South Carolina Family Law Blog : Spartanburg Divorce Lawyer & Attorney : Stevens-MacPhail Law Firm : South Carolina Family Law Serving Columbia, Charleston, Greenville, Hilton Head Island

One of the many factors that the Court considers in child custody cases is the school and educational resources available at each parent's residence.  In other words, if the parents live in different school districts, how do they compare to each other? 

If both parents live in the same city or county, the information is usually easy to access and present to the Court. However, when the parents live in different states, it is somewhat more difficult.  In cases where the parents do not live in the same location, this issue can be even more important.

Fortunately, SchoolMatters.com is an online resource that enables parents (and their attorneys) to compare schools based upon performance of students on standardized tests, teacher-pupil ratios, and other critical factors.  This resource is a service of Standard & Poor's, and it is free.

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I previously posted how online resources can help parents better work together, which will benefit their children.  Online calendars, like Google Calendar, can help parents (whether living together or apart) keep track of their children's activity schedule, which can be hectic and change frequently.

Parents who are separated or divorced can track the child's physical custody (or visitation) schedule, as seen in this example.  Using the calendar in this manner helps both parents will know when the children will be with them on a given day, which helps them arrange transportation for the children's various activities.  The online calendar can also document which parent had the child on which day in case a dispute arises later.  As an added bonus, the calendars print out nicely (like in this sample).

Another (though less obvious) type of online resource that can assist separated parents are document / spreadsheet applications, such as Google Docs & Spreadsheets.  Parents have an obligation to pay certain expenses for their children, such as medical expenses that are not covered by insurance; day care costs; clothing and supplies; extracurricular activities; school lunches; etc.  It is surprising how often disputes arise because one parent claims that the other hasn't paid his/her share, only to have that parent claim that he/she never received the necessary information. 

By using an online spreadsheet (like this sample) to track this information, the parents can track the cost for any types of items, determine each parent's share, and show whether or not that amount has been paid.  Online documents could even be used as a type of journal to exchange necessary information in situations where the parents have severe communication problems.

By using these online resources, parents should be able to minimize or greatly reduce communication problems in the future.  Less friction between the parents should result in them having a better working relationship, which will certainly yield happier, better adjusted children.  Please share your thoughts on these (and other) online resources in the Comments section below.

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Lifehacker.com, the outstanding software and productivity blog, recently published an article describing several free online resources to assist in finding public records information online.  Among the categories discussed in this article are:

• Vital Records
• Phone Books
• Professional Licenses
• Criminal Records
• Obituaries
• Military Records
• Immigration Records
• Other (Google and Zabasearch)

These resources can prove valuable when trying to locate or obtain information about a party or witness in a Family Court action.  In cases where clients have limited financial resources, utilizing these sites can sometimes avoid (or reduce) the need for a private investigator.

Source:  "Where to Find Public Records Online" by Wendy Boswell, published at Lifehacker.com.

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