# Why We Built On Good Terms > Source: https://ongoodterms.ai/journal/why-we-built-on-good-terms-2 > Published: Sep 7, 2026 > Author: Jennifer Paddock, Co-Founder, On Good Terms > Publisher: On Good Terms (Pty) Ltd, South Africa > Topics: Opinion, News On Good Terms started with a simple thought: **There has to be a better way to divorce.** We didn’t arrive at that idea as outsiders looking at a broken system. We arrived at it because we had both been through divorce ourselves. Our divorces were very different. The circumstances were different, the timelines were different, the challenges were different, and the costs were different. But we both came away from the experience believing the same thing. Divorce is already hard enough. The process shouldn’t make it harder. ## The strange thing about an “amicable” divorce People often talk about an amicable divorce as though it is the easy version. It isn’t. Even when two people are committed to being respectful, avoiding unnecessary conflict and protecting their children from the fallout, there are still difficult decisions to make. What happens to the family home? How are assets and debts divided? What happens with pensions? Is maintenance appropriate? Where will the children live? How will holidays work? Who pays for school, medical expenses and extracurricular activities? What happens when circumstances change? These are practical questions, but they sit right in the middle of an emotional upheaval. And before a couple can get divorced on agreed terms, those decisions need to be worked through, recorded properly and ultimately incorporated into a Settlement Agreement, a Parenting Plan (if applicable), and then go through the legal divorce process via the courts. For many couples, the traditional route is to enter a system that was largely designed around two opposing parties, each protecting their own position. Sometimes that is exactly what is needed. If there is abuse, coercion, serious dishonesty, a major power imbalance or simply no realistic prospect of reaching agreement, each person may need strong independent legal representation. But what about the couples who **do** want to agree? The people who are separating, but don’t want to become enemies. The parents who know they are going to be raising children together for years after their marriage ends. The couples who want proper legal outcomes without spending months exchanging correspondence through professionals at an hourly rate. We felt there should be another path. ## A better process, not a “quick divorce” That distinction matters to us. We are not trying to trivialise divorce or package it as something painless. There is no technology that can remove the grief, uncertainty or emotional complexity of ending a marriage. What we *can* do is remove some of the unnecessary friction around it. We started asking what the process might look like if it were designed from the beginning around couples who want to reach agreement. What if each person could privately explain what matters to them before negotiations start? What if the process helped identify where they already agree, where they don’t, and what still needs to be decided? What if difficult conversations could happen in a structured environment rather than through heated in-person mediation sessions, long email chains, competing legal letters or emotionally charged WhatsApp messages? What if technology could help people understand the issues, organise the information and communicate more constructively — while qualified humans remained involved where legal judgement and oversight matter? And what if, once agreement was reached, the same process could turn those decisions into the documents required to move the divorce forward? That became **On Good Terms**. ## Combining two very different worlds In some ways, On Good Terms is the natural result of the two of us building something together. Jen is an attorney and mediator. Her world is law, dispute resolution and translating complicated legal concepts into something ordinary people can actually understand. Spiro is a technology entrepreneur and product builder. His world is taking frustrating, inefficient processes and asking how technology can make them simpler, more intuitive and more human. Divorce sits right at the intersection of those two worlds. There is a lot that technology can improve. But we also believe very strongly that this is an area where technology should **support people, not replace judgement**. AI can help organise information, identify issues, explain concepts, structure negotiations and make communication less inflammatory. It can help people move forward at their own pace instead of having every interaction tied to a professional's diary and an hourly clock. But family law involves real people making decisions with long-term consequences. That is why On Good Terms is being built as an **AI-assisted** process, not an AI-only divorce service. ## Staying on good terms matters The name came before much of the platform. Because it captures what we are trying to protect. Divorce ends a marriage. It does not necessarily end the relationship between two people. If you have children together, you may still be sitting next to each other at school concerts, birthdays, graduations and, one day, perhaps even your children's weddings. You will still need to make decisions together. Even without children, there is value in being able to walk away from an important chapter of your life without causing more damage than the ending itself required. Being “on good terms” doesn't mean agreeing about everything. It doesn't mean suppressing anger or pretending that nothing painful happened. And it certainly doesn't mean accepting an unfair outcome just to keep the peace. It means trying, where possible, to resolve the things that need to be resolved **without turning disagreement into warfare**. We think the divorce process should help people do that. Not make it harder. ## What we are trying to build On Good Terms is for couples who have decided that their marriage is ending but believe they may still be able to work through the consequences together. It provides a structured process to help them identify the decisions that need to be made, understand their options, negotiate areas of disagreement and ultimately record what they have agreed in the legal documents required for their divorce. It is not suitable for every couple. And we don't think it should be. But for the people who are capable of reaching agreement, we believe divorce can be **smarter, kinder and faster** than the experience many people currently expect. We have both experienced the traditional system. We both came away thinking there had to be another way. So we decided to build one. **On Good Terms.** *A smarter, kinder & faster way to divorce.* --- This is general information about South African law and practice. It is not advice about any particular situation and does not replace advice from an attorney.