Judge orders twice‑weekly FaceTime and a parenting app to ease contact disputes

Cheatham County family court ordered a temporary structure for remote contact in a custody dispute, directing two video calls per week and the implementation of a parenting‑communication app to reduce conflict.

Counsel for the father requested an order compelling unimpeded FaceTime calls, proposing Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7 p.m. to give the father time to get home from work. The mother’s counsel responded that Tennessee law does not require FaceTime specifically but that the mother’s phone camera issues had been resolved and she did not oppose a reasonable schedule.

The judge said the court "favors FaceTime calls because it's the next best thing to actually being face to face with your child" and ordered two weekly video calls at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with the father responsible for initiating the call and up to 7:15 p.m. allotted for the father to begin the call; if the father did not initiate by 7:15 the call would be considered waived for that session. The judge also ordered the parties to begin using a parenting app to log appointments and communications and set a deadline (July 31) for the app to be implemented and available to both parties.

The court said the parenting‑app requirement would insulate the parties from contentious text exchanges and help manage scheduling and logistical details, and invited counsel to transmit proposed briefing materials and any app information directly to the judge’s judicial email for efficiency in the upcoming contested docket schedule.

Next steps: counsel will draft the order and submit it to the clerk; the parenting app should be operational by the court’s deadline, and the court’s temporary FaceTime schedule will govern until further modification or a formal order replacing it.