Technology allows us to take care of many issues surrounding divorce without being in the awkward situation of confronting your soon-to-be-ex. For instance, if you need to review some separation documents, a divorce lawyer may be able to e-mail them to you securely and confidentially.
Couples that split up will ultimately have to divide their property as well, and now there’s an app that can apparently help with asset division. A Santa Rosa, Calif., developer recently designed iSplit Divorce, an application that claims to reduce the complicated process of splitting a couple’s assets within the span of 30 minutes.
According to the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, the app is similar to a video game, in that it assigns a value and icon to shared marital property that is then shifted around until a couple reaches an amicable settlement.
Virtually anything can be divided on the app – cars, furniture, investments, mortgages and credit card debt. According to iSplit creator George Moskoff, the goal is to reach a 50/50 split, the typical result of equitable distribution.
Perhaps an app can provide convenience and a quick snapshot of the marital property. But it’s probably not wise to divide up your marital estate on the basis of a smartphone app. The Raleigh family lawyers at Charles Ullman & Associates urge you to speak to an attorney before initiating a divorce or dividing assets. Technology can be a benefit or a curse, and it is not advisable to agree to anything when it comes to assets until you’ve had a chance to understand how North Carolina’s equitable distribution laws work.
That’s not to say that apps aren’t part of the future for family law. Attorneys, like nearly everybody else, are working hard to adapt their practices to the ever-changing online world. That includes cloud computing and countless other potential technologies that could permanently change how we practice law. Just remember that no system is flawless. A talk with a divorce lawyer can help you understand what your options are.
