Build it alone
How to build a custody record when they will never log in.
Nearly everything an attorney asks for comes from your side of the case. Here is the order to collect it in.
Waiting for the other parent to cooperate is how eight months go by with nothing written down. You do not need their account, their signature, or their agreement about which app to use. You need dates, times, and the same format every time.
Six things to collect
- 1. The calendar
- Put your ordered schedule in first, including holidays. Everything later is measured against it.
- 2. Exchanges
- Log every handoff: set time, actual time, place, who was there. The minutes add up on their own.
- 3. Texts and messages
- Save the threads you already have, with dates. Paste them or import an export from the app you use.
- 4. Money
- Every medical, school, and activity cost with the amount and whether you were paid back.
- 5. Exhibits
- Photos, screenshots, and recordings you made yourself, each labelled and tied to the entry it belongs to.
- 6. Packets
- An evaluator kit, a hearing packet, and a missed-time table — printed, in one format.
In the appCalendar, Write it down, Messages, Expenses, Papers, and Ready packets — in that order.
Write for people who are skimming
Assume your attorney has ten minutes and the court has two pages. Facts and times, no labels and no name-calling. Repetition of plain dated entries is what shows a pattern.
Scout is free. They never get a login.
Questions parents ask
Can I build a custody record without the other parent taking part?
Yes. Everything that matters most — dates, times, what was said, receipts, texts you already have — comes from your side. None of it needs their cooperation.
What does my attorney usually want before a hearing?
A short dated chronology, an exhibit index, and totals: missed time and unreimbursed money. Organised beats complete.
Will a judge accept a printout from an app?
That is your court's and your attorney's call, not an app's. What you control is the quality of the record: dated facts, one format, no gaps.
What if the texts are already deleted on their phone?
Your copy is what matters. Save or import the threads you still have into your own record so nothing else disappears.
Keep reading
Custody Ninja is a documentation tool. It is not a law firm and this page is not legal advice. Talk to an attorney about your order and your case.
Custody Ninja is a documentation tool. It is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.