Communication is important in life and it is extremely important in a family, especially between parents communicating about their children. As is the case with a lot of things, some families are able to communicate more effectively than others, even without the strain of legal proceedings and Court orders hanging over their heads, so it makes sense that families that have gone through divorce or are going through divorce may have communication issues.
What is Our Family Wizard or OFW?
The Courts in Indiana have recognized the need to remedy these communication issues between parents and based on this need have widely elected to employ the use of a communication application to facilitate communications between parents who are separated or divorced. That application is known as Our Family Wizard. Our Family Wizard or OFW, is a sophisticated communication application that is utilized not only in Indiana, but nationally. OFW is available on multiple platforms, either via computer or as app on a mobile phone. The Courts will not always order that parties have to use OFW, but will do so in high conflict cases where the parties have had a contentious past, or where there have been major issues and/or failures in communication. OFW allows the Court to consolidate the way that parties communicate with each other and in some cases monitor the communication. The Courts can monitor the communication through the use of an appointed Parenting Coordinator, which is an attorney that has been certified to assist parties in conflict resolution in parenting matters. A parenting coordinator is able to appointed for a two (2) year term and if appointed will most likely utilize OFW to assist in resolution of disputes between conflicting parents.
OFW is not a perfect program, but is a very well-respected tool for helping to resolve disputes between parents that are not able to communicate effectively. OFW has features that allow parents to share schedules, documents, bills/receipts, and other vital information that is required for following Court orders on custody/parenting time as well as co-parenting in general. If the Court deems you and your former spouse to be good candidates for using OFW it usually means that you and your former spouse have had a hard time communicating effectively regarding how to handle the upbringing of your children. OFW is a asset that is able to utilized to help build a bridge between quarrelling parents after a divorce and often can be a good tool for improving overall co-parenting skills so that future issues, and potential litigation, can be avoided altogether. OFW does have a yearly subscription fee that must be paid by each party using it and if the Court orders that the parties are to communicate through it is the parties’ obligation to keep their subscription current and active. If a parenting coordinator is deemed to be necessary and subsequently appointed, the fees for their services are the parties’ responsibility to pay as well. Many PCs will work on a retainer like most family law attorneys, but it is up to the individual PC to set their price and to bill for their services.
How Our Family Wizard Can Help
If you are a parent struggling with co-parenting or communicating with the Mother or Father of your child following a divorce or a separation, you may want to look into how Our Family Wizard could potentially lend a hand to resolve your issues. While it may help resolve communication issues for some, it may not work for all, so make sure that if OFW is ever brought up by the other party or by their attorney, that you ask all the questions you can about why and if it is necessary to use and remember, just because it is difficult to communicate with your co-parent, it does not mean you or the other party is a bad parent. You and the other party just may need some help getting to a place where you are both able to communicate more effectively, which will most likely lead to a much better and simpler co-parenting relationship, which is always in the best interest of the children.
If you have further questions about post-dissolution matters and need assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the experienced Indianapolis attorneys at Banks & Brower, LLC for a free consultation at (317) 870-0019 or email us at info@banksbrower.com.