Casewell blog

Practical custody documentation guides

Useful guidance for keeping calm, factual, organized co-parenting records.

What to record in a custody journal

A practical custody-journal contents checklist with inclusion rules, realistic entries, evidence references and a monthly chronology method.

Read What to record in a custody journal

Can I record my co-parent in California?

California generally needs every party's consent, and a single secret recording can create a $5,000 civil-damages claim. The narrow safety exceptions, and what to write down instead.

Read Can I record my co-parent in California?

Can I record my co-parent in Texas?

Texas generally lets a participant record a call. The affirmative-defense limit, what Alameda v. State settled about a child's calls, and why judges still may dislike it.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Texas?

Can I record my co-parent in Florida?

Florida generally needs every party's prior consent and makes a secret recording a third-degree felony. Narrow child-safety, injunction and good-faith provisions exist; here is what to keep instead.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Florida?

Can I record my co-parent in New York?

New York generally lets a participant record. What Badalamenti settled about a child's calls, and why the recording is rarely the win.

Read Can I record my co-parent in New York?

Can I record my co-parent in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania requires prior consent from every party, and a secret recording can be a third-degree felony. What the Wiretap Act says, and the lawful alternative.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Pennsylvania?

Can I record my co-parent in Illinois?

Illinois needs all-party consent, but only for a private conversation. What the 2014 rewrite changed, why the word private matters at a handover, and what to record instead.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Illinois?

Can I record my co-parent in Ohio?

Ohio lets a parent on the call record it. The tortious-purpose limit is where parents trip, and a recording still tells an Ohio judge something about you.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Ohio?

Can I record my co-parent in Georgia?

Georgia lets a party record, and it is the rare state with a written parental monitoring rule for a child under 18. The conditions on it, and who you may tell.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Georgia?

Can I record my co-parent in Michigan?

Michigan's statute reads all-party, while Court of Appeals precedent recognizes a participant exception and the state Supreme Court has not resolved the split. The safer record to keep meanwhile.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Michigan?

Can I record my co-parent in New Jersey?

New Jersey lets a participant record, but the exemption does not protect a criminal, tortious or other injurious purpose. What D'Onofrio decided about a child's calls in a custody fight.

Read Can I record my co-parent in New Jersey?

Can I record my co-parent in Virginia?

Virginia lets a participant record without the federal criminal-or-tortious-purpose condition. The traps for separated parents are higher damages for an unlawful spouse recording and a separate rule limiting recorded phone calls in civil cases.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Virginia?

Can I record my co-parent in Washington?

Washington needs every party's consent, and an unlawful recording is inadmissible in any civil case. The announcement rule, the threats exception, and what State v. Christensen means for parents.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Washington?

Can I record my co-parent in Arizona?

Arizona's exemption covers a party or a person present, which is broader than most states. Where presence ends, what State v. Morrison held about a parent recording a child's calls, and the safer record.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Arizona?

Can I record my co-parent in Tennessee?

Tennessee lets a participant record unless the purpose is criminal or tortious. What that limit means for a separating parent, when an in-person talk is protected, and the safer written record.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Tennessee?

Can I record my co-parent in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts bans secret recording of any conversation, private or not. Why an open recording is treated differently, what Commonwealth v. Hyde decided, and the record to keep instead.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Massachusetts?

Can I record my co-parent in Indiana?

Indiana's wiretap law covers phone and electronic communications, not face-to-face talk. Why that is not a green light, the device law that catches hidden recorders, and the safer record.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Indiana?

Can I record my co-parent in Maryland?

Maryland needs every party's consent to a private conversation, with no spouse exception and a 2018 ruling covering a parent recording their own child. Why the recording usually cannot be used.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Maryland?

Can I record my co-parent in Missouri?

Missouri lets a participant record a call unless the purpose is criminal or tortious. The civil-evidence rule reads broader than one appellate court applied it, and federal law may still govern face-to-face recording.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Missouri?

Can I record my co-parent in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin lets a participant record a call, then keeps that recording out of civil cases unless the other person was told. What 885.365 means for a custody case, and the record you can use.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Wisconsin?

Can I record my co-parent in Colorado?

Colorado lets a principal party record. Its eavesdropping law turns on whether you are visibly present, which catches parents who listen from the next room. The safer written record.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Colorado?

Can I record my co-parent in Minnesota?

Minnesota lets a participant record unless the purpose is criminal or tortious. Crossing the line risks five years, a $20,000 fine and civil damages that can include three times actual loss or at least $10,000 in statutory damages. The safer record.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Minnesota?

Can I record my co-parent in South Carolina?

South Carolina lets a party record with no purpose test. Step outside that and the civil minimum is $25,000, and the peeping tom law covers audio on someone else's premises.

Read Can I record my co-parent in South Carolina?

Can I record my co-parent in Alabama?

Alabama lets a participant record. Recording others is a misdemeanor, but installing a device on private property is a Class C felony, and federal law gives spouses no exception. The safer record.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Alabama?

Can I record my co-parent in Louisiana?

Louisiana lets a participant record. Outside that, the penalty is two to ten years at hard labor. Unlawful recordings can be excluded, and one custody case discussed a parent recording a child.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Louisiana?

Can I record my co-parent in Kentucky?

Kentucky lets a participant record. Eavesdropping on others is a Class D felony, and so is simply installing a device to do it, before anything is recorded. The safer written record.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Kentucky?

Can I record my co-parent in Oregon?

Oregon splits its rule: one party can record a phone call, but everyone must be told before an in-person or video conversation is recorded. The 2025 ruling that kept that rule, and what to keep instead.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Oregon?

Can I record my co-parent in Oklahoma?

Oklahoma lets a participant record unless the purpose is criminal. It also has an old law against secretly loitering near a building to overhear and repeat what is said. The safer record.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Oklahoma?

Can I record my co-parent in Connecticut?

Connecticut's criminal law needs one party's consent. Its civil law makes you liable for recording a phone call without everyone's consent or a recorded warning. How to stay inside both.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Connecticut?

Can I record my co-parent in Utah?

Utah lets a participant record unless the purpose is criminal or tortious. The Utah case that supplied the modern vicarious-consent standard for a child's calls, what crossing the line costs, and the safer written record.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Utah?

Can I record my co-parent in Iowa?

Iowa lets a participant record, and its eavesdropping law protects anyone openly present. The 2018 exception for doorbell and outdoor cameras, and where it stops, for handovers at home.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Iowa?

Can I record my co-parent in Nevada?

Nevada needs everyone's consent to record a phone call, but only one party for an in-person talk. What a 2023 appeals case said about a recorder in a child's backpack.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Nevada?

Can I record my co-parent in Arkansas?

Arkansas lets a participant record, and its statute does not limit itself to private conversations. What that means in public, how implied consent works, and the safer written record.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Arkansas?

Can I record my co-parent in Kansas?

Kansas lets a participant record, and its Supreme Court read the privacy law as one-party. Entering a private place to listen secretly is a separate crime. The safer written record.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Kansas?

Can I record my co-parent in Mississippi?

Mississippi lets a participant record unless the purpose is criminal, tortious, or otherwise injurious. Unlawful interception or device use is generally a misdemeanor, while a separate felony provision governs violations of the statute's authorized-disclosure rules.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Mississippi?

Can I record my co-parent in New Mexico?

New Mexico's recording law is written around telephone lines, not face-to-face talk. Why federal law still fills the gap, what Hogervorst decided, and the safer written record.

Read Can I record my co-parent in New Mexico?

Can I record my co-parent in Nebraska?

Nebraska lets a participant record unless the purpose is criminal or tortious. How a lawful recording can turn unlawful through what you do with it, and the safer written record.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Nebraska?

Can I record my co-parent in Idaho?

Idaho lets a participant record. What State v. Hensley shows about a recording involving a father's daughter, why Idaho has left vicarious consent open, and the safer written record.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Idaho?

Can I record my co-parent in West Virginia?

West Virginia lets a participant record. Its Supreme Court held a father broke the law by hiding a recorder in his estranged wife's house to tape her with their children. What that means.

Read Can I record my co-parent in West Virginia?

Can I record my co-parent in Hawaii?

Hawaii's eavesdropping law is one-party, but its privacy law restricts recording devices in a private place. Why a hidden recorder at home is riskier here than in most one-party states.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Hawaii?

Can I record my co-parent in New Hampshire?

New Hampshire needs everyone's consent. A participant who records is still committing a crime, just a lesser one. What Fischer v. Hooper shows about a father who taped the mother's calls.

Read Can I record my co-parent in New Hampshire?

Can I record my co-parent in Maine?

Maine lets a participant record. It also makes it a crime to present an edited recording in court without saying what was changed. What that means for a parent's clips.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Maine?

Can I record my co-parent in Montana?

Montana bans recording a conversation with a hidden device without the knowledge of all parties. A warning changes everything. How to record openly, and the safer written record.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Montana?

Can I record my co-parent in Rhode Island?

Rhode Island lets a participant record unless the purpose is criminal, tortious, or otherwise injurious. Where the risk moves to sharing, what the civil claim costs, and the safer written record.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Rhode Island?

Can I record my co-parent in Delaware?

Delaware has two recording laws that point different ways: a one-party wiretap statute and an all-party privacy statute. How a federal court read them, and the cautious course for a parent.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Delaware?

Can I record my co-parent in South Dakota?

South Dakota lets a sender, receiver or party record, with no purpose condition in the statute. Why recording others is a Class 5 felony, and the safer written record.

Read Can I record my co-parent in South Dakota?

Can I record my co-parent in North Dakota?

North Dakota treats a participant's recording as a defense, lost if the purpose is a crime or other unlawful harm. Owning a spy recorder can itself be a felony. The safer record.

Read Can I record my co-parent in North Dakota?

Can I record my co-parent in Alaska?

Alaska's Supreme Court held its eavesdropping law targets third parties, not participants. What that leaves open, what it costs to record others, and the safer written record.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Alaska?

Can I record my co-parent in Vermont?

Vermont has no general state wiretap statute for ordinary conversations, so federal law sets the audio-interception rule. A separate privacy statute still matters in homes and residences.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Vermont?

Can I record my co-parent in Wyoming?

Wyoming lets a participant record. Its custody statute asks whether each parent respects the other's rights, including the right to privacy. Why that factor makes secret recording risky.

Read Can I record my co-parent in Wyoming?

How to organize custody evidence

Organize custody evidence with an issue map, master index, chronology, source files and a review workflow that keeps relevant material easy to find.

Read How to organize custody evidence

How to prove parenting time

How to prove parenting time actually exercised: the scheduled-vs-actual log, third-party corroboration from schools and activities, and how overnights get counted.

Read How to prove parenting time

How to document parental alienation

How to document suspected parental alienation credibly: record specific dated behaviors rather than the label, involve professionals early, and avoid the mistakes that discredit real concerns.

Read How to document parental alienation

How to prepare records for custody mediation

Prepare a custody mediation working pack with issues, child-focused interests, options, practical facts, proposals and an agreement log rather than an evidence dump.

Read How to prepare records for custody mediation

How to prepare records for a guardian ad litem

Prepare child-focused records for a guardian ad litem or Children's Guardian with a role check, routine map, selective chronology and transparent source index.

Read How to prepare records for a guardian ad litem

Custody terms, translated into plain English

Plain-English definitions of the custody terms parents actually encounter: legal vs physical custody, parenting time, right of first refusal, guardian ad litem, ex parte, and more.

Read Custody terms, translated into plain English

How to log denied or withheld visitation

Log denied or withheld visitation with the schedule source, proof made at the time, cancelled visits, make-up time and neutral wording for withholding.

Read How to log denied or withheld visitation

How to document parenting time exchanges

Record parenting time exchanges with scheduled time, actual time, place, messages and issues so patterns are clear without emotional wording.

Read How to document parenting time exchanges

What counts as evidence in a child custody case?

Learn which records may matter in a child custody case, what each can and cannot show, and how to preserve messages, photos, schedules, school records, medical records and expenses.

Read What counts as evidence in a child custody case?

What do judges look for in child custody cases?

Understand the best-interests factors courts commonly consider in child custody cases, including safety, needs, stability, relationships, the child's views and each parent's caregiving capacity.

Read What do judges look for in child custody cases?

When a co-parent makes false accusations

How to answer false accusations in a custody case with dated records: capture the exact claim, gather material created at the time, keep your reply factual.

Read When a co-parent makes false accusations

What happens when a parent misses visitation

What to do when the other parent doesn't show up for their parenting time: how to record no-shows, track the pattern, and keep the effect on your child factual.

Read What happens when a parent misses visitation

Child Custody Court Hearings What to Expect

Child custody court hearings what to expect, from your first appearance to the final order. Learn timelines, evidence rules, and courtroom etiquette.

Read Child Custody Court Hearings What to Expect

End Video Call

End video call. Learn how to end a video call politely on any platform, record a co-parent handoff, and log the exchange in a private custody journal.

Read End Video Call

Joint Decision Making in Co-Parenting

Master joint decision making in co-parenting. Learn legal implications, communication strategies, and how to document agreements and deviations effectively.

Read Joint Decision Making in Co-Parenting

Stay at Home Wife Divorce: A Practical Guide

Stay at home wife divorce planning guide covering legal rights, spousal support, custody documentation, and practical steps to prepare for court or mediation.

Read Stay at Home Wife Divorce: A Practical Guide

Can a Custodial Parent Move Out of State

Can a custodial parent move out of state? Learn legal standards, court tests for relocation, notice rules, and what evidence courts look for.

Read Can a Custodial Parent Move Out of State

Fathers Parenting Rights: A Practical Guide

Understand fathers parenting rights, from establishing legal access to enforcing custody orders. Learn how documentation protects your role as an active

Read Fathers Parenting Rights: A Practical Guide

What Is Parenting Plan

What is parenting plan. Learn what is a parenting plan, its key components, legal status, and how to create or negotiate one. Includes examples, pitfalls

Read What Is Parenting Plan

What Is Joint Custody: A Complete Guide

What is joint custody - Learn what joint custody is, including legal vs physical custody, how courts decide, and practical co-parenting tips

Read What Is Joint Custody: A Complete Guide