People in difficult family situations often seek out advice about their options before making the decision to talk to an attorney. It’s tempting these days to even use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and others to get answers, as these have become a part of everyday life. Before using AI to seek advice about important life decisions, you should pause because in legal settings these tools can negatively impact your case.
Using AI to draft emails, summarize documents, answer questions about divorce, child custody, or other family law issues could compromise important confidentiality protections that you currently have.
Your Conversations with Your Lawyer Are Meant to Stay Private
One of the most important protections available to you in a legal proceeding is the attorney-client privilege. It allows you to speak openly and honestly with your attorney so that you can receive sound legal advice. Family law cases often involve extremely sensitive information, and it is imperative that all communications with your lawyer, including emails, documents and notes prepared by your lawyer or for your lawyer remain confidential.
Unlike communications with your attorney, information shared with an AI platform is generally not protected by attorney-client privilege. Many people assume that asking an AI tool a legal question is like having a private conversation with your lawyer. It is not. When you upload documents or copy and paste information into a public AI platform, you are sending that information to a third-party service. This is especially true for financial records, tax returns, retirement and investment account statements, parenting journals, custody notes and medical information. Depending on the platform, your prompts and uploaded documents may be processed, stored, or retained on servers outside your control. That means that these are no longer confidential, and another party can seek access to them.
Courts Are Beginning to Address This Issue
Although Pennsylvania family courts have not yet ruled directly on this issue, courts around the country are beginning to consider whether confidential information shared with public AI platforms loses important legal protections.
In one recent federal decision, United States v. Heppner (S.D.N.Y. 2026), the court concluded that materials shared with a public AI platform were not protected by attorney-client privilege or the work-product doctrine because the information had been disclosed to a third party. Another federal court reached a different conclusion under different circumstances, demonstrating that the law is still developing.
What does that mean for you?
It means you should not assume that information uploaded to a public AI platform will remain confidential. Until Pennsylvania courts provide clearer guidance, the safest course is to keep all communications with your lawyer, and all case-related information strictly between you and your attorney.
| Three Mistakes to Avoid | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| 1. Copying My Emails to You | Legal advice may be protected by attorney-client privilege. Sharing it with a public AI platform could potentially jeopardize those protections. |
| 2. Uploading Your Parenting Journal | Detailed custody notes may contain confidential information that could become relevant evidence in your case. |
| 3. Uploading Financial Documents | Tax returns, bank statements, retirement records, and business information contain highly confidential financial information that could be exposed to a third-party platform. |
General Questions Are Fine. Your Case Is Different.
There is nothing wrong with using Google or AI tools to learn general information about divorce, custody, support, or the court process.
What you should not do is upload confidential documents or ask an AI platform to analyze the facts of your case.
If you are already represented by our office, call us first. We are happy to answer your questions and discuss the safest way to handle sensitive information.
If you are considering a divorce or custody matter and have not yet retained an attorney, your first step should be speaking with an experienced family law lawyer—not uploading your personal information to an AI platform.
Protecting your confidentiality today may help protect your legal rights tomorrow.
When in doubt, ask me first. A five-minute phone call can help protect information that may be critical to your case.
Best Practices: Using AI During a Family Law Matter
| Avoid Uploading | Generally Okay to Ask/Use AI For |
|---|---|
| Emails or letters from your attorney | Ask general questions about the divorce or custody process |
| Legal advice you have received | Learn legal terminology |
| Draft pleadings or court filings | Research court procedures |
| Tax returns, bank statements, or financial records | Read educational information |
| Parenting journals or custody notes | |
| Medical records | |
| Text messages or emails related to your case |