Are DIY Divorce Apps Cheaper & Easier Than Working with Divorce Attorneys?
As attorneys who practice divorce and family law here in Orlando, Florida, we receive a lot of questions about online divorce platforms (i.e. do it yourself divorce apps), and whether they are reliable. The purpose of these programs are to prepare and file forms for people going through divorce by relying on technology to automatically produce their documents and provide additional resources for issues such as child custody. For example, once such app is known as “Hello Divorce,” which offers videos, templates and legal coaching, with fees totaling approximately $1,500. The app reportedly has had around 1,000 users thus far.
However, it is important to understand what these apps are and are not. In a nutshell, they essentially provide an attorney referral service, connecting consumers with attorneys who have paid to be a part of the services. As a result, the consumer is not necessarily getting the most qualified attorney, they are simply getting the attorney was paid to be a part of the service.
Where The Difference Is Important
Issues with this model come up when you have a contested divorce, or really any divorce that involves child custody, property division, alimony, and really any other issue that has not been agreed-upon. An actual local attorney is going to look at a client’s divorce case and initially decide whether It makes sense to pursue collaboration, litigation, mediation, or negotiation, for example, but an app is not equipped to do this. Because these apps are self-directed, as a result, users tend to occur additional fees based on the amount of guidance that they need from the app’s contract attorney or paralegal. As a result, there are often wasted fees because the user will pay for a number of services, become frustrated, and then end up hiring a local divorce attorney anyway. A number of people end up being very disappointed with this one-size-fits-all approach.
Another issue is that one can be led on the path that oversimplifies their divorce and fails to address a number of important issues that absolutely must be addressed, such as the distribution of retirement assets and child-support.
Contact Our Florida Divorce & Family Law Attorneys
If you live in Florida and are contemplating or going through divorce, contact our experienced Orlando divorce attorneys at Arwani Law Firm, PLLC to find out how we can ensure that you are protected and confident, in control, and ready to achieve the very best future for yourself as a result of the process. You want to ensure that you work with an experienced attorney, especially when it comes to such issues as alimony, child support, parenting plan, the division of assets, property, and debt, and how any existing prenuptial agreements might apply to these terms and outcomes.
Resource:
abajournal.com/magazine/article/do-diy-divorce-apps-deliver?utm_source=salesforce_83427&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tech_monthly&utm_medium=email&utm_source=salesforce_83427&sc_sid=03274403&utm_campaign=&promo=&utm_content=&additional4=&additional5=&sfmc_j=83427&sfmc_s=51611007&sfmc_l=1528&sfmc_jb=156&sfmc_mid=100027443&sfmc_u=3489263
