It goes without saying that divorce proceedings in Texas and anywhere can be hectic. Between scheduling, planning, attending court hearings and going to meetings with mediators, a divorce can become very stressful. Unfortunately, life after the divorce can be just as busy – especially if children are involved. Organizing child care, child support payments and pick-up schedules with an ex-spouse can be challenging. Further, the ex-spouses may still have to determine who is going to pay for specific things in the child’s life even after a divorce agreement has been reached.
Recently, one woman developed software that could help manage all the various aspects of post-divorce child care. The 35-year-old mother came up with the idea while she was going through her own divorce. She states that her parents went through a complicated breakup, and she thought hers would be easier. However, she soon discovered that keeping an Excel spreadsheet to stay organized simply did not make things easy enough.
The woman eventually left her position at a technology firm and formed a new business aimed at creating software that will help recently-divorced people organize their life. The company is known as Ittavi, and the app being sold is called SupportPay. SupportPay offers schedule management, calendaring, tax management software and third-party payment options. While it is currently only available as an Android app, the software will eventually become available from Apple as well. The app is free at this point, but a monthly charge may be instated after the app gains popularity.
The demand for such software is certainly not low. According to the Census Bureau, 14.4 million people in the U.S. are owed child support. In 2011, the total amount owed was $37.9 billion. Not all states provide services for making online child support payments. Currently, no states provide online systems for managing the various other responsibilities of a divorced parent. Anybody that needs help with scheduling payments and meeting deadlines when it comes to child support might want to consider looking into this software.
Source: nytimes.com, “Software for Sorting Out Child Support” Quentin Hardy, Dec. 26, 2013
