A low-cost, mission-led tool to help one person get organized before and during separation β
calmly, privately, and ready for whatever help they choose.
And it's kind. Separation is emotionally draining, and most people have never had to do any of this before.
Diary, the guide inside the app, holds your hand through it. It reminds you to breathe, goes one small step at a time, and says what
people in this spot most need to hear: you're not stupid, and you're not a bad person. This is hard. The kindness keeps you going,
and the organizing gets it done.
About this prototype
Why it exists
I went through a divorce early in life, and I became the person friends called when their own marriages ended.
Because I'm comfortable with technology, spreadsheets and AI, I helped them get their documents, finances and story in
order. Most of them were nurses, flight attendants and others who don't spend their working days on computers.
Divorce Diary is my way of putting that help into a tool, so anyone can have it.
Who it's for
Often the partner who wasn't the main earner: someone with a share in a home or other assets, but little cash and
little time, heading toward an attorney or mediator and needing to arrive organized. One person
can use it on their own, without the other person's involvement.
What it is
An admin and organizing tool, not a legal service. It helps one person capture their story once, gather documents,
keep a factual record of the children's time, and arrive at professional help prepared, with a calm, kind guide beside them the whole way. It's designed with safety in
mind for people in difficult or unsafe relationships. It began in Australia. This version is set up for California,
where each spouse has to share a full financial disclosure within 60 days of filing, and where the date of separation
decides what is community property. Those are exactly the jobs Divorce Diary helps with.
What works in this demo
The first questions, including privacy and safety options, and how the answers set up the app
The timeline with suggested milestones, and a financial documents checklist built from your date of separation (one box per statement, tax year and account)
Reading a PDF statement to tick off the right months, and reading a bank CSV to show real spending, all on your own device
Looking ahead: a guided estimate of what you'll need each month, and a dated record of who pays for what
The Children Calendar, with each child's usual schedule penciled in as the plan, separate from what actually happened
"Leave quickly", the help panel, and the "not legal advice" notice
What's simulated or not built yet
Diary's chat is scripted (the full version is an AI guide)
Sharing a pack with an attorney, emails arriving in the Inbox, and the PIN lock are shown but not functional
No accounts or storage: nothing you enter leaves this page, and it's cleared when you close it
Please keep in mind
The California legal points are simplified and haven't yet been reviewed by a California family law attorney.
The safety features still need review by domestic violence specialists.
Nothing here is legal advice.
Feedback we'd value
Are these the right first questions? What would you want to know about someone before a first meeting?
What do people most often arrive without, and what costs them the most time and money?
What would a California version need that's missing?
California demo β sample story shown for demonstration
Timeline
From the day you met, to today. Expand any year to see what's saved.
Add something once and it stays here until you change or delete it β ready whenever an attorney or mediator needs it.
Children Calendar
A calm, factual record of where the children are and when. Kept until you choose to delete it, and ready to share whenever it's needed.
With meWith the other parent Planned, not yet confirmed School breaks Special day
Financial documents
Let's get your financial information together β one thing at a time, in your own order.
Every document has its own box, so it's easy to see what's missing. Everything you upload also goes on your timeline.
π Rule of thumb: statements from the 12 months before you separated and everything since, plus your last 2 tax returns, which is what California's disclosure needs. Your checklist below already uses these dates.
Understand your spending
Optional extra detail. Export a CSV of transactions from your bank and we'll turn it into a plain picture of what comes in and goes out.
π A CSV is for planning, not proof: it can be edited, so it doesn't tick off any statements. Upload your PDF statements in the checklist above as the evidence.