Co-Parenting After Divorce: How the Right App Can Help
Divorce can be tough, and co-parenting can be even tougher. When parents split up, it’s not just their relationship that’s affected—it’s their child’s life too.
As a parent, you want to make sure your child has the best possible life, even if your relationship with your ex is strained. So how can you make co-parenting work?
And how can technology help? In this article, we’ll explore the difficulties of co-parenting after divorce and the importance of maintaining a good relationship with your child.
We’ll also look at the financial side of things and review some of the best co-parenting apps out there.
Co-Parenting Challenges
Co-parenting can be a challenge, to say the least. You’re dealing with the emotional fallout of a divorce, as well as the practicalities of raising a child together.
Communication can be tough, especially if you’re still in the process of separating. And even if you’re on good terms with your ex, there will be disagreements about how to raise your child.
It’s important to remember, though, that co-parenting is about putting your child first. You and your ex may not agree on everything, but if you keep your child’s best interests in mind, you can work together to give them the best possible life.
The Importance of Maintaining a Good Relationship with Your Child
When parents split up, their children can feel caught in the middle. They may blame themselves for the breakup, or feel like they have to choose between their parents.
It’s important to reassure your child that they are not to blame for the divorce and that they can still have a good relationship with both parents. Children need a sense of stability and security, especially during times of change.
Even if you and your ex are no longer together, you can still provide a stable and loving environment for your child. Make sure they feel loved and supported, and take an active interest in their life.
Financial Support for Children
Raising a child is expensive, and if you and your ex are no longer together, you’ll need to figure out how to split the costs. Child support is a legal obligation in many countries, and the amount will depend on various factors such as income and the needs of the child.
However, even with a child support agreement in place, it can still be difficult to keep track of expenses and ensure that they are split fairly. This is where co-parenting apps can come in handy.
Best Co-Parenting Apps for Divorced Parents
DComply: Expense Sharing Made Easy
DComply is an expense sharing app that allows you to track and split expenses with your ex. You can upload bills and receipts, and send them to your ex for reimbursement. The app is easy to use and has a user-friendly interface.
One of the best things about DComply is that it’s accredited by legal professionals, so you can be sure that it complies with legal requirements. There are three different user types: Trial/Free, Basic, and Premium, so you can choose the plan that best fits your needs.
Other features of DComply include:
- Automatic notifications when bills are uploaded or reimbursed
- The ability to categorize expenses (such as medical, education, or extracurricular)
- The option to add notes to expenses
Other Co-Parenting Apps
- OurFamilyWizard: OurFamilyWizard is a comprehensive app that includes features such as a shared calendar, messaging system, and expense tracker. It’s particularly useful for high-conflict situations, as it has a secure messaging system that can be monitored by legal professionals if necessary.
- Cozi: Cozi is a family organization app that includes a shared calendar, to-do lists, and grocery lists. While it doesn’t have specific co-parenting features, it can be useful for keeping everyone on the same page.
- 2Houses: 2Houses is a co-parenting app that includes a shared calendar, expense tracker, and messaging system. It also has a journal feature where you can record important information (such as your child’s likes and dislikes, or medical information).
Conclusion
Co-parenting after divorce can be challenging, but it’s important to remember that your child’s well-being should be your top priority. Technology can be a great help, allowing you to communicate and keep track of expenses more easily.
DComply is a great option for expense sharing and tracking, and there are plenty of other co-parenting apps out there to suit different needs. With the right app and the right mindset, you can work together with your ex to give your child the best possible life.
Additional Co-Parenting Apps to Consider
FamCal: Family Scheduling Made Easy
One of the biggest challenges of co-parenting is managing everyone’s schedules. FamCal is a family scheduling app that can help you keep track of everyone’s commitments and events.
You can create shared calendars so everyone can see what’s going on, and you can color-code different events to make it easier to keep track. FamCal also has a memo section where you can record important moments, like your child’s first day of school or their graduation.
You can even add photos to the memo to make it more memorable. There are many ways to get organized with FamCal.
You can create recurring events (like weekly soccer practice), add events with reminders (so you don’t forget to pick up your child from piano lessons), and share events with other family members. FamCal also has shared to-do lists and tasks.
You can assign tasks to different family members and track their progress. This can be useful for things like grocery shopping, household chores, or school projects.
One of the best things about FamCal is that it’s simple and intuitive, which can be especially helpful for new co-parents who are still figuring things out. The app is available for both Android and iOS devices, and there are payment models for a Premium subscription.
Coparently: A Comprehensive Co-Parenting App
Coparently is a well-known co-parenting app that has been around for several years. It offers a wide range of features to help separated parents communicate and stay organized.
One of the main features of Coparently is its schedule arranging capabilities. You can create a custody calendar that shows where your child will be on any given day.
You can also schedule events and appointments, and send automated email and text reminders to your ex. Coparently also has expense tracking and communication features.
You can log expenses related to your child (like school fees or medical bills) and share them with your ex. You can also send secure messages, upload documents (like insurance information or school records), and even create a parenting journal to record important milestones.
Coparently has a co-parent contacts section where you can store important information like your ex’s phone number, email address, and work schedule. This can be particularly useful if you need to get in touch with your ex in an emergency.
One of the best things about Coparently is that it offers free guest access for your family members, lawyers, or mediators. This means that everyone involved in your co-parenting situation can stay informed and up-to-date.
Coparently also has a special access feature for children. If your child is old enough, they can log in to the app themselves and see their schedule, send messages to their parents, and even upload photos and videos.
Pricing for Coparently starts at $9.99 per parent per month, which may be a bit steep for some users. However, the app offers a free trial period so you can try it out before committing.
Final Thoughts
Co-parenting after a divorce or separation can be challenging, but the right app can make it a lot easier. FamCal is a great option for family scheduling and organization, while Coparently offers a more comprehensive solution for communication, expense tracking, and schedule arranging.
Depending on your needs and budget, one of these apps may be the perfect solution for your co-parenting situation. Co-parenting can be stressful and challenging for those who are navigating post-divorce life with children.
Luckily, there are many apps available to help make co-parenting a little easier. In this article, we’ll review two additional co-parenting apps: Cozi and coParenter.
Cozi: The All-In-One Family App
Cozi is an all-in-one family app that offers scheduling, grocery lists, team management, and more. The app allows parents to manage their family’s activities and commitments, as well as assign tasks to their children.
Cozi’s motto is to help families “simplify their life and stay in sync” by creating a shared platform for all things family. The scheduling function of Cozi allows parents to manage and organize their family events and activities.
Parents can create custom calendars that can be synced with their personal calendars on their phone and set reminders for upcoming events. Another feature of scheduling in Cozi is the option to have a shared family calendar, so everyone in the family is on the same page.
Cozi also has a feature for managing grocery lists. Parents can create a shopping list that can be shared with other family members, ensuring that everyone knows what needs to be purchased for the upcoming week.
When someone checks off an item, it will be automatically marked off the master list, keeping the shared list up-to-date. Teamwork is another feature of Cozi.
This allows parents to delegate tasks to family members such as taking out the trash, walking the dog, or doing the dishes and cross them off once completed, making it easy for give positive reinforcement to the children for following through with their commitments. Parents can use Cozi to track their children’s school activities and appointments, from field trips to doctor’s appointments.
The app can send reminders of upcoming events and allow the child to mark them complete so everyone can feel accomplished. Children and parents can comment and exchange notes to keep track of important details.
The basic version of Cozi is free to use. There is also a premium version for $29.99 a year, which provides additional features such as more color-coding options, a birthday tracker, and an ad-free experience.
coParenter: The Conflict-Reducing Co-Parenting App
coParenter distinguishes itself from other co-parenting apps by emphasizing conflict resolution and mediation. The app has on-demand mediation helpers who help parents resolve disputes and coordinate their co-parenting schedules.
coParenter has made it its mission to become the most trusted digital solution for resolving parental conflict that keeps families out of court. Maintaining an effective record-keeping system is a crucial part of co-parenting, and coParenter simplifies this process.
Parents can create a record of communication so that everything is tracked and is compliant evidence for the court if needed. The record-keeping is private and secure, and the app has built-in tamperproofing with legal compliance.
coParenter offers organization features for co-parenting. This includes a calendar shared between parents and children, a messaging system, and a shared task list to ensure both parents can communicate and manage duties more effectively.
There’s also an expense tracker that allows parents to submit claims and reimbursements, making it easy to keep track of who paid for what and has paid their share. The app also has planning features to stay organized.
It offers a 4-step co-parenting agreement that includes tools to create parenting plans and memorialize them as legal documents. Parents can also access qualified professionals, including counselors and lawyers, within the app for guidance when needed.
coParenter offers a 30-day free trial, and pricing starts at $12.99 per month or $99 per year.
Conclusion
Co-parenting can be challenging because it isn’t always easy to coordinate schedules, responsibilities, communication, and financial matters. However, there are many helpful co-parenting apps available that can make the process smoother.
Cozi’s organization, teamwork, and scheduling features make it an all-encompassing family app. coParenter can seriously reduce conflict and offers on-demand mediation and record-keeping features to protect you legally.
With these tools, co-parents can create a life they can all enjoy and feel fulfilled in co-parenting their children. In addition to the previously mentioned co-parenting apps, OurFamilyWizard and Mend provide additional support for individuals and co-parents during and after divorce.
OurFamilyWizard offers communication, scheduling, and streamlined assessments, while Mend provides emotional support and resources to help individuals navigate the complex emotional landscape of divorce.
OurFamilyWizard: A Co-Parenting App Founded by a Divorced Couple
OurFamilyWizard was founded by a divorced couple who wanted to make co-parenting easier for divorced parents.
The app is designed to help co-parents communicate efficiently and productively, without having to be in constant contact. The calendar function on OurFamilyWizard allows parents to track their child’s schedule, including school events, parent-teacher conferences, doctor appointments, and extracurricular activities.
The calendar also allows for additional people, such as grandparents and stepparents, to be added to keep others in the loop. The app also has co-parenting communication features that can reduce conflicts by reducing misunderstandings or missed communications.
The communication tools include a messaging platform, document storage and sharing, and a tonometry feature. Tonometry is an algorithm that reads written communication between co-parents to detect any signs of negativity, and it provides suggestions about how to rephrase a sentence to avoid misunderstandings or reduce tension.
OurFamilyWizard has a feature that streamlines court assessments and recommendations to help establish custody orders and parenting plans. The feature can generate reports that help highlight issues and provide details on joint expenses or parenting time allocation.
The app offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so users can be confident in trying it out and making a decision. OurFamilyWizard has a flexible paid subscription based on storage space and can be customized to different co-parenting situations.
Mend: A Support App for Individuals
Mend is not a co-parenting app per se, but more of a support app for individuals who are going through a divorce. The app is designed to help individuals navigate the complex emotions associated with divorce and the subsequent healing process.
Mend has a progress tracking feature that allows users to track their emotions over time. This feature tracks important data, such as heartbreak, loneliness, anger, and fear, and creates a comprehensive view of the user’s emotional journey.
This feature can help users see progress over time, identify areas that are still troubling, and focus on improving them. The app also has stories to help heal during the divorce process.
These stories are written by licensed therapists and real people who have gone through divorce themselves. Users can get inspiration and feel less alone knowing that others have gone through the same experiences.
Mend offers resources and classes for dealing with divorce. These resources include self-care practices, coping skills, and techniques for managing stress and anxiety.
Users can also get access to one-on-one coaching and counseling sessions if needed at an additional cost. Mend’s pricing starts at $16.66 per month.
The app can be customized to different users depending on where they are in their journey. The app has features for those who are just starting out in the divorce process as well as those who have already separated or are in the healing process.