More Problems From Online Legal Document Services
I have been hearing more problems from online legal document services. It is bad enough that there are instances of such documents being thrown out by courts. See my blog and links to such instances:
Should you use online legal document services?
http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/decisions/2014/sc11-2147.pdf
Online Legal Document Services Told People To Go To A Local Attorney To Finalize The Estate Planning Paperwork
The latest gimmick by the online legal document services is to sell you the forms for slightly less than what an attorney would charge. However, at that point, you have a bunch of unsigned forms. The legal document services are recommending that people go to an attorney to get them signed. The problem with this model is that the legal document services are trying to insulate their own liability for their overpriced documents. No attorney is going to take on this task lightly. These types of forms have failed in court, which means the attorney needs to find the needle in the haystack that will cause the form to fail. This involves hours worth of work. If an attorney has an hourly rate of $200, this could range from $300-$700 of legal work to review, approve and help the clients execute the documents.
Are Online Legal Document Services Really A Bargain?
Some may say, that’s still cheaper than going to the attorney in the first place. No, it is not. An online legal document company had wills and advanced directives for a couple for $300.00. As of the date of this post, I charge $400.00 for the same service, but I will review their assets and liabilities, potential heirs, and make various suggestions as to how they could best accomplish their goals. The clients make the final choices. I just make sure that they do not mistakenly disinherit someone just because they wanted to leave something special to someone. How can an attorney charge the same or more to review documents? An experienced estate planning attorney spends a great deal of time fine-tuning and revising estate-planning template and alternate options. The estate planning lawyer revises the forms to comply with changes in the law. For example, just a few years ago, the transfer on death deed requirements went through some changes, along with the recording requirements for all deeds. This means that a great deal of the attorney’s time is spent reviewing options with the client, and not necessarily on actually drafting the documents for that particular client. Those documents were drafted long before the client ever walked into the attorney’s office, in the form of multiple versions of the form, different options within each version and the attorney’s expertise in quickly creating the correct language to accomplish your goals. You are paying for the attorney’s guidance, expertise, and the time spent preparing your documents and various options on an ongoing basis. However, reviewing online legal documents that are highly suspect means that the attorney would have to take the entire online document back to the drawing board, review every legal requirement, and ensure that the online document meets all the requirements. This is time-consuming and has a great chance for errors if done too quickly.
If you want to pay $300 for something that might be broken by the time it is finished, use the online legal services. If you want the job done right, see the attorney for $400. By the way, I also give little tips that help my clients avoid probate, most of which do not cost anything. Do the online legal document companies do that? Take a look at what the client reviews of Daniel Gigiano have to say, website links to ratings of Daniel Gigiano, the works of Daniel Gigiano and examples of Daniel Gigiano’s work.
Call Now To Compare Our Rates And Services With The Online Legal Document Services
Attorney Gigiano is a Wadsworth estate planning attorney in Medina County. Attorney Gigiano can help you with wills, advanced directives (powers of attorney and living wills), transfer on death affidavits and trusts. If you have any questions that you need answered by an experienced Orrville estate planning lawyer near Barberton, call Attorney Gigiano at 330-336-3330.
