courts and Family Law Practitioners can easily access the information on parenting time from a trusted, centralized source, without needing to sort through multiple texts, e-mails and pictures provided by each litigant.
The Bad. OFW will not prevent contentious communications between parents. Parents will need to continue to work on treating their co-parent with civility and respect. The written communications and sharing within OFW often reflect the parties’ ability and willingness to work with each other. OFW does offer a feature, the ToneMeter that “tones down” communications, removing or neutralizing accusatory communications and messages with their co-parent. This extra expense of $10 per year for this feature may be worthwhile.
The Ugly. Parents in conflict can spend considerable energy and attorney’s fees generating and responding to contentious communications through text, e-mail, phone, and litigation. This can also happen within OFW. Where the parties are embroiled in high conflict dynamics, having OFW may not truly change the character of their communications. OFW is not meant to replace an Order of Protection or Restraining Order, but it can offer a means to allow safe communications through the App. As the COVID-19 pandemic has increased incidents of domestic violence and isolation of those subject to an abuser’s power and control, tools that enable safe interactions are even more critical.
Courts and Family Law Professionals are increasingly suggesting trying OFW. Resources available through OFW are addressed here.