An AI tool can help sort the documents, extract the figures and spot inconsistencies. It must never decide what is in the child’s best interests, set maintenance or choose a custody arrangement.
In Switzerland, family law files contain highly sensitive data. Processing them therefore requires a secure environment that is compatible with professional secrecy and data protection.
What AI can bring to a family law file
A divorce or separation file often contains a large number of documents: civil status records, payslips, bank statements, occupational pension (LPP) statements, property documents, correspondence between the parties and information about the children.
AI can help put this information in order. It can draw up an index of the documents, flag missing or illegible ones and prepare an overview of the file.
It can also structure the financial data: income, expenses, assets, occupational pension and third-pillar savings. The aim is to give the legal professional a clear basis before negotiation, mediation or the hearing.
Extracting figures without losing their source
In a family law file, every significant amount must be traceable to a specific document.
If AI extracts an income of CHF 8,000, you must be able to go straight to the payslip or statement that supports this figure.
The same rule applies to debts, bank balances, occupational pension amounts or the value of a property.
The tool can also highlight a difference between what a party declares and what the supporting documents show. However, it must not decide on its own that a piece of information is false or that an amount is owed. It points out an inconsistency, and the lawyer then examines it.
Organising information about the children
In family law, the child’s best interests remain a central criterion. An AI system cannot decide which custody arrangement is preferable or how parental responsibility should be organised.
It can, however, structure the facts: the school calendar, holidays, proposals already made by the parents, work constraints, day-to-day arrangements or points still under discussion.
This preparation helps the lawyer see quickly what has already been settled and what is still disputed. It can also facilitate mediation by setting out the points of disagreement clearly, without taking sides.
The divorce agreement remains under human control
In a divorce on joint petition, the spouses can submit to the court an agreement on the effects of the divorce. Where they agree on all points, Article 111 of the Civil Code (CC) provides for a comprehensive agreement. In the event of a partial agreement, the points still in dispute can be left to the court to decide under Article 112 CC.
AI can help prepare the structure of an agreement, but it must not validate its legal content.
Questions relating to the family home, parental responsibility, contact rights, maintenance contributions, the matrimonial property regime or the division of pension assets require an analysis specific to the case.
For child maintenance, the applicable Swiss rules and case law must be examined. This is why a tool cannot simply apply a foreign scale or automatically produce a “correct” amount.
The liquidation of the matrimonial property regime and the division of pension assets also require detailed analysis. For succession issues relating to family assets, read our article AI for an authentic will.
Finally, the agreement must be validated by a professional before it is submitted to the court. Under Article 279 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC), the court checks in particular that it was concluded freely, that it is clear and complete, and that it is not manifestly unfair.
The decisions AI must not make
AI replaces neither the judge nor the lawyer. It cannot assess a child’s best interests on its own, evaluate complex family dynamics or decide on a compromise between the parties.
Nor does it have the human context needed to interpret a family conflict, a situation involving violence or a psychological difficulty.
The same principle applies to financial amounts: an automatically generated figure can create false expectations for the client. The lawyer must therefore check every calculation and take responsibility for the legal position adopted.
AI is there to organise information. Strategy, negotiation, validation of the agreement and final decisions remain a human responsibility.
A simple method for handling the file
Rigorous use can follow six steps. The tool starts by listing the documents received and flagging any that are missing. It then sorts them by topic: civil status, finances, children, housing or occupational pensions.
Next, it extracts the key data and the proposals already put forward by the parties. This information is compared with the supporting documents to identify discrepancies.
Each alert must then be checked against the original document. Finally, the legal professional turns the validated information into legal advice and strategy.
In this way, AI speeds up the preparatory work, but the step from raw data to legal decision remains in the professional’s hands.
Checking legal sources
A legal answer is only useful if it can be verified.
AI can suggest statutory provisions or case law relevant to the file, but the lawyer must open the sources and check that they apply to the situation.
This precaution is particularly important with general-purpose tools, which may cite a foreign rule, an outdated decision or an incorrect reference.
The verification method is explained in more detail in our article on AI-assisted legal analysis.
Protecting family data
Family law files often contain particularly sensitive information: income, assets, health, information about minors or situations of violence.
Before using an AI tool, you therefore need to know where the data is stored, who can access it and whether it is used to train models.
Personally identifiable information should not be sent to a tool that does not guarantee an environment suited to confidential data.
According to Silex, each organisation’s data is kept separate, client files are not used to train the models and the data is hosted in Switzerland with Infomaniak.
The safeguards are detailed on the security and professional secrecy page. The legal framework is presented in our article AI and data protection.
What Silex brings to family law files
Silex is a legal research solution specialised in Swiss law.
With Silo, the lawyer can query the documents uploaded to the file and find the source document used for an answer.
For example, they can check whether a pension fund statement is in the file, find an amount in a supporting document or prepare a summary from several documents.
This traceability helps prepare hearings, negotiations and internal memos, without taking responsibility for the final analysis away from the lawyer.
The features are presented on the product page.
Silex in the firm’s day-to-day work
Silex can be used within tools that some firms already have in place. In particular, it is integrated into WinLex and SkyLex.
The partnership with MCR Solutions also aims to integrate AI-powered legal research into existing work processes.
The various professional uses are presented on the solutions by profession page. You can also read the announcements about Silex and EXPERTsuisse and Bordier & Cie.
For other professions, see also our articles AI for notaries and AI for lawyers.
The Solo, Team and Enterprise plans are priced at CHF 149, CHF 490 and CHF 895 per month respectively. Details are available on the pricing page.
Before sending an agreement or a file
Before anything is sent to the client or the court, all sensitive information must have been processed in a suitable environment.
Key figures must refer back to their supporting documents. A missing pension fund statement, for example, must be clearly flagged before the agreement is finalised. Article 280 CPC notably provides for confirmations from the pension institutions concerned to be submitted for the division of occupational pension assets.
Points concerning the children must be presented as facts and questions to be resolved, never as a “verdict” produced by AI.
Finally, the person in charge of the file must check the legal sources, proofread the text and validate the strategy before anything is filed.
In short
AI can help in family law by sorting documents, extracting figures and flagging inconsistencies.
It does not decide on custody, the child’s best interests, the final amount of maintenance or the definitive content of an agreement.
Its role is to make the file clearer and easier to check. Legal decisions remain with the lawyer, the judge or the competent authority.
To test this method on a family law file, you can schedule a demonstration.
