Parents can now coordinate parenting time schedules, health records, immunization histories, expense sharing, school information, virtual document storage and much more on a website specifically designed to deal with the issues that arise in co-parenting situation.  OurFamilyWizard.com is intended to remove conflict and improve the lives of children. In fact, judges in at least 35 states order families to utilize the site in contested cases to reduce conflict. The OurFamilyWizard website has quickly become the leading way parents coordinate all of their vital information, divorced or not.

The Indy Star newspaper ran this article about OurFamilyWizard:  Online service helps divorced parents keep children’s schedules straight

Divorce is hard. Add children and juggled schedules to the mix, and things can get hostile.

Paul Volker and Dara Wegener-Volker, who live in Minnesota, were married in 2000. Volker brought three children to the marriage; Wegener-Volker brought one.

After her first marriage ended in divorce, Wegener-Volker started a desk calendar to manage her daughter’s schedule. Pink days were spent with Mom, blue days with Dad.

"To keep my life organized and civil, I did everything on paper," she says. "It was important for my daughter."

After the addition of Volker’s kids, scheduling conflicts escalated — until one night in 2001 when he had an idea. What if the couple could put their schedule online and make it visible to the other parents?

"I had kind of an epiphany," Volker says. "What if I could get everything on the Internet, and we would only have to see the information that was available, for the sake of the kids?"

That’s how OurFamilyWizard.com began.

The site, which went live in 2001, allows parents to input their schedules, coordinate days and swap visitation days.

The Web site is court-ordered in 35 states, because the records on the site are time- and date- stamped, and communications are backed up by an electronic breadcrumb trail. Expenses can be logged, and there’s even a journal on the site.

The Volkers, along with company president and CEO Jainarain Kissoon, also hope to add a section for child-support payment records.

The service has about 15,000 household subscribers, many of which are in California, Florida and Canada. It costs $99 a year.

A lot of users are reluctant to start with the service, according to Volker, who hopes the site brings families through the turmoil of divorce a little bit easier.

"I think it brings peace a lot sooner in children’s lives," Wegener-Volker says.
 

 

 

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Photo of Michelle O'Neil Michelle O'Neil

Michelle May O’Neil has 30+ years’ experience representing small business owners, professionals, and individuals in litigation related to family law matters such as divorce, child custody, and complex property division. Described by one lawyer as “a lethal combination of sweet-and-salty”, Ms. O’Neil exudes…

Michelle May O’Neil has 30+ years’ experience representing small business owners, professionals, and individuals in litigation related to family law matters such as divorce, child custody, and complex property division. Described by one lawyer as “a lethal combination of sweet-and-salty”, Ms. O’Neil exudes genuine compassion for her client’s difficulties, yet she can be relentless when in pursuit of a client’s goals. One judge said of Ms. O’Neil, “She cannot be out-gunned, out-briefed, or out-lawyered!”

Family Law Specialist

Ms. O’Neil became a board-certified family law specialist by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in 1997 and has maintained her certification since that time. While representing clients in litigation before the trial court is an important part of her practice, Ms. O’Neil also handles appellate matters in the trial court, courts of appeals and Texas Supreme Court. Lawyers frequently consult with Ms. O’Neil on their litigation cases about specialized legal issues requiring particularized attention both at the trial court and appellate levels. This gives her a unique perspective and depth of perception that benefits both her litigation and appellate clients.

Top Lawyers in Texas and America

Ms. O’Neil has been named to the list of Texas SuperLawyers for many years, a peer-voted honor given to only about 5% of the lawyers in the state of Texas. Ms. O’Neil received the special honor of being named by Texas SuperLawyers as one of the Top 50 Women Lawyers in Texas, Top 100 Lawyers in Texas, and Top 100 Lawyers in DFW for multiple years. She was named one of the Best Lawyers in America and received an “A-V” peer review rating by Martindale-Hubbell Legal Directories for the highest quality legal ability and ethical standards.

Author and Speaker

A noted author, Ms. O’Neil released her second book Basics of Texas Divorce Law in November 2010, with a second edition released in 2013, and a third edition expected in 2015.  Her first book, All About Texas Law and Kids, was published in September 2009 by Texas Lawyer Press. In 2012, Ms. O’Neil co-authored the booklets What You Need To Know About Common Law Marriage In Texas and Social Study Evaluations.  The State Bar of Texas and other providers of continuing education for attorneys frequently enlist Ms. O’Neil to provide instruction to attorneys on topics of her expertise in the family law arena.