A new app offering legal advice to those contemplating divorce could make the process too easy, say critics.

A new iPhone app claims to offer easy to understand advice about divorce law, but family campaigners have raised concerns about whether the £9.99 programme risks trivialising the process.

The app warns that it “is not a substitute for professional advice to which users are directed throughout the app when appropriate”. Although similar apps have been available in America for some time, it is the first to offer advice specific to England and Wales.

In its Apple App Store description, the app claims to offer “the first line of information to anyone considering divorce or separation and who wants to be better informed about the process”.

In 2009, the divorce rate in England and Wales was the lowest since 1974 according to the Office for National Statistics. Fewer than 114,000 couples divorced, down 6.4 per cent on 2008. It is the sixth consecutive year that the number of divorces has fallen. In 2003, there were 153,065.

Campaigners Christian Voice accused the app of trivialising marriage and divorce. " It could encourage divorce by normalising the decision, making it seem as easy to make as any other lifestyle choice. It could also deter the other partner from fighting to save their marriage,” the organisation’s Stephen Green told The Guardian.

Anastasia de Waal of the think tank Civitas said that she thought that if “solely impenetrable legalese stands between you and spousal severance, some jargon-busting might be a good thing. But ultimately the chances are this app will be mainly used by the curious”.