How to Keep a Court Record of Co-Parenting Messages
If a judge ever asks what was said, screenshots are the hard way and a certified record is the easy one. This page is the short version. The four guides underneath it are the long one.
Texting Parents is the app behind these guides. Messages, photos, videos, calls and a shared calendar, free for both parents.
What makes a record hold up
- Timestamps on both sides. When it was sent and when it was read, not when somebody took a screenshot.
- Nothing can be changed. Neither parent can edit or delete a message after it is sent.
- It is complete. The whole thread in order, not the parts one parent chose to keep.
- Anyone can check it. A TrueCopy can be verified by a court or an attorney at textingparents.com/verify.
The four questions parents ask
Are text messages admissible in a custody case?
What a judge can and cannot accept, and what the other side will challenge.
Why screenshots are not a court record
They can be edited, they arrive out of order, and the other side will say so.
How to keep a record from the first message
What to write down, what to leave out, and what a judge actually weighs.
How to present co-parenting messages to a judge
Getting them into the record, organised by date and by issue.
Do courts accept messages from a co-parenting app?
Acceptance is up to each judge, and it varies by state and by courtroom. What helps in every one of them is the same: a complete record, timestamped as it happened, that neither parent could edit, and a copy the court can check for itself.
What a TrueCopy is
Your certified court record. One file holding every message, photo, call and schedule change in order, with a code anyone can use to confirm it is genuine. A single TrueCopy is $39 on the free plan. Premium is $99 a year for the whole family and includes as many as you need.
This is general information, not legal advice, and rules of evidence vary by state. Talk to a lawyer licensed where you live about your case.