Custody

Text like the judge is reading

Issue

Can my messages with my co-parent end up in court?

Rule

Communications between parents are often offered as evidence in custody disputes.

Translation

Screenshot everything. Send nothing you'd hate to hear read aloud.

In custody matters, courts care about which parent supports the child's relationship with the other parent. Your texts and emails are a running record of exactly that.

Keep it short, factual, and about the kids: pickup times, school, doctors. Save the venting for your friends, and keep it off the group chat.

Save the records, too. A clean, dated log is far more useful than a memory of who said what.