Legal Document Preparation Explained
Legal document preparation encompasses a wide range of administrative and technical services that provide individuals and companies with competent and efficient management of their legal affairs. The types of documents that are commonly addressed by legal document preparers include: It is imperative for any of these documents to be completed properly in order for them to be recognized by the courts. This involves first determining what specific legal documents are needed, and then, preparing them accurately and in conformity with all applicable rules and procedures. Many people are surprised at the complexity of preparing something that seems relatively straight-forward, and no matter how simple it seems, one mistake is often enough to cause adverse legal consequences. Poorly prepared motions , petitions, and other legal documents can be costly. Even the slightest omission or mistake can result in unnecessary delays and complications, including: The potential pitfalls in preparing legal documents make professional guidance particularly important for individuals and business when it comes to: Because of the often technical requirements involved, individuals and businesses hiring legal document preparers should always ensure that the services they are hiring provide individuals who are especially trained and experienced when it comes to the preparation of legal documents. In most cases, individuals who advertise their legal document preparation services have few if any qualifications to prepare legal documents at all.
Why Professional Document Preparation Matters
Utilizing preparation services for legal documents has many advantages in contrast to completing the task yourself. There are four prime benefits that stand out. First, these services take out the guess work and confusion you may have when confronting state or government paperwork and document requirements. When filing legal papers to a government agency, simply filling out a form can be a challenge. Legal document formation services help to prevent mistakes and improve your rate of success.
The second benefit of these services is that they can help save you time by avoiding delays. Waiting for applications and other forms to be completed and returned can take days or even weeks. With legal document preparation services, you eliminate the need for waiting, and the post office queue.
Third, using these services offers savings, when compared to the strain on personal time and financial resources. Many people do not realize the amount of risk they are assuming by attempting to perform legal tasks without the right knowledge and expertise. The cost of failing to file document applications properly can have a serious impact on both your finances and future.
The last benefit of using these legal document creation services is the ability to help shape your future. Whether you are seeking to obtain trading rights with a U.S. government agency, or seek full citizenship status, small errors can cause permanent delay or denial of granting these rights or privileges.
Key Services Provided
Legal document preparation services handle a wide variety of legal paperwork from wills to contracts. Among the services most commonly offered by these companies are the following:
Wills
A will is essentially a document that provides instructions on how a person wishes their estate, or the money and property they own, to be distributed after they die. Specifically, it names the person or persons who are to receive each specific item and/or amount of money. There are several other issues as well that can be addressed through the use of a will.
Contracts
A contract simply refers to an agreement between two or more parties for an exchange of money or property. It is used in nearly every business transaction and is generally legally binding. Contracts can deal with anything from the sale of real estate to employment agreements and even child visitation rights.
Leases
A lease is a legally binding agreement to rent property. The lease is a contract between the tenant and landlord. It is usually for a specific period of time at a specified rate and once the time expires, the tenant must vacate the premises or negotiate another lease. In most cases, the lease requires that the tenant maintain the property, pay for all damages or repairs and pay the rent on time.
Incorporation / Articles of Incorporation
The articles of incorporation serves as a certificate filed with the Secretary of State to form a corporation. This document includes such information as the name of the corporation and details regarding its purpose, duration, directors, officers and registered agent. Once this document is filed, a corporation is legally formed.
Selecting the Right Document Preparation Service
There are seamless guidelines to adhere to which ensure that you get the services and quality you are expecting from any of the companies, or individual legal document preparation service professionals. The first thing is to ensure that they have experience in the field. This subconscious requirement is present in all our choices of service providers, this is no different.
It’s essential for legal document preparation services to be credentialed; without credentials they aren’t licensed to operate. The particular credential that you’ll want to look out for is the LDA. LDA stands for legal document assistant, and upon seeing this certification, you can be confident in their ability, and rest assured that they meet the standards as set forth by the state.
This is very important when it comes to how they are reviewed. You’ll need to determine whether they are more likely to receive good reviews, or bad reviews. Look up customer reviews online and ask around to friends . The reviews should have a rating system out of five – any reviewer inclined to leave one or two stars should be disregarded if they can’t provide a bad service experience. It takes a lot for the average person to be inclined to leave a bad review, not only do people regularly praise those who provide services, there is almost no consequence for not leaving a bad review. Therefore the likelihood that they would go out of their way and leave an unfounded negative review is pretty slim.
You’ll want to be close to a service provider who will want you to keep coming back. That means that they will provide you with legal document preparation services that are affordable. There is no reason that this should be expensive, and therefore it is your duty to find a legal document preparation services company who approaches these fees aligned with the market price, rather than jacking it up. When it comes to paying for services, remember that you usually get what you pay for. If it’s too good to be true, chances are it is; and that applies to legal document preparation services too.
Possible Risks and How to Address Them
Potential risks of improper legal documents preparation and mitigation via professional services
When individuals or business entities opt to use non-attorneys to prepare legal documents for them, the risk of rejection of the filing documents with the court becomes raised. Rejection due to improper packaging can lead to significant financial loss, if the filing entity is required to repeat the process and incur new fees with the court, secretary of state, and/or a private secretary company, which would not have occurred had a professional preparation service processed the filing initially. The rejection of a filing due to defects may arise from various other issues, such as: The above list is not exhaustive and is intended merely to illustrate some of the problems that may occur when someone improperly prepares a recording or filing document. A review of the issues presented above only reinforces the importance of hiring a reputable professional document preparation service. When contracting such a service, clients have the benefit of experience and expertise. The services provided are two-fold: (1) preparation of the appropriate documents, ensuring that proper documents are submitted; (2) providing face-to-face services answering questions and providing direction.
Legal Document Preparation Trends
As the legal industry continues to evolve, current trends are impacting how legal professionals deliver services to their clients. In the past, relying on legal document preparation services was the only efficient way for companies and individuals to attract new clients and grow their business. However, the landscape of legal services has shifted, making it essential for legal professionals to adapt their service offerings to meet the changing needs of clients.
With the significant increase in technology use, document preparation services that can be completed remotely are on the upswing. Online document preparation services make outsourcing easy with the click of a button. As security and confidentiality concerns become more prevalent, legal professionals may want to consider cloud-based solutions that are ISO 27001-certified with secure data centers in the US or Canada. This means information is protected in a secure environment and can only be accessed through a secure, private connection. Cloud-based document preparation services protect your information, securing your client and firm information and allowing you to work from anywhere at any time.
Technology continues to change the legal industry by automating services that were previously done during face-to-face meetings. As more online document preparation platforms become available , the need for face-to-face meetings will decrease and instead firms will focus on providing affordable information and legal documents digitally.
Automation is another trend impacting legal document preparation and legal services in general. Firms are starting to use greater automation for tasks such as completion of legal documents and review of client information to identify potential areas of concern. This allows firms to streamline their processes and deliver efficient high-quality services to their clients. With less time spent identifying issues and finding relevant supporting documents, legal professionals can focus on what makes their business successful – building and maintaining relationships with their clients.
Signature banks are also being used now more than ever, allowing firms to work quickly and efficiently to offer superior client service. Signature banks (also known as signature panels) can be easily integrated into your document management or document automation software, making the task of searching for signatures time-consuming and difficult no longer. With signature banks, the firm can simply grab a client standard or pre-saved signature and insert it directly onto the document. They are also customizable to allow the signer the ability to choose from a list of several signatures that they typically sign. This is a great benefit for anyone who has several different signatures they use on a regular basis, or who have staff who sign on behalf of the firm.
The options law firms offer for document preparation services has changed and grown over the years, making it easier than ever to offer top-notch service to your clients. With document preparation and document automation services readily available at your fingertips, your clients will receive the assistance they need efficiently and cost-effectively.