Why Using the Our Family Wizard Calendar Can Help Co-Parent Better
Raising children with someone you are no longer in a relationship with will require the coordination of multiple schedules, including both parents and the child(ren). Each parent’s schedule likely includes job-related responsibilities, vacations, birthdays, family gatherings, extracurricular activities, etc., and it is expected that each parent will want to include the child(ren) in many, if not all, of their special times. As such, maintaining clear, open and consistent communication with the other parent is essential in ensuring that everyone is on the same page as it relates to parenting time.
Our Family Wizard (www.ourfamilywizard.com) is a program designed to help separate households communicate and coordinate parenting time schedules, among other things. Although this program can be helpful for all separated parenting scenarios, it is most helpful in difficult or otherwise contentious situations where parents have difficulty communicating directly.
Within the Our Family Wizard program, parties can submit parenting time vacation days, or other special parenting time requests, share health and education information related to your child(ren), and even submit reimbursement requests for out-of-pocket expenses, among other things without having to directly communicate with each other.
There is an annual cost associated with the program; however, if you find yourself going to court regularly because you and your ex cannot agree on matters related to your child, you may find that Our Family Wizard is much more cost effective.
What if one parent wants to use Our Family Wizard, but the other parent refuses? In such a case, it is not uncommon for a parent to file a Notice of Motion to compel the other parent to utilize the program as a means of communication related to the children, in addition to sharing in, or completely paying for, the costs associated with the program.
If you are interested in incorporating the Our Family Wizard program into your custody and parenting time agreement, or have other concerns about your custody and parenting time agreement, our skilled and knowledgeable New Jersey family law attorneys at Lyons & Associates are available to speak with you and answer any questions that you may have. We invite you to contact us online or give us a call at our office at 908-575-9777 to schedule an appointment.
Written by: Joanna Adu, Esq.