Hey, sometimes it works, and sometimes you have to just move on. And if it’s no contest – the divorce, that is – time to just say Let’s Get Divorced.
And that’s what Let’s Get Divorced is all about. It’s a site that makes getting an uncontested divorce quick, painless and affordable. Founder (and attorney) Jerry Bruckner goes into the details.
Tell us about the service.
LetsGetDivorced is the easiest to use online application that makes it inexpensive, quick and simple for married couples to file for an uncontested, no-fault divorce in New York State, without an attorney.
The service went live to the public in August, 2014. And will be gradually expanded to handle simple, uncontested divorces in additional states throughout the United States.
LetsGetDivorced is not a law firm. It is an online, self-directed, legal document assembly service for married couples who want to file a simple, uncontested divorce, where both spouses agree on all of the issues of their divorce; such as equitable distribution of their marital property and marital debts, spousal support (a/k/a alimony/maintenance), child custody, visitation and child support.
LetsGetDivorced charges a very affordable 1x flat fee (currently, only $99) to use the online service. Customers enter their divorce details into a secure questionnaire by answering simple questions.
LetsGetDivorced instantly generates and populates the New York State uncontested divorce forms, including a custom marital settlement agreement, based on the customer’s answers. The divorce documents are ready to be printed, signed and filed with the Court.
Customers can instantly edit their answers and print out updated divorce forms. Customer support is also provided, via phone and email.
How is it different?
There are other web-based services that allow customers to purchase uncontested divorce forms, that are populated using information provided by the customer about their divorce. These other services are very old, and in our opinion, not easy to use.
LetsGetDivorced has dramatically improved the usability and overall customer experience by developing an intuitive and easy-to-use, online wizard-driven, uncontested divorce forms document assembly application that instantly creates all of the required legal forms (plus a custom marital separation agreement), to file for an uncontested, no-fault divorce, without an attorney. The completed legal documents are generated into PDF format, and can be immediately printed, and are ready to be signed and filed. The documents can also be immediately downloaded and/or emailed directly to the customer.
Unlike all of our competitors, who require a customer to first make full payment, and only then are they allowed to see and use the actual application necessary to complete all of their information, LetsGetDivorced allows users to try the entire application (except for generating all of their divorce forms) before they make their payment. This way, potential customers can see how easy it is to enter all of their information – before they make their payment.
Although we understandably cannot generate and show the customer all of their completed divorce forms prior to their purchasing the service, the application generates one of the actual divorce forms and populates it with the customer’s information, so they can see the high level of quality of the forms that our program generates.
What market are you attacking and how big is it?
The long-term market for LetsGetDivorced is people seeking a divorce in the United States, either by way of an uncontested divorce, an adversarial (contested) divorce, or a mediated or collaborative divorce.
The long-term size of the market corresponds to there being approximately one million (1,000,000) divorces per year in the United States.
What is the business model?
Fee for service.
Current:
LetsGetDivorced currently charges customers a flat fee per-customer to use its online platform to create ready to print, sign and file uncontested divorce forms.
Future:
We will charge a per-referral fee from a branded national network of divorce attorneys and divorce mediators that we will establish.
Visitors to LetsGetDivorced will be able to be put in touch with local divorce attorneys and divorce mediators so that they can pursue any of the full range of divorce options beyond the simple uncontested divorces provided by LetsGetDivorced (i.e., adversarial contested divorce, mediated divorce, or collaborative divorce).
Frequently, people contemplating divorce are unaware of the different types of ways they can pursue divorce (i.e., uncontested divorce, adversarial contested divorce, mediated divorce, or collaborative divorce). By visiting LetsGetDivorced, potential customers will be able to use a secure, online questionnaire to quickly and easily learn about divorce options and either utilize LetsGetDivorced, if it is a simple uncontested divorce, or request to be put in touch with a local divorce attorney or divorce mediator to have a consultation.
What percentage of divorces in New York State are filed as uncontested divorces?
Generally speaking, the vast bulk of all divorces in the United States are filed as uncontested divorces (meaning, where the parties agree). It is not uncommon for the percentage of divorces filed as uncontested divorces to be at least 75% of the total number of all divorces filed. Many times the percentage is far higher.
Using very conservative numbers, in New York State, it is not uncommon to have at least over 50,000 divorces per year (both uncontested and contested). Thus, it is not uncommon in New York to have at least 75% of those 50,000 divorces filed per year as uncontested divorces. 50,000 * 75% = 37,500.
In addition, there are approximately one million divorces filed per year in the United States. Using the same formula provides an estimate of 750,000 uncontested divorces being filed per year in the United States. (1,000,000 * 75% = 750,000).
What are the milestones that you plan to achieve within six months?
- Conduct Internet marketing and social media marketing to obtain page 1 ranking in Google’s organic search results for our targeted search keywords
- Implement Phase 1 of establishing a national network of Attorneys who practice uncontested divorce cases and/or contested divorce cases who agree to pay a flat referral fee to our company to receive referrals (leads) from visitors to LetsGetDivorced, who:
- Want to file a simple uncontested divorce in the state(s) that our company does not yet presently handle.
- Reside in the state(s) that our company does presently handle, but they need to file a type of divorce that our company does not handle, such as a contested adversarial divorce that will be litigated in court.
Note: We would enhance the current “online uncontested divorce eligibility” questionnaire on LetsGetDivorced to give the user an easy way to enter their contact info which would be sent to a local divorce attorney in their area who would contact them to schedule a consultation to discuss their situation.
If you could be put in touch with one investor in the New York community who would it be and why?
At this point, I cannot give you a specific name. However, I do know, that the type of investor that I would like to be put in contact with would be an investor who is interested in funding a company that has already “proven” that despite being very small, it can go from “concept” to launching a “live application” that is simple and easy-to-use, where customers desire the service, the application has started to make sales – and where there is a vision for additional revenue streams.
Why did you launch in New York?
I was born in Long Island, New York and I have lived most of my life in New York. I am also an Attorney admitted to practice in New York State. I have always considered New York to be the most dynamic and energetic place for a person to live, or for a business to operate. Thus, it was a no brainier to decide to give the company a New York identity by forming it in New York, and launching the initial version of the online service to handle uncontested divorces that people wanted to file in New York State.
What’s your favorite summer time beach destination close to NYC?
I grew up on Long Island and had a fantastic time spending summers at Jones Beach. The moderate ocean waves, enormous sandy beaches that go on for miles, delicious hot salted pretzels and cold ice cream served on the boardwalk (which also goes on for miles), plus outdoor concerts and shows at the Jones Beach theater, make Jones Beach my favorite beach to go to relax, kick back and unwind with family and friends.
Image credit: CC by Daniel Lobo