Cheap divorce: AI tool reducing legal costs of separation

Artificial intelligence is replacing lawyers for splitting couples, saving them thousands of dollars in legal fees. See how.

Do-it-yourself separations are on the rise across Australia, with amicable couples using artificial intelligence to divvy up assets and agree on parenting plans without massive legal bills.

Free website tool amica.gov.au has attracted widespread use since it launched a year ago, with family court judges even referring suitable couples to it to make out-of-court agreements.

Created by National Legal Aid with $3m in commonwealth funding, amica informs people about their legal rights and options, helps keep them communicating online and helps them reach a written agreement about their parenting arrangements and the division of their property.

Amica project chief and National Legal Aid director Gabrielle Canny helped develop the tool and says it empowers splitting couples.

“Laws are created for the benefit of society and individuals need to be empowered so they understand what the law is and then they make good decisions within the law,” she says. “And that’s what amica does.”

Gabrielle Canny says splitting couples can be empowered by new technologies. Picture: Supplied

Amica uses federal and family court law, which applies nationally and is enforceable in every state. Family law experiences and scenarios from across Australia have been used to develop the artificial intelligence. It analyses:

– the couple’s assets and their circumstances

– the agreements commonly reached by other couples in similar situations; and

– how courts generally handle disputes of this nature.

USING AI

Canny says the AI uses information provided to reach a fair and enforceable agreement.

“There is no magic in between that is doing a calculation … the AI is just combining your circumstances from the information you’ve provided with the law and then getting information,” she says.

“If information is input and deliberately skewed to reach an unfair agreement, amica will not print an agreement and will refer the parties to seek legal advice.”

Amica also recognises when an imbalance of power exists within the relationship and will not document unfair agreements. It refers the clients to community services such as financial counsellors and domestic violence support services.

More than 4500 couples have generated an agreement using amica in the first 12 months and a recent survey suggests there may be many more to come.

Recent amica research found that one in five couples blame the pandemic for ruining their relationship, while one in 12 have considered separating. And a record 49,625 couples, filed for divorce during 2020/21, Federal Circuit Court statistics reveal — an 8 per cent rise in just 12 months.

SAVES TIME AND MONEY

Canny says the tool saves time and money for both amicable couples and those who want to seek advice before approaching a lawyer.

“Using amica, they will prepare all the information they need so their first visit with the lawyer is so much more efficient than going in starting the conversation fresh having no idea what questions the lawyer will ask them.

“So many people say ‘you have saved me so many thousands of dollars’ because we didn’t end up needing lawyers’,” she says.

The maximum charge for amica is just $440 per couple and users only pay if they are happy with the agreement reached.

PROVING POPULAR

Since amica.gov.au launched just over a year ago: 
• More than 4500 people have used the tool to help them reach agreements with their ex and move forward after a separation 
• The amica site has had more than 300,000 page views.
• More than 820 asset division suggestions have been provided by amica’s AI 
• More than 300 property agreements have been finalised 
• More than 240 Parenting Plans and Parenting Agreements have been finalised 
• 90 consent order court applications have been generated 
Source: amica.gov.au

USER FRIENDLY

Family lawyer Katherine Stavrou also helped develop amica and is thrilled to see the user-friendly interface helping separating couples who want a fair, quick and easy split without arguments.

“Amica reduces the costs and lessens the emotional stresses that come with separation,” she says. “It is quicker and stops you spending up to $30,000 for an acrimonious split through lawyers.”

Stavrou says the AI is backed by a substantial human factor. “Amica’s webchat service is staffed by real people and a family lawyer double-checks the property split that is suggested by the AI.”

Katherine Stavrou says a DIY separation can save couples tens of thousands of dollars.

COURT APPROVAL

Canny says the courts have been impressed with amica.

“The courts have been very interested from day one, right from the highest level with the Chief Justice and the deputy chief justice. What they recognise is that there is a whole cohort of people who do not need to be in courtrooms.”

Canny says amica has to be the way of the future.

“A society needs to benefit from technology and the law needs to keep up with it and empower people.

“Laws used to be in dusty old books that no one ever read, now the law is available for everybody to read. Sometimes it’s a bit hard to understand so that’s where something like amica comes in.”

Canny hopes to see more than 20,000 couples using amica each year and for everyone to know the tool is at their fingertips.

“I want everyone to intuitively know there is a resource so when things get rocky the mum will say to the daughter I think there is something online about this.