Mediation is one of the best tools for helping to resolve co-parenting disputes but it is not always reasonable to schedule a mediator to help with every single issue that arises in a family. Seeing a need for ongoing mediation assistance between co-parenting partners, a former judge and family law educator teamed up with tech pros to create an app that can help with co-parenting.

The app is called coParenter. It is not the only one of its kind on the market, but it is the most comprehensive. It combines AI technology and on-demand human assistance to help co-parents deal with conflict situations as they arise.

The app was the idea of the Superior Court Judge Sherrill A. Ellsworth and businessman Jonathan Verk. They called on their personal experience when creating the app. Judge Ellsworth’s first-hand look at the family court system and seeing how families were affected negatively helped her create the app that she hopes will give co-parents the support they need when they need it.

Described Judge Ellsworth, “I witnessed countless families torn apart as they slogged through the family law system. I saw how families would battle over the simplest of disagreements like where their child will go to school, what doctor they should see and what their diet should be — all matters that belong at home, not in a courtroom.”

She also noted the vast majority of disagreements in family court did not need legal intervention. Parents just needed assistance with decision making, but they had nowhere to turn. These cases eventually wound up in the courtroom.

The app was in beta testing for about a year and officially launched in January 2019. It has already assisted more than 2000 families with disputes and 80 percent of all who tried it were successful and did not need any further intervention.