Now You Can Get Your Family And Friends To Crowdfund Your Divorce

You can crowdfund just about anything these days.

From raising money for a family struggling after the loss of a loved one, to medical treatment, to people who just want someone else to pay their bills for them, crowdfunding has become part of modern life.

Crowdfunding has made it easier for the community to rally behind those in need and raise money to help them out. Although it has made it easier for people to stick their hands out and ask others to pay their way through life.

Soon, you might see people on your Facebook news feed asking others to crowdfund their divorces.

A crowdfunding website called Plumfund has added “divorce” as one of the sections people can select to raise money for. The site was created by a couple who set up the honeymoon registry site Honeyfund 10 years ago. They say that people who crowdfund their divorce expenses will be able to use the money for things like legal costs or buying new furniture as they move out of the marital home.

The website says: “A divorce is one of the biggest life changes involving costly legal fees, setting up a new household, even unexpected costs like when the divorce is contested.”

Divorce can be costly. In Australia, depending on how complex your divorce settlement and custody matters are, it isn’t unusual for legal fees to run up to tens of thousands of dollars, even more. But does that mean that you should be asking your family and friends to foot the bill?

One school of thought is that loved ones often chip in to help with other big milestones in life such as weddings or the birth of children. Getting divorced is another significant life event for many people.

According to a 2016 interview by Plumfund co-founder Sara Margulis in Fortune, people often struggle to ask others for help during their divorce, and this could be an easier way to reach out and ask.

“Because divorce is considered such a shaming time in life, it’s a time when people tend to draw in and not really ask for help,” she said.

“This is a way for someone close to a divorcée to say, ‘We’re going to rally around you and support you.’ It doesn’t have to be taboo.”

At the time of writing, there were hundreds of people on the Plumfund website looking to crowdfund their divorce.

The crowdfunded divorce might soon be part of the 21st century’s new divorce culture, where things like divorce parties and divorce selfies are already becoming a thing.