General-purpose AI chatbots are good at drafting a letter, summarizing a long email or explaining a concept to a client. It's tempting to also hand them a stack of statements and ask for a balance sheet. But divorce numbers end up in signed agreements and court orders, so they need a higher standard than "probably right."
Before you put a client's financial picture into any AI tool, ask these five questions.
1. Where does my client's information go?
Read the terms. Some consumer AI tools keep what you type, use it to improve their models or store it outside your control. Lawyers have a duty to protect client confidences, and mediators and financial professionals have similar obligations. The American Bar Association addressed generative AI directly in Formal Opinion 512 (2024). Your state bar may have issued its own guidance too.
Ask: Is the data encrypted? Where is it stored? Who can see it? Is it used for training? Can it be deleted?
2. Can I trace every number back to a document?
A chatbot gives you an answer, not a record. If it says a retirement account is worth a certain amount, can you point to the statement, page and date that figure came from? Chatbots can produce numbers that look plausible and are simply wrong.
Ask: If opposing counsel or a judge challenged this figure, could I show where it came from?
3. Will I get the same answer tomorrow?
Ask a chatbot the same question twice and you may get two different answers. That's fine for brainstorming. It's a problem for a support figure or an equalization payment that several professionals and both parties rely on.
Ask: Is there a saved version of this calculation that everyone on the matter is working from?
4. Does it know my state's current rules?
Support guidelines, schedules and economic tables change. Rules for characterizing property differ from state to state. A general chatbot may apply another state's rules, or this state's rules from several years ago, without saying so.
Ask: Which jurisdiction and which version of the rules is this based on?
5. Who is accountable when it's wrong?
The professional is. AI doesn't change your duty of competence or your responsibility to supervise the work done on a matter. Any tool you use has to make your review easier, not replace it.
Ask: Can I check this output quickly and confidently before I rely on it?
An answer vs. a record
Chatbots are useful assistants for writing and explaining. Divorce finances need something else: a saved, verified record that schedules, worksheets and agreements are built from, which everyone on the matter can see. That's the difference VennBoard is built around.
Want to see the difference on a real matter? Bring us one closed matter, and we'll compare our record to the final outcome. Talk to us
This article is general information, not legal or ethics advice. Check your jurisdiction's rules and ethics opinions on AI use.