About FairWell
We built FairWell because we needed it.
A note from the people who made it, for whoever is reading this tonight.
We are parents. Some of us have been through a separation ourselves. We remember the kitchen table late at night, a laptop open to a government form, trying to work out what one word meant and whether it applied to us. We remember waiting a week for an email that answered one question and raised three more. And we remember the moment a conversation that should have been about the children turned into something harder.
None of that made anyone a bad parent. It made us tired, and it made us afraid, mostly of the things we did not know yet.
Most people who separate are not trying to win. They want it to be fair. They want it to be over. And they want their kids to be okay. The system we have is not built around any of those three things. We built FairWell around all three.
In one sentence: FairWell helps people get organised before they pay a lawyer, so the professional time they do buy is shorter, calmer and cheaper.
What we learned the hard way
The first weeks set the tone
Decisions made in a panic are the hardest to undo: moving out in a hurry, emptying an account, sending the email you wrote at 2 a.m. A calm first step matters more than a fast one.
Not knowing is worse than bad news
Once you can see the numbers, even hard ones, you can plan. Fear lives in the gap between what is happening and what you understand. Most of what we built is there to close that gap.
One person usually knows more about the money
Often one partner handled the accounts and the other never saw the statements. That imbalance drives more mistrust than almost anything. When both people work from the same picture, the conversation changes.
Children need the conflict to stop landing on them
They don't need their parents to agree on everything. They need predictability, permission to love both of you, and to stay out of the middle. The longer and louder a separation is, the harder that becomes.
Good professionals are worth it, for the right work
A family lawyer or mediator earns their fee on judgement. Too often families pay those same rates for sorting paper and learning the basics. That part, you can do with good guidance.
What FairWell does about it
We wanted to make something that lowers the temperature, can save people money, and keeps everyone in the loop. In practice, that means a few simple things.
Less conflict
One calm, structured process instead of a back and forth. The hard questions are asked plainly, in a sensible order, so you can deal with them one at a time.
Lower cost
Flat, published prices. You do the organising with clear guidance, so the professional time you do pay for goes on judgement, not paperwork.
Everyone kept in the loop
Both partners can take part, each in their own time, working from the same questions and the same picture of the finances. Nobody should find out about a decision from a letter.
Preparation for your lawyer, not instead of one
What you make with FairWell is an organised summary of your information and the terms you want. A family lawyer or mediator in your province or state uses it to prepare the agreement and advises you before you sign. If your situation needs a lawyer in the lead, such as family violence, hidden assets or a move across borders, we will tell you so and help you find one.
Who we are, and who helped
We work in technology. Between us we have spent years taking confusing processes and making them clear, inside companies that grew quickly and had to earn trust as they went. When we looked at separation, we saw the opposite: a process that leaves people guessing, charges by the hour for the guessing, and asks them to find their own way to the right help.
Technology did not teach us what a child needs when their family changes shape. So FairWell was built alongside people who work in children's mental health, and with family law professionals who were generous with their time. Their input shaped how we ask difficult questions, how the parenting sections keep children at the centre, and how the whole experience feels when you are already exhausted.
Along the way we have learned from many advisors: family lawyers, mediators, therapists, financial professionals, academics and parents who have been through it. Most prefer not to be named. Their questions and corrections shaped every part of FairWell, and they still keep us honest.
Some of our guides come from guest contributors too, like Amanda, a family therapist who put together a reading list for people going through separation. Where a family law professional has reviewed a guide, their name is on the page. Professionals who claim their profile in our directory are checked against their regulator's or association's public register before they get a Verified badge. Profiles we have built from public sources are clearly marked as not yet claimed.
Where we're going, and why we'll be here
We want FairWell to be the place a family turns to the night they realise things are changing, and still the place they open years later when a support review comes around or a child's needs change. Not a form you download once and forget. A home for the whole journey: thinking it through, getting organised, finding the right people, and living well after signing.
We have watched which companies last. They solve a real problem, they charge fairly for it, and they earn trust slowly. That is the plan here, and it shapes every decision we make:
We only earn when we help
Families pay flat, published prices. Professionals pay flat listing fees or nothing at all. We never sell data, never charge per lead or per referral, and never take a share of anyone's settlement. Our incentives point the same way as yours.
We make professionals' time worth more
A prepared client is a better client. That is why lawyers, mediators, therapists and financial professionals want to be here, and why the directory keeps growing. FairWell works with the system's best people, not against them.
We are building for years, not months
Every product we add serves a family further along the road: from the first assessment, to agreement preparation, to FairWell After. Next on our list: a side-by-side view of where partners agree and differ, more French-language guides for Quebec, and more guides written with the professionals in our directory.
Separation is one of the darkest stretches many people ever go through. Some of us know, because we have been through it. But it ends, and what comes after can be good. If FairWell helps one family get there with less fear, less cost and their children at the centre, it has done its job. We intend to do that for a great many families, for a long time.
Our promises to you
- We are not a law firm. FairWell gives you structure, information and support to get organised. It does not give legal advice or draft legal documents, and we will never pretend otherwise.
- Your privacy matters. What you share here is some of the most personal information you have. We do not sell it, and we do not use it for third-party advertising. Read our privacy policy.
- Honest prices. Flat fees, shown up front on our pricing page. No hourly billing, no percentage of your settlement, and no paid placement in our guides.
- Free help first. If legal aid, duty counsel or a free clinic is right for you, we will point you there before we sell you anything. Our calculators and guides are free.
Wherever you are in this, you can start small
You don't need to have decided anything yet. The free assessment takes a few minutes and helps you see where you stand and what might come next.
If you want to talk, hello@fairwell.ai reaches a real person. Thank you for being here. We are sorry you need to be, and we hope we make it a little easier.
The FairWell team
Ontario, Canada, and Brooklyn, New York.