Mobile Child Support Calculator
At Hello Divorce we try and help people beyond the divorce process. Which is why we wanted to make an approachable, easy to use, mobile calculator for all parents to get the support they need.
In Summary
MY ROLE
Product Designer
TIMELINE
4 weeks as part of a longer project
August 2022 - Ongoing
GOAL
Design a complete, certified, mobile-forward version of the California child support calculator.
BACKGROUND
This study showcases the work that was done to enable responsiveness for the child support calculator. We know not everyone has access to a reliable computer or a legal professional. We wanted to expand access for parents who need child support.
MY CONTRIBUTIONS
Strategized design and process
Wire-framing and prototyping
Built a design library for rapid design
Collaborated with management and engineering
Presented designs to executives
Almost 4 million parents in the US don’t receive the child support they need.
Well that is a problem!
Over 13 million parents need child support but 30% of them don’t actually receive the full amount they are owed. In California, a new calculation is needed to start or amend every child support order. Currently there is only one calculator that can be used for free and without legal counsel.
What can we do to help these parents?
We can empower every parent, at every income level, in the US to get the financial support they deserve without legal representation.
How do parents calculate child support now?
The existing calculators are challenging to use. A parent:
Can only use the calculator on desktop
Some are platform exclusive!
To hire extra legal help to understand the terms
“What does hardship children mean? Do I have them?”
No easy way to learn more about input fields
“What is AMT? Is it required? Will it work if I ignore it?”
The current free calculator is unusable on mobile devices. We want to make a calculator that is informative, easy to use by real people (not just lawyers), and accessible. We decided that meant we needed a focus on mobile.
How might we make the calculator easier to use for all parents?
Who will actually use the calculator?
Our proto-persona is Erica. She and her ex were never married, but they are both required to financially support the children.
They both want the best for their children.
Since Erica has primary custody, she is entitled to child support even if she can’t afford a lawyer or understand the complicated free calculator.
How might we empower Erica’s child support calculation?
Beyond easy and informative use of the calculator, I also needed to factor in the guidelines to get the calculator certified by the state. We had to fulfill the legal requirements as well as the user’s requirements.
What does Erica need?
PROGRESSIVE DISCLOSURE
We will enable Erica to step through her calculation. We can use progressive disclosure to ensure she only has to focus on a single aspect at a time.
CONDITIONAL FIELDS
We want Erica to only see the fields she needs to see. We want to minimize her mental load so she can fill in fields that are meaningful to her.
UNABLE TO MAKE MISTAKES
Filling out all these fields is complicated enough. We limit the amount of inputs offered to reduce fatigue and prohibit putting letters into numeric fields.
STRATEGIC ARCHITECTURE
Going through all the fields needs to make sense to help keep Erica on track. We make sure to clearly label the sections and subsections to reduce mental load.
CUSTOMIZATION FOR CLARITY
Instead of Parent 1 and 2 and Child 1 through 10, we will allow Erica to add custom labels to all individuals referenced in the calculation.
NO ASSUMPTIONS
All other calculators now default to Parent 1 as having 20% time and many default to Parent 1 as being the father. Many users take offense to this. Our program will reassure users that the focus is on what’s best for the children by removing any offensive default values.
What might Erica want?
EMPOWER WITH INFORMATION
Most calculators require a separate manual to understand the intricacies of calculations. I’ve brought the content into the app behind expandable “Learn More” buttons.
REAL-TIME ESTIMATION
Showing Erica exactly how each input of time, income, and expense affects the equation should reassure her that the equation is completely accurate.
Current results
↗️
Increased email capture and conversion
Entirely new page resulted in establishing approximately 248 new contacts every month for the first six months after launch.
😌
Easiest, mobile friendly child support calculator available
70% of people find Hello Divorce on their phones, we are ensuring they can use all of our calculators and tools on their favorite devices.
💰
Ongoing revenue stream as parents come back for child support re-calculation
On average, California parents recalculate child support every 3 years and sometimes more if there’s a significant financial change
📱
Calculator has acted as proof of concept that divorced and separated parents are excited about easy calculations!
We are looking to expand to 49 more states and maybe internationally!
Reflections
I am so grateful I got to work on this impactful project and really develop the design strategy, system, and complete the design execution. I was hired on to complete this project and I am so pleased with the outcome, even though the scope of the project was much bigger than any of us had anticipated!
Next steps
Hello Divorce has now contracted with legal accountants to actually wire up the math behind the software and we hope to certify and release it sometime next year.