Why a Colorado Child Advocate Uses TalkingParents as a Proactive Solution
Krista Nash is the principal attorney and owner of Children First Family Law in Arvada, Colorado. After spending her early career in civil litigation, she’s spent the last 10 years working as a child legal representative in family law cases. Nash also serves as a mediator, arbitrator, and parenting coordinator/decision maker for divorcing families.
- 4.5 min read
Improving communication and avoiding litigation
Nash says she quickly became aware of TalkingParents when she entered the family law practice in 2015. Many judicial officers in Colorado rely on the app to tone down communications and proactively keep the peace, ultimately helping co-parents communicate more effectively. In most cases, Nash says that TalkingParents is either introduced by legal professionals or required by the courts.
“There are a lot of proactive uses where people who are going through litigation or alternative dispute resolution are presented with the option to use co-parenting tools, and those parents choose to use the app to get ahead of conflict. In cases where parents aren’t getting along, the courts may order them to use the app and check it daily or every other day to facilitate clearer communication.”
When she represents divorcing parents, Nash often suggests using TalkingParents since the courts typically include it in parenting plans when one parent requests it.
“Where I practice primarily, there’s a pretty high likelihood that the courts will order the app if one parent asks for it. I usually advise my clients to use the app, especially if they struggle to manage their co-parenting communications. If they don’t want to for whatever reason, I remind them that the judge’s willingness to order it if their co-parent requests it is practically guaranteed because the courts have confidence in the purpose it serves.”
With the high costs of going through litigation and using supervised resources, Nash believes the app delivers a cutting-edge solution that aligns with what divorced families need emotionally and financially.
“As a child advocate, there are lots more tools in TalkingParents that can help parent-child relationships and ultimately keep costs down. For example, if I need to send my co-parents to a professional supervisor for calls or visitation, that can be expensive. Since we can facilitate virtual visits that are recorded through the app, we still maintain accountability due to the phone and video call recordings and transcripts. More importantly, that’s a huge jump forward in children getting to see their parents in very difficult situations when they otherwise wouldn’t.”
In her unique role as a legal professional often appointed to represent a child’s best interests in family law cases, Nash says TalkingParents plays a crucial role in helping parents avoid court and prioritize their children.
“I often come from the perspective where I’m trying to help parents reach an agreement when I’m representing their children, and staying out of court is the best option. We put together a specific plan that boosts clarity and reviewability, which is particularly helpful as their parenting coordinator/decision maker and child advocate. The ability to review what they’re doing in the app’s recordings and transcripts makes it easier to help them get better as co-parents. There’s a big movement now for using resources like TalkingParents, therapists, and classes that support better co-parenting because we’ve learned that what hurts kids more than divorce is terrible co-parenting.”
Records
Nash finds Records to be invaluable in helping legal professionals and their clients avoid litigation or proceed with a more streamlined approach and timeline.
“Being able to view what’s going on in the app and see how people are communicating is extremely helpful for interested parties that have some kind of stake in the case. These certified documents can be easily reviewed, and they provide clarity that can resolve disputes ahead of litigation because we know they are admissible to the courts and helpful to judicial officers who may need to make decisions. If the case needs to go to court, the Records can also help save money for co-parents because their attorneys have an easier time working through what can be used as evidence.”
Nash says that Records make it significantly easier to determine whether a problem needs to be escalated to the litigation process. Even if a co-parent presents a concern that seems questionable at first glance, Nash shares that their Records effectively affirm whether the issue is genuine.
“I had initially thought I wouldn’t get involved when someone sent me a set of Records and asked for help, but I ultimately realized I did need to intervene as a child advocate once I reviewed what was provided. Going through those documents makes it more straightforward to establish the foundation of an issue and create evidentiary exhibits as needed.”
In a time when artificial intelligence (AI) is being increasingly used to falsify images and videos, Nash believes that Records provide much-needed peace of mind.
“It’s very troubling as a child advocate to know that it’s so easy to create fake text messages, videos, and even replicas of other people’s voices. It’s more important than ever in the world of AI to have authenticated communications. When a client sends me their Records, I have confidence that they are not fake—it helps me with my ethics to know that they are reliable, especially when there’s so little that is.”
Advice
Nash’s primary advice to parents and their legal teams is to recognize that TalkingParents is best used as a proactive solution—even if a co-parenting dynamic starts out smoothly.
I think that co-parents tend to think it’s going to be fine until it’s not, and so they only end up using it when they get into a crisis. It would be much better if they used it from the start, as it provides clarity and helps avoid conflicts due to miscommunications and misunderstandings. People think of TalkingParents as productive only if co-parents are fighting, and that’s just not true—it’s beneficial for all co-parents because it proactively creates an environment to avoid arguments.
In alignment with her main recommendation, Nash also urges legal professionals to develop a more comprehensive understanding of TalkingParents and its tools in order to help co-parents make the most of their situation.
“I think people greatly underutilize the app because there are so many features on there that their attorneys and court systems don’t know about. The same applied to me before I took time to learn what the app does and interviewed their team on my podcast. As an attorney, I believe our role to our clients is like a first responder to someone in crisis—we should be guiding them toward more helpful solutions right away that can help them become better co-parents. If legal professionals helped parents understand that it’s an all-in-one tool that can streamline their interactions, I think more people would go to the app right away.”
Nash stresses that a child’s best interests should supersede other factors, and others in her field should strive to achieve the same goals in advocating for children in divorced families.
“We want kids and their parents to be able to communicate in a way that allows for peaceful movement through and beyond divorce, and that’s what I really wish legal professionals would use TalkingParents for. It’s a great tool for going through litigation and preparing evidence, but I predominantly think it’s a tool to make situations better, not just to prove one side over the other.”