Built from a real case, not a boardroom
Walk into family court with your case in order.
Custody and protective-order cases run on evidence — and right now yours is 4,000 unsorted screenshots, a dozen email threads, and a knot in your stomach. Custody Commander turns all of it into an organized, court-ready case file, whether you have a lawyer or you are the lawyer.
Real free tier. The other parent never has to sign up. Cancel anytime — your records leave with you.
The problem isn't you
Family court rewards the prepared. Nobody teaches you how to prepare.
Legal help runs $20,000–$30,000 that most people don't have. So you do it yourself, at midnight, while everything else in your life is on fire. The facts are usually on your side — they're just trapped in your phone.
Evidence trapped in your phone
Screenshots, texts, voicemails, photos — scattered across apps with no dates, no labels, no order. You know it's in there. You can't put your hands on it when it matters.
A clock that never stops
Hearings come fast. "Produce the text messages" sounds simple until you're hand-numbering 65 pages at 2 a.m. the night before, hoping you didn't miss the one that matters.
Every word can be Exhibit A
When you're communicating with a hostile ex under legal scrutiny, one angry message written at your worst moment can follow you through the whole case.
What we are — and what we're not
Custody Commander organizes your case. It is not a lawyer and can't tell you what the law means for your situation. Accurate, organized records favor whoever is telling the truth — that's the whole idea.
One account, four tools
Everything feeds one case file.
Use one tool or all four. Evidence you capture, messages you extract, and communications you log all land in the same organized case — searchable, dated, and export-ready.
Evidence Helper Early access
Drop in screenshots, photos, and documents. AI reads the text out of images, you describe and tag each item, and everything maps to the issues in your case. Export exhibit-ready packets.
Explore Evidence Helper →Message Extractor Next up
Turn your own text, WhatsApp, and email exports into paginated, hash-certified PDF message logs with an index and authentication declaration — the thing courts actually ask for.
Explore Message Extractor →Case Builder Coming soon
Your whole case in one place: master timeline, documents organized by category, your arguments with evidence mapped to each, deadlines — plus a clean hearing mode for the courtroom or Zoom.
Explore Case Builder →Comms Guard Coming soon
An AI second opinion before you hit send: tone check, red-flag check, suggested rewrite — then a timestamped log of what you actually sent, on any channel. Works even if the other party uses nothing.
Explore Comms Guard →How it works
From chaos to court-ready in three moves.
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Get it all in one place
Drag, drop, paste, or snap from your phone's camera. Import message exports you already have. Originals are preserved and integrity-hashed the moment they arrive.
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Make it make sense
Describe each item, tag it, date it, and map it to the issues you define. AI handles the tedious parts — reading text out of screenshots, suggesting tags — and you confirm everything.
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Walk in prepared
Export an evidence index, per-issue packets, certified message logs, or a full attorney handoff packet. Numbered, paginated, and organized — for your hearing or your lawyer's desk.
An honest comparison
The co-parenting apps just killed their free tiers. We built one.
The big platforms charge each parent, every year, and only work if both of you sign up — often by court order. Custody Commander works for you alone, starting at free.
OurFamilyWizard
$149.99–$299.88/yr
Per parent, per year. Both parents must be on the platform for messaging to work.
TalkingParents
~$77–$353/yr
Eliminated its free tier in March 2026. Requires both parties on the platform.
AppClose
~$108/yr
Ended its free tier January 1, 2026. Built around both co-parents joining.
- A real free tier — 1 case, 50 evidence items, genuinely useful. No card, no trial countdown.
- One-sided by design — full value without the other parent joining, agreeing, or even knowing. No judge's signature required.
- The whole suite for $199/yr — four tools for less than the incumbents charge for one, for one parent.
- Never held hostage — a one-time Case Closed export gets you everything, forever, even after you stop paying.
Pricing
Priced for people paying lawyers, not for lawyers.
Start free. Upgrade only if the tools earn it. Hardship program and free attorney accounts included.
Free
For getting your evidence out of your camera roll and into order.
$0
No credit card. Not a trial.
- 1 case, 50 evidence items
- Organize, tag, search
- Watermarked exports
Full Suite
All four tools, one case file, AI included.
$24.99/mo
or $199/yr — save 33%
- All four products
- Monthly pool of AI operations
- Free attorney & advocate access
Single Product
Just the one tool you need right now.
$14.99/mo
or $119/yr per product
- Any one of the four tools
- AI features for that tool
- Upgrade to the suite anytime
One-time options too: a certified Message Log Package from $29, and the $49 Case Closed export when your case ends. See full pricing →
Why this exists
Built in a real custody fight, by someone who couldn't afford not to build it.
"I had three case numbers running at once, a folder of thousands of screenshots, and quotes for more in legal fees than I make in a year. So I built the tools I needed: a place to organize evidence, a timeline that held up, message logs a court could actually use. They worked. Then I realized how many people are standing exactly where I stood."
Custody Commander is the productized version of tooling first built for one real family court case — and it's why the free tier is genuinely free, why your attorney's access costs nothing, and why there's a hardship program for people referred by DV organizations and legal aid.
Your records, protected
Designed for the highest-stakes filing cabinet you'll ever own.
Integrity you can show a judge
Every file is SHA-256 hashed at upload, originals are preserved untouched, and an append-only audit log records every action. That's your authentication story, built in.
Your data is yours, always
Export your complete case bundle — originals included — at any time. Ending your subscription never means losing your records. That's a promise, and the $49 Case Closed export makes it permanent.
Safety-first by default
Quick-exit button on every page, discreet notifications, aggressive session timeouts, and re-authentication for account changes — designed with NNEDV safety guidelines in mind, because some of our users are watched.
Questions, answered straight
Frequently asked questions
Is this legal advice?
No. Custody Commander is self-help software, not a law firm, and does not provide legal advice. It organizes your facts, your documents, and your messages — it never tells you what the law means for your situation or predicts how a court will rule. For legal advice, talk to a licensed attorney; the suite is designed to make that conversation cheaper and more productive.
Who is this for?
People navigating family court — protective orders, custody, divorce, and support matters — who are representing themselves, or who have an attorney but are doing their own legwork to keep the bill down. If your "case file" is currently a folder of 4,000 unsorted screenshots, this is for you.
Does the other parent need an account?
No. Unlike co-parenting platforms that only work when both parties sign up (often by court order), Custody Commander works for you alone. Comms Guard checks and logs what you send, whatever channel the other party uses. Message Extractor works on message exports you already lawfully have from your own devices and accounts.
What does "AI-assisted" actually mean?
AI helps with the tedious parts: reading text out of screenshots, suggesting tags, flagging a message that might read as hostile. You stay in control — every AI suggestion is reviewed and confirmed by you before it becomes part of your record, and AI output is stored separately from your corrections, so it's always clear what the machine said and what you verified. AI can make mistakes; that's why nothing is final until you say so.
Is my data safe? Can I get it out?
Files are integrity-hashed with SHA-256 at upload, originals are preserved, every action is recorded in an append-only audit log, and data is hosted on US infrastructure. And it's all exportable — at any time you can download your complete case bundle, originals included. The one-time Case Closed export exists precisely so ending your subscription never means losing your records.
What's the "Quick exit" button?
It immediately takes you to weather.com (pressing Escape twice does the same). It's a standard safety feature on sites used by people in domestic-violence situations, for moments when someone walks in and you need the screen to show something neutral, fast. Note: it changes the page but doesn't erase your browser history — clear history separately or use private browsing if your device may be checked.
Can my attorney use it?
Yes — free. Invite your attorney or advocate and they get a case-scoped login with their own dashboard. Your subscription carries the case. The attorney handoff packet — evidence index, timeline, per-issue summaries — is built to make every paid hour with your lawyer go further.
What's genuinely free?
The free tier gives you 1 case and 50 evidence items with organizing, tagging, and search — no AI features, watermarked exports, no credit card. It's intentionally useful on its own. There's also a hardship program: full access via referral codes from DV organizations, shelters, and legal aid. Details on the pricing page.
When does each tool launch?
Evidence Helper is in early access now, with Message Extractor next, followed by Case Builder and Comms Guard. Sign up free and we'll let you know as each tool opens — early users get extended free access.
The facts are on your phone. Put them in order.
Start with the free tier today — organize your first 50 pieces of evidence and feel the difference before you pay a cent.
Free tier forever. Hardship program available. Attorneys join free.