A new tool for people in relationships who wish to separate has been released by the Legal Services Commission of Australia.
According to the Commission, 91,000 people are affected by relationship breakdowns each year, with many staying in broken relationships for fear of financial implications should they move out.
The Commission said a new single-sided version of ‘amica’, the simple, smart online separation tool – would make it easier for people thinking of separating to know where they stood.
“Using Artificial Intelligence (AI), amicaone allows users to see how amica works without involving their former partner by providing an estimate of a suggested division of money and property, reflected as a percentage split,” the Commission said.
“amicaone’s inbuilt AI considers all the factors of a relationship when giving an estimate of what is a fair split – including the length of the relationship, age and health care needs, contributions to the relationship, and earnings,” it said.
Project Chief of amica and Chief Executive of the Legal Services Commission, Gabrielle Canny, said amica had so far seen the creation of over 10,000 user accounts, assisting couples in separating amicably, helping to avoid costly and protracted legal proceedings, as well as helping alleviate court backlogs.
“amicaone is a game-changer for people considering separating, particularly women experiencing domestic violence,” Ms Canny said.
“(It) empowers them to know where they stand and what a division of money and property might look like, without involving their partner,” she said.
“In 2022, 50,575 divorces were granted in Australia, but many more people remain in broken down relationships in fear of the financial implications a separation will cause.”
Ms Canny said separation didn’t need to be messy and the purpose of amica one is to empower people to move on, once they know where they stand.
She said that after the launch of amica, client feedback and market research led the Commission to develop amicaone.
She said amicaone was a free service, and no personal identifiable information is required to generate a suggested division of money and property.
The new tool can be accessed at this PS News link.
