First, the word "custody"

England and Wales stopped using "custody" in 1989. Your papers will say child arrangements order, and they talk about who a child lives with and who a child spends time with.

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

Mediation comes before court

Before you can apply for a child arrangements order, you usually have to attend a MIAM. A mediation information and assessment meeting with an authorised mediator. You then tick the relevant box on the C100 form.

Exemptions exist, including evidence of domestic abuse. A MIAM certificate runs out after four months, and applying to court costs £270. There is also a government voucher worth up to £500 towards mediation, whatever you earn.

Mediation is where a private record earns its keep first. Dates, a pattern of late handovers, and the receipts behind a disputed cost beat a memory of a bad year.

Pick the app around where your record ends up

If the case reaches court, your evidence usually arrives as a witness statement with documents exhibited to it, gathered into a court bundle. Under Practice Direction 27A a bundle is normally capped at 350 pages unless the court gives permission for more.

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.

What a Cafcass officer actually reads

This is where most app reviews mislead people. Cafcass runs safeguarding checks with police and the local authority, and the court can ask for a section 7 report on what arrangements would be best for the child.

The officer meets the parents, and the child where that is appropriate, and may speak to the school or a health professional. They work from what the court has, not from a folder you hand over on the day.

So a journal is not something you carry into that meeting. Its job is earlier: helping your solicitor draft an accurate statement, and helping you answer questions about dates without guessing.

Assume the other side will read it

Documents you rely on get exhibited and served. Anything you might use is something the other parent's solicitor may end up reading.

Write every entry as though a judge will see it. Stick to what happened, what you saw, and what the attached file shows. Leave out the conclusions about character that a statement has to strip out anyway.

If proceedings have started, ask your solicitor before deleting anything. Casewell reports also state how many matching records were left out of a selection. So a short export doesn't look like the whole archive.

Posting about the case can be contempt

Family proceedings about children are generally heard in private. Section 97 of the Children Act 1989 makes it an offence to publish material likely to identify a child as being involved in proceedings, and section 12 of the Administration of Justice Act 1960 restricts reporting what happened in them.

A public post can breach those restrictions if it identifies a child or reveals protected details. Keeping a journal private avoids publishing it. But does not make the record legally privileged or immune from disclosure. Ask your solicitor before sharing records.

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 handovers, time with the children, incidents, communication and child costs, with files kept in a private vault.

When your solicitor 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 points you at a shared platform

OurFamilyWizard runs a separate UK 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. UK plans run from £107.99 to £215.99 each per year, so two parents on the middle plan is around £310 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 schedules and 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 domestic abuse. 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.

Divvito, an app some lists still include, shut down on 22 July 2026 according to its own site.

Scotland and Northern Ireland work differently

Everything above describes England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own family law, their own courts and their own vocabulary.

The MIAM rule, the C100 form and PD27A are English and Welsh. If your case is in Glasgow or Belfast, check the local route before you build an export around it. The record-keeping habits are the same either way. Dated entries, the source file attached, and the words your own order uses.

How to choose, in five minutes

If a court order or your solicitor 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 argument 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 a fortnight of handovers, and export a sample PDF to see whether your solicitor 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 solicitor, a mediation meeting, or your own preparation.

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What is the best custody journal app in the UK?

For a private record that works without the other parent, Casewell is built for that purpose and lets you export a filtered PDF. If a court has directed you to use a shared platform, follow that direction. OurFamilyWizard offers UK 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.

Can a journal app replace mediation?

No. You usually have to attend a MIAM before applying for a child arrangements order, unless an exemption applies. A journal helps you arrive at that meeting with dates and files rather than memory.

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 rely on in a statement gets exhibited and served. So write every entry expecting it may be read.

Is a custody journal accepted by UK family 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.

Does this apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland?

No. The MIAM requirement, the C100 form and the bundle rules described here are for England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate systems. So check the route that applies where your case is heard.

Sources

England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate family-law systems. Official sources give orientation only. This page is a documentation guide, not legal advice.

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