I was a victim of domestic violence and narcissistic abuse, that extended into post-separation legal abuse. Our divorce lasted over five years from this… it gave me plenty of time to research and go to therapy, where this became suggested to me (not by my attorney, who turned a sick profit from my misfortune). I wouldn't say the tone filter is worth it, but documenting the messages and showing restraint in what you are willing to actually entertain does when dealing with verbal abuse. The program cannot make your ex go to therapy, or into a better version of their self any more than you could do while together, feel me? I volunteered to pay my ex's subscription fee, and made sure our order stated that all communication that isn't an emergency is done through it. The calendar has a bit of a learning curve at first, but after that it's pretty easy to set it up, and the OFW pay is hands-down the best part of it. Do I upload reciepts for copays of $0.67 even? Yes. Yes I do. Every single one now. I'm sure my ex would write a one star review against this, just because of the accountability involved. (When) My ex pays their half of stuff, they do multiple items at once to avoid the extra fees, but it's an easy way to show documentation on both ends of things. The only one who could complain on that, is someone who doesn't want to do the right thing. The messages still come at me full of word-salad, deflection, projection, lies, and complete disrespect… and if it's not conductive coparenting, I don't mess with it. Let them explain it to a judge later if it gets too bad. It's within your parental rights that you aren't spoken about or to in a derogatory way. You are paying for admissibility in court. If that upsets you enough to leave a bad review, maybe you're mad you can't speak to your ex any old way anymore. If it doesn't help your child, don't do it. This helps organize everything though. Messages, expenses, calendar, regular providers, medications, and even details about your child in case if the worst of the worst happens and they are abducted (I'm which case if the other parent didn't do it, I would HOPE you work together to be sure they're found and safe!). Anyways, seeing all the bad reviews, I wanted to keep it real with y'all. This has been the best investment ever, and I wouldn't trade it for a second. Messages in ONE PLACE, no calls, texts, emails, hijacking teacher email threads to harass, social medias, whatever else… the order says it's HERE and here, can be submitted as evidence. That peace is worth anything, and takes up server space, especially for their highly secure servers.

OFW is just one more cost to folks already dealing with enough that the fraudulent State and district "civil" or "family" courts are quick to prescribe when most likely a number of other means of communication are already being paid for and used by both parties. Any court affiliated job or court ordered app that some tyrant can order you to pay for without warrant is simply one way for other bad actors to profit from the divorce industry. Allowing scum-of-the-earth attorneys to access privileged communication is an over-reaching invasion of privacy yet former colleagues (now sporting robes) give these vexatious $#*!bags the ok to perform State authorized wiretapping. Like some dip$#*! copy-and-paste textbook-allegation-spouting imbecile is really concerned with anything that he doesn't profit from. These "officers of the court" will not stop until they have dismantled your life, jacked your retirement and future earnings and rendered you a visitor in your children's lives while having the $#*!ing audacity to decide the "best interests" of your children which 9 out of 10 times means blatant discrimination and bias toward fathers upheld by preponderance, judicial interpretation, support of profit driven narratives and bull$#*! agendas all to fulfill the judicial branches co-op agreement with your local Title IV-D executive agency established decades ago by congress (which clearly violates separation of powers as defined in the beginning articles of the constitution). There are no checks and balances. The judges are taking a cut of everything, employing maritime law, mistakenly believe in their self-righteous immunity, and are insured by Lloyd's of London (the $#*!ing Rothschilds). Committees on judicial conduct created to investigate misconduct consist of yep, you guessed it... fellow lawyers and judges whom also lack morals and the intelligence one needs to apply law in a criminal courtroom. Save whatever money they haven't already stolen by now, app$ aren't necessary when anyone can easily screenshot texts and emails to present to the court. Hell, you might even get away with wiretapping if your lawyer is tight with the judge(s). $#*! the honorable judge Hull, the man-hating judge Adams and that piece of $#*! John "$#*! hands" Gr*secl*se. Years have passed and I still have no criminal record... worthless idiots.

OFW is just an overpriced 1990's version of yahoomail. In the almost 7 years that I have used this "communication tool" I have seen no updates to the grossly outdated system.
The messaging service doesn't support proper message threads. If you need to communicate solely through the tool, it becomes very difficult to manage over time. The only acceptable word I can currently think of to describe it is clunky. I've never even used the calendar, medical, and expenses section. I attempted to set them up... but after several frustrating issues with exporting files and dates I gave up. So, between the two of as a co-parenting family we pay about $200 a year for an extremely crappy email system. I could go on about how ridiculously overpriced OFW for what you actually get... but this review is really about the worst aspect of OFW.
Customer service is unbelievably bad. I've had customer service issues since my initial sign up, but my most recent experience was the worst to date. Late March my subscription ended and I received a renewal notice. My bank was charged the annual fee shortly after. The withdrawal cleared, and I have proof of this transaction. My co-parent and I don't communicate often... so it isn't out of the ordinary to go a few months with no OFW messages. In May I received a text message from my co-parent asking if I had received any of his recent OFW messages because he noticed that they had not been opened or responded to. I had not. When I tried to log into OFW I received a message that my membership had expired and I needed to renew. I immediately called customer service. The representative I spoke with was not able to address the payment issue and forwarded me to her supervisor. The call immediately went to voice-mail. I left a message explaining my issue, gave account info, and contact info. I waited almost a week before calling back. Again, a different representative was able or unwilling to help with my payment issue and forwarded my call to her supervisor... and it went to the same voice-mail. I repeated my previous message, and let them know this was my second call. No response. In June, my co-parent decided to renew my account membership. After he informed me of the renewal I requested the name of the representative and date that he contacted OFW. I called back and a representative informed me that their was no representative with the name name given and no record of his call. I believe that he did call and speak to someone. It's
Crazy that I trust my ex more than OFW. Once again, I was forwarded to the same voice-mail. I left another message. It's been over a month, and after several more attempts I still have not received any contact from OFW.
Do not agree to OFW in mediation or court until you've done your research. I've discovered over the years that other free apps are available with no issues. Unfortunately, my co-parent has been duped into believing this is the only communication tool the courts will accept. Do not let your lawyer manipulate you into believing that free communication apps, emails and texts can't be utilized in court if necessary. I've had plenty of lawyers assure me they can. You should also know that OFW has a referral program from lawyers. They receive $50 for every client that signs up. Consider your child's age now... that $200 a year adds up... find a free app for your co-parenting family and save all of that money to spend on your actual child/children rather than this overpriced scam. This is just another way for lawyers to drain money from families.
~AWS

Here is what I love about this app that free email does not offer:

1. You can see (and document) whether and when your coparent has read messages, eliminating confusion and promoting accountability.

2. You can fulfill your duty as a coparent to inform the other parent of child-relevant information (like extracurricular events, medical information, educational etc.) without having to go back and forth ad nauseum in texts, calls, and emails. You just enter the information in the appropriate category, and your legal duty is done--along with proof that you have given your co-parent the needed information, along with exactly when you entered it, and when your co-parent has seen it.

3. You can share any of your data with helping professionals (like counselors and attorneys) with a click. No need for expensive lawyers fees reading through lengthy email exchanges searching for relevance.

4. You can easily print complete reports of messages and journal entries. No more having to sift through email conversations and text messges for record-keeping. It's all there on a single page for easy scrolling and referencing.

5. Participants can't lie about what they have seen, whether they have or have not checked--the app automatically logs each and every sign-on, and you can access the sign-on history for yourself and your co-parent.

6. Everything is all in one place. Kid info--right down to what size shoe they wear--medical information, teachers' names and numbers, your calendar, your journal, your messages--so you aren't having to juggle different apps or struggle with timelines.

7. It saves money on lawyer fees, because you're not having to send lengthy emails that you must pay your attorney to read through and parse. They can just take a glance and see who's doing their duty and who's not.

8. There is also the same level of ability to have positive child-relevant exchange as when you're using email or texting--you can use the message board option to share extras with your co-parent, including photos and fun things. This app in no way inhibits positive exchange between co-parents, it just streamlines accountability and organization in cases where one parent wants to stay child-focused and fulfill their duties and the other parent is using those same duties as an avenue of harassment: ("You have to talk to me about little Johnny's baseball coach or else!" "I never got the medical information, so it's your fault that I can't pay..." Etc.)

That's not to say that you can control how your co-parent uses it, but with this app, you can control how much time and energy you spend in communication with your co-parent. I highly recommend that if you are struggling with a high-conflict personality in your co-parent, you arrange to communicate solely through this app.

That's what I've done, and it makes co-parenting SO much easier for me... The other folks who are writing very negative reviews... I think they may be primarily the high-conflict exes who find the transparency and limited access to the other parent's attention frustrating.

Some have said that you're better off with free email, but free email doesn't offer what OFW does. This app is tailored to high-conflict coparenting situations. I find it liberating to know that I have fulfilled my duty to keep my co-parent informed of all things child-centered--without having to engage them directly and endure yet another circular argument! I also like knowing that there's concrete proof that I am in compliance with all court orders.

Thanks so much OFW--my life is far less stressful, and it's worth the money. In fact, I offered to (and do) pay for both my own and my co-parent's OFW account. It's worth the few cents/day not to have the stress of antagonistic exchanges with my co-parent. Because when we can go about our day with less stress, the kids are happier!

I see lots of poor reviews here, but that has not been my experience. We are all here due to high conflict cases of course, but I also had a Protective Order for harassment (via email, text and in person) as well as a history of domestic violence.

Here's how this App has helped...

1. Toning down the abuse.

No, it does not "prevent" harassment/abusive language. No human, no Judge and no app can stop a person from speaking (and choosing to be abusive). Think about it... even a Protective Order (i. E. Restraining Order) does not prevent a person from speaking to you. However, they will be arrested for doing so.

NOTHING can stop a person from communicating to you (think: angry driver flipping you the bird - you can't unsee that).

The Tone Meter feature is mediocre, but the point of it is to call attention to potentially abusive words to get the person to think twice. No regular email platform will do that.

Bottom line, the Judge knows your ex is being forewarned before hitting "send". This speaks volumes. It really doesn't matter if the Tone Meter is a fantastic feature or not. It sets the stage.

2. Records. My ex constantly claimed not to "get my messages" for anything that inconvenienced him (sick children on exchange days, medical reimbursement requests, etc).

Now he is aware the legal system can see his lying. We see when he reads messages. We also see when he refuses to read messages. Both can be equally bad for him in Court.

3. The payment feature. This would actually be useful if I were dealing with a normal human. Both parties have to compliantly use the features. Example - I have paid my 1/2 of expenses, and he owes me 1/2 for expenses. However, he refuses to mark my paid expenses as "paid", just to be an $%#.

This throws the register off and it's very complicated to tell who owes what. I just bust out my Excel. So if you have an ex-bonehead like I do, this feature will not be helpful.

Then again I have record of continued refusal to cooperate. This was harder to prove with regular email.

It's never easy. Your ex is free to be a complete jerk which is unfortunate for your children and the elevation of humanity. However, you get to pick how you behave and keep working on that (and forgive yourself for the days when you're not);)

Best of luck to you.

I assume the judge in my case must be getting some sort of incentive (i. E. a kickback) to mandate the use of this system. I actually say that with hope, because otherwise there is absolutely no logical reason anyone would use this system since it does nothing beside make money for the company.

Fundamentally, it is a more cumbersome program and app to substitute for email and texting, services I think everyone gets (or can get) for free. OFW however costs the parents about $250 per year. While maybe not a huge expense for a year, that is a long term expense if you have young children. Assuming a moderate rate of return of 5% and having to use OFW for 15 years of mandated use, that is taking over $5,000 of future value from your childs college fund (as one example of a better use for the money than giving it to the Our Family Wizard family).

The selling point of saving all communication is pretty clearly available with any electronic communication you receive. I have stuff in my Yahoo email account from decades ago.

An even funnier claimed feature is the Tone Down monitor that supposedly warns you about sending rude or offensive messages. It warned me that my message was Upsetting when I texted by ex-wife that the weather looks bad (in context of our sons baseball practice and a thunder storm). I didnt understand that warning, unless the program is very worried about the feelings of the weather? That is actually just one example of many tone warnings Ive gotten for totally innocuous phrases or words (including just sorry which seems like a good word to use if you make a mistake about something).

For fun and a test, I typed a message (without sending to anyone) that said:

"you are a corpulent person with significantly below average intelligence".

The OFW system had no concern, despite that message basically calling someone fat and dumb. There system appears to be based exclusively on a low level vocabulary list of words it thinks are offensive. Not that I can imagine why youd want to, but you can basically avoid the warnings if you write at the level of a 5th grader or higher.

The Charlatans at Our Family Wizard should be ashamed of themselves. However, the concept of shame or ethics appears to be completely missing in the family court system so I imagine they are happy collecting money from a program they clearly market to courts without any expectation of having to demonstrate efficacy (which is the normal standard a judge should use before forcing a cost or burden on litigants).

Dear OFW family, should you read this:
I imagine you may be confused by some of the words used. Please use an actual dictionary, or ask anyone over the age of 13 to explain the words you dont understand. Please, do not rely on your screening software. It doesnt work.

It's been a while since I have posted about my horrific experience with this system, so here is an update. As background information, I have been forced to use OFW since it was ordered by the court in 2014. Nearly 10 years of my time and effort; and over $1000 in subscription fees that I have been forced to put into this and 'wizard' design and below are two more points to describe how this system has created more problems in my life and cost me more money to correct the problems its created.

First Point: Beware of sending any communication related to negotiations or offers, because it could be twisted around and create risk of your parenting plan being compromised. The Parenting Coordinator (PC) on my 'High Conflict' case, looked at one message (out of 30 messages) and entered me into a legally binding contract which forced a change to the holiday schedule outlined in the Judgement. She said she was entitled to enforce this change because our parenting plan states the language, "anything entered into OFW is legally binding" so just beware of that, because there are incompetent PC's out there who are lazy or easily persuaded, and if the other parent is a master manipulator they can bait you into a trap. So, please, for the reasonable and logical parents out there... please be aware of those risks.

Second Point: The does not effectively manage Expenses. The system allows my coparent to "REFUSE" expenses. This has been going on for over 2 years, so now the co-parent owes me close to $9,000 in unpaid (REFUSED) expenses, but OFW provides no way prove it, so good luck trying to explain that to a Judge!

Also, the Expense REPORTING is not helpful. Whoever designed it doesn't have a clue as to what a parent would need to defend their case in court. When I go to the statistical reporting it shows MY NAME next to REFUSED EXPENSES, which makes it look like I was the parent who refused. I had to pay my attorney $250/hr to sit with me as I attempted to explain how the other side was allowed to REFUSE over $8000 of medical expenses and why OFW showed $0 as the amount owed to me. That meeting with my attorney was really fun and it costs me close to $1000 in fees - THANKS OFW.

Then I had to spend 5+ hours copy/pasting every single REFUSED expense into an excel spreadsheet and reformatting it so the REFUSED EXPENSES (that OFW allowed the other side to REFUSE) could be explained in a logical way. THANKS AGAIN OFW you literally cost me more money and wasted my time re-working my data that I am forced to put into your useless tool.

PLEASE GOD have mercy on the parents who are forced to be verbally and financially abused through the use of this satanic 'wizard' and please give us a way out of these toxic cycles. Amen.

TLDR: OFW needs to stop pushing their defective tool onto innocent parents because they do not understand how family courts operate or the rules associated to parenting plans.

Will not refund money. Don't sign up if you have any doubt the coparent will not join