Speaking from personal experience, I have used the court ordered app in Indiana and I can say with confidence that the judge or lawyers involved will likely not read or monitor the interaction at all. I didn’t even realize until the end of a year, but they have to request access and wait for you to approve it through the app. No one ever bother to do that which I’m told is pretty common in most states. My legal aid lawyer said no judge is going to routinely check and read messages from parents. My lawyer didn’t even read them until the last month we used it right before hearing… and still didn’t use any of my ex-husband’s abusive language as evidence to the judge of anything. You’d have to bring a specific issue up to the judge, and still print it out as evidence to bring to a hearing. I think it’s very common in a lot of states nowadays to sell the idea that the court will monitor your interactions and catch the bad parent in the act. I think they’re willing to do anything to avoid having to actually deal with high conflict parents. I will never be convinced that the judge is in my area, actually care about protecting children and putting their best interest first. It’s sad, but true that as long as you have money for a lawyer, you’re buying an opportunity to be heard, to be heard first, and have your agenda become the status quo.

My ex husband recently had his lawyer file paperwork the morning after he sent me some ugly email. He got a hearing scheduled six days later. I just filed a motion of contempt against him for flat out ignoring our custody orders pro se, and the hearing is not until the middle of next month. And it’s also scheduled after his visit is supposed to start, so it doesn’t do me any good.

There are no longer any mother or father states. Just states that recognize and give priority status to which parent has more money than the other.