This week on the podcast, join Principal Caralee Fontenele and JustFund Founder Jack O’Donnell as they sit down to discuss how JustFund legal funding can support your family law matter, and why more separating couples are turning to Justfund litigation funding to get through property settlement without draining their savings first.
What is JustFund?
JustFund is an Australian financial service provider that offers lines of credit and litigation funding to help people pay for legal fees and related costs during family law and estate matters. Founded and run by lawyers, JustFund provides specialized legal funding for family law and estate cases, with the goal of ensuring everyone can access quality legal advice and representation for matters related to property division, regardless of how much cash they have sitting in the bank right now.
Jack O’Donnell describes it as Australia’s only dedicated legal finance platform for divorce and separation, built specifically around the way family law property matters actually move through the system, rather than adapted from a generic personal loan product.
JustFund can help with the costs of legal fees, disbursements, counsel fees, and other costs that may arise with your matter. In practice, this means the funding can help clients pay for legal fees, expert reports, court costs and related expenses that would otherwise need to come out of pocket while a property settlement is still being negotiated or litigated.
What Does “Litigation Funding” Actually Mean?
Litigation funding is a third party covering a client’s litigation costs, in exchange for repayment once the matter resolves, usually from the proceeds of a settlement or judgment. It is a well-established concept in commercial and class action law in Australia, and JustFund has essentially adapted that same model specifically for family law property settlements and deceased estate disputes.
Unlike a traditional bank loan, JustFund’s funding is not based on your income and your capacity to make regular repayments. Instead, JustFund looks at your legal share of the property pool and the strength of your matter, and the funding is only repaid at the conclusion of your family law matter, out of your settlement. There are no monthly repayments to juggle on top of everything else you are managing during a separation.
It is also worth being precise about the language here. JustFund can provide financial assistance in the form of a loan or a line of credit, secured against your expected entitlement, rather than a straightforward cash advance with no connection to the outcome of your case. As an Australia-based litigation financing provider, JustFund is regulated as a credit provider and is required to be upfront and transparent about fees, interest, and repayment terms before you sign anything.
How Does the JustFund Process Work?
The process is refreshingly simple compared to a traditional finance application. It generally follows four steps:
- Apply: You, or your lawyer on your behalf, provide details of your matter and your property pool.
- Assess: JustFund’s legal specialists assess the merits of your case and the value of your likely entitlement, not your income or credit score.
- Approve: Once approved, funds can be advanced quickly to cover legal fees, court costs, expert reports, and other related expenses.
- Repay: You repay only after your matter settles, and only from what you actually receive.
Because JustFund provides flexible legal funding, most clients can expect an answer within 24 to 48 hours of submitting their matter and property pool details, so you are not left waiting weeks to find out whether you can afford proper representation.
Who Can Access JustFund?
The ideal criteria for JustFund litigation funding is a client who has been in a relationship for a period of time and has a property pool with enough equity to ensure they still walk away with money in their pocket after the matter settles and are ready to move forward with their life.
In other words, JustFund provide financial support for property settlements where there is a genuine, identifiable asset pool, even if that pool is currently tied up in a jointly owned home, superannuation, or other illiquid assets. This tends to suit people who are asset rich but cash poor, a very common position during separation, particularly where one partner has historically managed the household finances or where a 70/30 divorce settlement in Australia type outcome is genuinely on the table and one party needs the resources to properly argue their case for a fairer share.
Why This Matters in a Family Law Context
Litigation funding is not just about covering court fees. Property settlements can involve business valuations, forensic accounting, expert reports, and lengthy negotiation or court proceedings, all of which cost money well before a dollar of the settlement actually lands in your account. Without access to funding, some people feel pressured into accepting a settlement that undervalues their true entitlement, simply because they have run out of money to keep negotiating properly.
This pressure shows up across many parts of a family law matter, not only the property pool itself. Parenting disputes, for example, sometimes require expert reports on appropriate child custody schedules by age in Australia, or a court-appointed family report writer, both of which come at a cost. Where family violence has been part of the relationship, working through the reasons to revoke intervention order arrangements once circumstances genuinely change can also add legal costs on top of a property matter that is already running. Having funding in place means these decisions can be made based on what is right for your family, not on what you can scrape together that month.
It can also matter in less obvious situations. Questions about whether income from a platform like OnlyFans is illegal or should be included in a property pool, disputes over whether a former partner is entitled to half a house they never legally owned, or the growing number of Australian couples in de facto relationships who assume family law does not apply to them, can all turn a seemingly simple separation into a more complex, and more expensive, legal matter than expected. Funding options like JustFund exist precisely so that complexity does not force anyone into a settlement they will regret.
Litigation Funding vs. Formalising Your Agreement
It is worth remembering that funding your legal costs and properly documenting your final outcome are two different steps in the same journey. Once your property settlement is agreed, whether through negotiation, mediation, or a court hearing funded through JustFund, it still needs to be locked in through a Consent Order or Binding Financial Agreement to be legally enforceable. Our guide to Consent Orders vs Binding Financial Agreements explains why an agreement, even a well-funded and well-argued one, still needs to be formalised properly at the end.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does “litigation” mean in Australia?
Litigation refers to the process of taking a legal dispute through the court system, from filing an application through to a hearing, trial, or negotiated resolution along the way. In family law, litigation typically covers property settlement proceedings and parenting disputes that are brought before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, as distinct from matters resolved privately through mediation or agreement.
What are some Australian litigation funders?
Australia has a mature litigation funding market. In commercial and class action law, well-known funders include Omni Bridgeway, Litigation Capital Management (LCM), and Vannin Capital. In the family law space specifically, JustFund is Australia’s only dedicated legal finance platform for divorce and separation, focused specifically on funding property settlement and estate matters rather than broader commercial litigation.
What is litigation privilege in Australia?
Litigation privilege, sometimes described as a form of legal professional privilege, protects confidential communications and documents created for the dominant purpose of actual or anticipated litigation from being disclosed to the other side or produced in court. It allows you and your lawyer to prepare your case candidly, including obtaining expert reports and legal advice, without those preparatory materials being used against you later.
What is an example of litigation?
A common example in family law is a property settlement dispute where separating partners cannot agree on how to divide their assets and one party files an application with the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, leading to court-managed steps such as disclosure, valuations, mediation, and, if unresolved, a final hearing before a judge.
Get in Touch
If you’d like to know more about JustFund and how Collective Family Law Group can help you move forward with your family law matter, book in for your free initial consultation. We offer initial face-to-face appointments at our Gold Coast, Brisbane, and Cleveland family law offices, as well as via Zoom or Microsoft Teams.
Director Hayder Shkara, Principal Caralee Fontenele, and our wider team, including solicitors such as Julie Fotheringham, regularly work alongside JustFund to help clients access proper representation without financial pressure forcing their hand. Whichever family lawyer you speak with, we can talk you through whether litigation funding is a good fit for your circumstances.
Head over to our website collectivefamilylaw.com.au or call us at (07) 5574 0971 to book your appointment.
For more on JustFund directly, including their eligibility criteria and fees, visit justfund.com.au. General information on litigation funding regulation in Australia is also available through the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), and property settlement processes are outlined by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.
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Disclaimer: This content is purely for informational purposes and should not be taken as legal or financial advice. JustFund is a separate, independent financial service provider, and Collective Family Law Group is not responsible for its lending decisions or terms. Always consult a professional for individualised guidance before entering into any funding arrangement.
