A do-it-yourself approach can work for some people for some things. Maybe you want to add a deck to your home, or do some landscaping, or remodel your bathroom. Maybe you want to build a homemade outrigger for your kayak or make your own organic toothpaste. Taking the DIY route for such matters can work out well for some, particularly when the risk of loss, injury or failure isn’t that significant and the individual contemplating the project is reasonably competent or capable.
In matters where the risk of loss or failure is great and the individual his little competence, a DIY approach may not be the best way to go. In legal matters such as divorce, going it without an attorney may be tempting to some because of the potential cost savings. This is part of the driving force behind an app developed by two women from the U.K. known as Amicable.
The App is aimed at helping couples identify key issues in their cases and the things they need to do to address them. This includes obtaining financial documents, budgeting for post-divorce living, and formulating a parenting plan. The App is U.K. based, but it isn’t based on any single legal jurisdiction and may be used anywhere in the world.
While the App doesn’t aim to be a replacement for legal counsel, it does aim to reduce the role of legal counsel in the early stages of the process, which is often termed divorced planning. In our next post, we’ll look a bit more at the topic of divorce planning and the value of an experienced attorney in the divorce process.