Latest news with #JustFund
NZ Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Australian lender JustFund expands to NZ, aiding divorce legal costs
Australian divorce and separation lender JustFund has launched in New Zealand with the backing of several family law firms. The company, founded in Sydney in 2022, provides flexible lines of credit to help those unable to afford legal representation during divorce or separation proceedings. Its co-founder and co-chief executive, Andy
Perth Now
05-07-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Women in missing middle struggle during divorce process
Survivors of domestic violence and financial abuse are being trapped in relationships, unable to leave because they cannot afford legal fees associated with divorce. There has been a surge in demand for services for women and families in the 'missing middle' - those ineligible for Legal Aid but still unable to afford a lawyer. Many who do go through divorce are forced to accept unfair settlements because they cannot afford to fight for what they are entitled. It's a story familiar to Kathy, who asked that AAP withhold her full name for privacy reasons, after spending years in a de facto relationship with a man who subjected her to financial, physical and emotional abuse. Despite having her own money and assets when she entered the relationship, her ex took over the couple's finances. But when she tried to leave he launched a calculated campaign to exhaust her financially and emotionally, locking her out of their bank accounts, refusing to hand over documents and hiding assets in secret accounts. "He was a vicious and vexatious litigator and kept firing his legal team so (the case) would be constantly deferred," Kathy told AAP. Many perpetrators are able to weaponise the court system by using delaying tactics that make legal fees soar, psychological counsellor Naomi Pearce said. Through her firm TFA Legal, she and other psychologists along with lawyers and social workers provide a trauma-informed service that addresses not only legal outcomes but also the emotional and financial wellbeing of women navigating high-conflict separations and abuse. "What we are trying to do is remove the ability for someone to use the system of the family court to ruin someone's life," she said. "We help women cope and hang in there, just to get everything done in the legal process, maintain their rights and move forward in their lives." Kathy was advised to contact JustFund, an organisation that provides a flexible line of credit based on a person's expected family settlement rather than their income, credit score or employment status. "The court system is an unfair playing field ... by the time I got help from JustFund, I was totally broken," she said. Since launching, JustFund has unlocked more than $1 billion in settlements and helped more than 2300 Australians get access to legal representation. Co-founders Jack O'Donnell and Andy O'Connor started their careers as lawyers but saw too many clients turned away by their firm. "I remember one single mum leaving a relationship who had assets but didn't have the financial resources to pay our fees and it stood out as being really unfair," Mr O'Donnell said. "We wanted to leverage our legal experience to design a solution that didn't exist but we knew could be life saving for individuals." JustFund clients are overwhelmingly women and many earn just 35 per cent of their former partner's income. Mr O'Connor said the service aimed to level the playing field in the legal system. The service isn't exclusively for DV survivors but more than 64 per cent of their clients have experienced financial abuse or coercive control. "Navigating a divorce is really challenging emotionally and financially," Mr O'Donnell said. "We see a real problem in Australia that there are hundreds of thousands trapped in really unhealthy relationships because they can't afford to leave." "At its core we are trying to empower people get through something really difficult," he said. "To be shackled by a lack of funding to get through a divorce; it shouldn't be that hard." Women are consistently falling through the gaps in under-resourced legal aid and the high costs of legal services, Ms Pearce said. "We see women who are legally entitled to support or assets but are so traumatised by what they've been through. "They just don't have the emotional capacity to keep going and without support, they walk away from everything they're owed." 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Lifeline 13 11 14 Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
West Australian
05-07-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Women in missing middle struggle during divorce process
Survivors of domestic violence and financial abuse are being trapped in relationships, unable to leave because they cannot afford legal fees associated with divorce. There has been a surge in demand for services for women and families in the 'missing middle' - those ineligible for Legal Aid but still unable to afford a lawyer. Many who do go through divorce are forced to accept unfair settlements because they cannot afford to fight for what they are entitled. It's a story familiar to Kathy, who asked that AAP withhold her full name for privacy reasons, after spending years in a de facto relationship with a man who subjected her to financial, physical and emotional abuse. Despite having her own money and assets when she entered the relationship, her ex took over the couple's finances. But when she tried to leave he launched a calculated campaign to exhaust her financially and emotionally, locking her out of their bank accounts, refusing to hand over documents and hiding assets in secret accounts. "He was a vicious and vexatious litigator and kept firing his legal team so (the case) would be constantly deferred," Kathy told AAP. Many perpetrators are able to weaponise the court system by using delaying tactics that make legal fees soar, psychological counsellor Naomi Pearce said. Through her firm TFA Legal, she and other psychologists along with lawyers and social workers provide a trauma-informed service that addresses not only legal outcomes but also the emotional and financial wellbeing of women navigating high-conflict separations and abuse. "What we are trying to do is remove the ability for someone to use the system of the family court to ruin someone's life," she said. "We help women cope and hang in there, just to get everything done in the legal process, maintain their rights and move forward in their lives." Kathy was advised to contact JustFund, an organisation that provides a flexible line of credit based on a person's expected family settlement rather than their income, credit score or employment status. "The court system is an unfair playing field ... by the time I got help from JustFund, I was totally broken," she said. Since launching, JustFund has unlocked more than $1 billion in settlements and helped more than 2300 Australians get access to legal representation. Co-founders Jack O'Donnell and Andy O'Connor started their careers as lawyers but saw too many clients turned away by their firm. "I remember one single mum leaving a relationship who had assets but didn't have the financial resources to pay our fees and it stood out as being really unfair," Mr O'Donnell said. "We wanted to leverage our legal experience to design a solution that didn't exist but we knew could be life saving for individuals." JustFund clients are overwhelmingly women and many earn just 35 per cent of their former partner's income. Mr O'Connor said the service aimed to level the playing field in the legal system. The service isn't exclusively for DV survivors but more than 64 per cent of their clients have experienced financial abuse or coercive control. "Navigating a divorce is really challenging emotionally and financially," Mr O'Donnell said. "We see a real problem in Australia that there are hundreds of thousands trapped in really unhealthy relationships because they can't afford to leave." "At its core we are trying to empower people get through something really difficult," he said. "To be shackled by a lack of funding to get through a divorce; it shouldn't be that hard." Women are consistently falling through the gaps in under-resourced legal aid and the high costs of legal services, Ms Pearce said. "We see women who are legally entitled to support or assets but are so traumatised by what they've been through. "They just don't have the emotional capacity to keep going and without support, they walk away from everything they're owed." 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Lifeline 13 11 14 Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
News.com.au
24-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Meet the lawyers helping women fund their escape from domestic abuse
It was an idea hatched over a couple of beers, while airing frustrations at having to turn away victims of domestic violence who couldn't afford legal representation. Jack O'Donnell and Andy O'Connor came up with the idea of a first-of-its-kind divorce and separation loan, based not on someone's income or credit score, but on their likely property settlement. Three years on, the JustFund founders and co-CEOs have to date helped more than 2300 people – mainly women fleeing abusive relationships – and secured more than $1.3 billion in settlements. 'We'd come to realise after spending years working in it [law] that it is a really unfair system,' Mr O'Donnell told 'Unfortunately, we kept turning away really good people who deserved really good advice, simply because they couldn't afford our fees and that never seemed right to us,' he said. The duo believe their offering separates them from traditional banks, with those in need able to pay them back after the settlement is finalised with the divided assets. Mr O'Connor said traditional lenders will look at income and credit score when a loan is applied for, which can become difficult for those who don't work. 'For most people, that means it's a computer says no outcome for that request,' he said. 'It's in putting yourself in the shoes of the borrower, of a client going through separation, and understanding, a) how the product needs to work for their circumstances and b) looking at eligibility in an entirely different way. 'You can't take a copy paste approach to normal lending and apply it in this space. 'When someone's in the shoes of separating from their partner and they're staring at a lawyer charging six, seven, eight hundred dollars an hour, if they're fortunate, if they and their partner can reach a settlement very, quickly, very cheaply, that's great. 'But not everyone's as lucky as that, particularly when you throw into the mix the existence of increasing awareness of the prevalence of domestic violence and financial control. 'In particular, what we see in so many of the experience of our clients, is how the system can be weaponised and how financial imbalances can play out in the negotiation of a settlement for a client.' JustFund takes a 'family law approach' to value the assets that will be divided between the parties and forms a view as to what share the borrower is likely to receive. A borrower is able to access the approved funds within days, with the team of 18 lawyers able to move more quickly if someone's circumstances were urgent. Mr O'Connell said the most important thing to do was to empower those going through a difficult relationship, domestic abuse or financial control to 'take control of their own futures'. 'The reality is barriers to access to funding are really significant in how those situations play out, and we hear time and time again from clients that our approval of their funding application is the difference between them being able to move out of their homes and situations,' he said. In Australia, data shows that about one in six women have experienced financial abuse – a common form of family violence – from a former or current partner. 'This can include things like stopping someone from earning money, controlling finances or denying access to money,' a spokesperson for Safe and Equal told 'It also includes incurring debts in someone's name, stealing someone's possessions, or excluding someone from financial decisions that impact them. 'Economic abuse is particularly insidious because it keeps a victim survivor financially dependent on their perpetrator, trapped and unable to safely escape without facing immense financial stress or, in many cases, poverty and homelessness,' they said, adding that because the abuse can escalate after separation, many victim survivors feel like they must remain in the relationship for their own safety. 'If they do manage to safely escape, the impacts can be lifelong, causing significant stress and damage long after the relationship has ended. 'We see this a lot in cases where the perpetrator has accrued large debts in the victim survivor's name,' the spokesperson said. Safe and Equal said many victim survivors are unable or unwilling to go through costly separation or divorce proceedings, particularly when their abuser has the financial means to weaponise court systems and keep them embroiled in expensive litigation processes as a form of 'punishment' – such as prolonging family court proceedings, hiding assets, stalling joint property or debt settlements, or not paying child support. 'Victim survivors will often settle for much less than what they are entitled to, just to avoid the ongoing control and abuse,' the spokesperson said. 'In many cases, they never fully recover financially.'
