Any of you lawyers care to opine regarding legal document preparation software (Family Lawyer, etc.) or on-line legal services (LegalZoom.com, etc.).

I'm asking about these not as a replacement for consulting an attorney locally, but just as a means of organizing my thoughts on several issues prior to talking to a lawyer.

Thanks.

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OBK #55

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2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

The American Bar Assoc. web site is packed with non-member available information. www.abanet.org Do a search or look under public resources

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The legal document software would be worthless as far as helping organize your thoughts before seeing a lawyer. What it would do is allow you do draft your own docs, which may or may not hold up (execution and filing has a lot more to do oftentimes than wording of a particular instrument), but it will give you a pre-conceived notion about how something is to be done that may not be helpful when you see a lawyer.

I know a man who owns a national web-based legal form company($$$$$$$). He has one "lawyer" that works for him. The reason I put this in quotes, is because the guy that works for him was disbarred and that was the only job he could get and halfway use his degree.

Before anyone makes the "he just doesn't want $ taken out of his pocket" comment: I very rarely do the kind of work that you could do yourself with downloaded legal forms (wills, trusts, ect....). Also, I have never downloaded forms myself or looked at many of the online ones, so I don't have to much to offer on how good they are. However, I have represented probably 1/6 dozen people who have ****ed something up trying to do it themselves with downloaded forms, and had to fix the problems. In the long run it would have been cheaper for them to have hired someone competent in the first place.

Dee8go--use that aba website as much as you can--you paid for it through your high insurance insurance premiums

I knew this would get a rise out of the lawyers here. The only reason I asked is that the last time I saw a lawyer about doing a new will, she gave me a huge questionaire to fill out that looked a lot like the questions asked by a program I had bought earlier, Family Lawyer, I believe it was called.

Answering the questions on the computer seemed easier, could be saved, and updated later a lot more easily than hand-writing those answers on paper. Hence, my interest in this.

I realize my situation is complicated enough that I want and need expert advice from an attorney to insure that everything will be done to my satisfaction.

Believe me, I know the truth of that old adage about someone who serves as his own lawyer has a fool for a client.

__________________
" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

I'll check it out, JD. I do appreciate your comments. Not looking to "cheap out" or anything like that.

__________________
" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles