Why not just use text messages and email?

You can, and you should keep them. But ordinary messages can be edited, deleted, or selectively screenshotted, so their reliability can be challenged. Purpose-built apps keep a single, unalterable, timestamped record both parents share, which carries more weight and reduces arguments about what was really said.

What if the other parent won't use one?

You can't force them, and that's common in high-conflict matters. If they won't, keep using this site's communication log to capture your emails, texts and calls as they happen. A court can also order both parents to communicate through a specific app.

Is my chat automatically evidence?

The apps let you export or request an official record (often called a report) that you can provide to your lawyer or the court. Get advice on how and when to produce it — don't assume a screenshot alone is enough.

Evidence

Co-parenting communication apps courts trust

In short

Apps like OurFamilyWizard, TalkingParents and AppClose are built for separated parents to communicate through a single, tamper-evident, timestamped record. Courts commonly accept — and sometimes order — their use, because the record can't be edited or deleted and can be exported for evidence.

Communicating with an ex-partner during a parenting dispute is hard, and ordinary texts and emails can become their own battleground — over tone, over what was actually said, and over what got deleted. Dedicated co-parenting communication apps exist to solve exactly that.

What they are

These apps give separated parents a single, shared channel for everything — messages, shared calendars, expenses, and important information about the children. The key feature for family law is the record: messages are timestamped and cannot be edited or deleted, and the full history can be exported as an official report.

That tamper-evidence is why courts tend to trust them, and why parents are sometimes ordered to communicate exclusively through one (your own draft orders may refer to “AppClose or similar”).

The main options

OurFamilyWizard — long-established, widely used in Australian family law; messaging, shared calendar, expenses, and a tone indicator. Paid subscription.
TalkingParents — focused on a secure, unalterable messaging and call record, with official records you can request for court. Free and paid tiers.
AppClose — similar co-parenting features (messaging, calendar, expenses); free to use.

Feature sets and pricing change — check each app’s current details on its official site (linked in Sources below), and ask your lawyer if a particular one is preferred in your registry.

Why they help your case

Reliability — a record that can’t be altered is far harder to dispute than a screenshot.
Tone — knowing everything is on the record encourages both parents to keep communication businesslike and child-focused, which is exactly what courts want to see.
One place — no arguing about which channel a message was sent on.

How this fits with Help For Dads

Help For Dads doesn’t send messages between you and the other parent — that’s what these apps are for. What the communication log here does is let you capture and organise the correspondence that already happens (emails, texts, app messages, phone calls), date-stamp it, attach screenshots, and feed it into your draft affidavit.

Use a court-accepted app for the live channel; use the communication log to build your evidence.

Common questions

Why not just use text messages and email?: You can, and you should keep them. But ordinary messages can be edited, deleted, or selectively screenshotted, so their reliability can be challenged. Purpose-built apps keep a single, unalterable, timestamped record both parents share, which carries more weight and reduces arguments about what was really said.
What if the other parent won't use one?: You can't force them, and that's common in high-conflict matters. If they won't, keep using this site's communication log to capture your emails, texts and calls as they happen. A court can also order both parents to communicate through a specific app.
Is my chat automatically evidence?: The apps let you export or request an official record (often called a report) that you can provide to your lawyer or the court. Get advice on how and when to produce it — don't assume a screenshot alone is enough.

Sources

Last reviewed: 17 July 2026. Court rules and forms change — always confirm the current position with the Court or your lawyer.

Not legal advice.This site provides general information and self-help tools only. It is not legal advice and does not create a lawyer–client relationship. Always seek independent legal advice about your own situation.