Looking to get married but need extra cash to fund the wedding? Try submitting an application to Swanluv, a new startup company launching in February 2016 that is offering up to $10,000 to help couples fund their dream weddings. The catch? If you end up getting divorced, the money must be repaid…in addition to the interest accrued to-date. However, if you never divorce, you never have to pay them a dime.

That’s right, this startup is asking couples to take a gamble on their love. Swanluv states that it uses algorithm software to assess the risk in making funding offers to each applicant couple. Lucky couples who have found their soul mates and end up happily married truly benefit from this service. But depending on the length of marriage and the interest rate that the company assigns, a couple forced to repay at divorce could be facing a significant financial burden.

Click here to read the update on Swanluv.

Admittedly, upon receiving first word of this Seattle-based venture I quickly jumped to the conclusion that the company’s creators were somewhat sneakily seeking to profit off of other peoples’ optimism and misfortunes. I mean, obviously no couple would get married if they already expected to get a divorce. I immediately assumed that they only gave loans to couples whose statistics showed that their marriages were doomed.

However, that’s not the case; at least that’s not the case for Swanluv that the company’s founders are asserting. Instead, they claim that they are actually vying for the success of the marriages they fund. They in fact state that they will make no profit from the money paid back upon divorce. Rather, any money that gets repaid will be directly reinvested into new applicant couples seeking money for their own weddings. Apparently the company plans to make its profit only from advertising partnerships.

Still skeptical? So was I. But, the company actually plans to offer free marriage counseling to their couples. It has also been reported that if a marriage ends because of abuse, the abuser is to be held solely responsible for repaying the loan. This has left people optimistic that this service could actually lower rates of domestic violence and encourage people to work through their marital issues rather than making a rash decision to divorce.

As divorce attorneys, we can only hypothesize about the unique questions and issues that will be raised when Swanluv-funded couples get divorced. Without a doubt, we can expect that assignment of the loan debt will become a hotly-contested issue amongst the divorcing couples.

Just like the couples currently seeking out Swanluv loans, we understand that you didn’t get married thinking that you would end up getting divorced. But, if you are thinking about a divorce, or have already begun the process, please contact us. It is important to have legal and competent legal counsel to ensure that your rights are protected. Nancy J. Bickford is the only attorney in San Diego County representing clients in divorces, who is a Certified Family Law Specialist (CFLS) and who is actively licensed as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Don’t settle for less when determining your rights. Call 858-793-8884 in Del Mar, Carmel Valley, North County or San Diego.

www.bickfordlaw.com