The words changed in 2021

Federal law stopped saying custody and access in March 2021. The Divorce Act now says parenting time and decision-making responsibility, and it uses contact orders for people who are not a parent, such as a grandparent.

Parents still search for custody apps, which is why this page uses the word. When you write an entry, though, use the words in your own order or agreement. A record that borrows American terms is harder for your lawyer to line up against the document that applies to you.

You have a duty to try resolving it out of court

Section 7.3 of the Divorce Act says the parties must try to resolve matters through a family dispute resolution process, to the extent it is appropriate to do so. That covers negotiation, mediation and collaborative law.

Appropriate is doing real work in that sentence. Family violence is a recognised reason why a process may not be suitable, and your lawyer can advise on that.

A private record earns its keep at that stage first. Dates, a pattern of late exchanges and the receipts behind a disputed expense are more useful in a mediation session than a memory of a bad year.

And a duty to keep the children out of the conflict

Section 7.2 says a party must protect any child of the marriage, to the best of their ability, from conflict arising from the proceeding. Section 7.1 says parenting time and decision-making responsibility must be exercised in a way that is consistent with the child's best interests.

This is a practical reason to prefer a private journal over a shared feed. Your notes stay on your phone behind a passcode rather than sitting in an app the children might see over your shoulder.

It also shapes how you write. Record what happened and attach the file. Don't interview the children for material, and don't write an entry you would be uncomfortable reading aloud to a judge.

Federal or provincial, and which court

The Divorce Act applies when married spouses divorce. Unmarried parents, and married parents who separate without divorcing, are usually under provincial or territorial family law instead.

The terms overlap but the procedure, the forms and even the court names differ across the country. Ontario has the Office of the Children's Lawyer. This the court may ask to represent a child's interests. Other provinces do it differently.

Say which province or territory you are in, and which law applies, on anything you hand to a professional. Then keep the record in that vocabulary.

Pick the app around where your record ends up

Affidavit evidence is where most of this lands, and an affidavit is a sworn statement with the documents you rely on attached as exhibits.

So the useful skill is leaving things out. Storing 3,000 screenshots is easy. Choosing the six entries and three files that prove one point is the work, and that is what to test an app on.

Check the export, not the entry screen. A useful PDF shows the date the event happened and the date you wrote it down, keeps each file with the entry it explains, and filters down to one child, one category, one date range.

Casewell — best for a private record your co-parent never has to join

Casewell is designed for a private record when the other parent does not use a shared platform, or when you want your own account of events.

You can log exchanges, parenting time, incidents, communication and child expenses, with files kept in a private vault.

When your lawyer or a mediator needs context, export a PDF filtered by date range, child and category. Review the selection and the report before sharing it.

It costs US$2.99 a week or US$49.99 a year, with a 14-day trial. One payer, because there is no second parent on the account.

OurFamilyWizard — best when a court orders a shared platform

OurFamilyWizard runs a separate Canadian site and is designed for both parents to use. Both parents get accounts and message through the platform, with ToneMeter flagging heated wording before it's sent. It adds a shared calendar with time trades, expense tracking and an Info Bank for school and medical details.

Pricing is per parent. Canadian plans run from CAD $179.99 to $359.99 each per year, so two parents on the middle plan is about CAD $530 a year between you. If an order names a platform, follow the order and check current pricing with the provider.

The rest, and how they land here

Custody X Change is the other app that works alone. It builds a parenting plan and counts parenting time for you, though its plan templates are written around American practice.

TalkingParents runs an unalterable message and call record, from US$7 a month. AppClose is a low-cost all-inclusive shared option at US$7.99 a month after a 60-day trial, with free accounts for parents in hardship or fleeing family violence. 2houses bills one household subscription at US$14.17 a month or US$169.99 a year, which is the only per-family price here.

SupportPay is worth knowing about if the real dispute is section 7 expenses rather than messages. It tracks shared child costs and payments between households.

If a court order already names a platform

Use it, exactly as ordered. An order to communicate through a platform is not satisfied by texting and keeping your own notes.

Keep the two jobs separate. The ordered platform carries the messages between you. A private journal carries what a message feed never sees. The exchange that ran 40 minutes late, the receipt nobody acknowledged, the week the schedule quietly changed.

Plenty of parents in higher-conflict cases end up with both, and that's a reasonable outcome rather than a failure.

How to choose, in five minutes

If a court order or your lawyer names a platform, use that platform, and keep your own notes somewhere separate where they can't be read or derailed.

Co-operating parents who mainly need calendars and messages can start with AppClose or 2houses. Move up to OurFamilyWizard when a court is involved and both of you will genuinely use it.

When the dispute is about how much time each home had, Custody X Change counts it for you.

When you need your own dated record with the files attached, that's the job Casewell was built for. Start the trial, log two weeks of exchanges, and export a sample PDF to see whether your lawyer could use it.

What this looks like in Casewell

Casewell keeps the dated entry, the file that supports it and any later addition in one private timeline. Filter by date range, child and category, then export a PDF short enough for a lawyer, a mediation session, or your own preparation.

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What is the best custody journal app in Canada?

For a private record that works without the other parent, Casewell is built for that purpose and lets you export a filtered PDF for review. If a court has ordered a shared platform, follow that order. OurFamilyWizard publishes CAD pricing per parent.

Which app works if my co-parent refuses to join?

Casewell and Custody X Change both work on their own. Casewell is a single-parent app by design, with nothing for the other parent to join or see. OurFamilyWizard, TalkingParents, AppClose and 2houses only deliver their core value when both parents take part.

Do I have to try mediation before going to court?

The Divorce Act says parties must try to resolve matters through a family dispute resolution process, to the extent that it is appropriate. Family violence is a recognised reason a process may not be suitable. A journal helps you arrive at mediation with dates and files rather than memory.

Does the Divorce Act apply to me?

It applies when married spouses divorce. Unmarried parents, and married parents who separate without divorcing, usually come under provincial or territorial family law. The record-keeping is the same either way, but the terms and forms differ. So use the ones in your own documents.

Will the other parent see my journal?

Not in the app. Casewell has no shared account and nothing for anyone else to log into. Court proceedings are separate: anything you attach to an affidavit is served on the other side. So write every entry expecting it may be read.

Is a custody journal accepted by Canadian courts?

A court decides what's relevant in each case, and how much weight a record carries. What an app can do is keep entries dated, factual and easy to review, and show when an entry was written and later edited.

Sources

Federal, provincial and territorial family law can interact, and procedure differs across the country. Official sources give orientation only. This page is a documentation guide, not legal advice.

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