Legal Whom?
The Perry Mason box set, however, should get you right up to speed.
A disturbing trend has emerged in recent years. A lot of people, in order to save a few hundred dollars, have started bargain shopping for legal services the same way they would for toilet paper or other household items. From online “self-help” websites like Legal Zoom, to “document preparation services” you can visit in person, to fill-in-the-blank “kits” you can buy at an office supply store (seriously), there are apparently plenty of people out there who would put their whole future and that of their children at risk to save a relatively modest amount of money. Let me put this bluntly: no matter how many episodes of Matlock you’ve seen, there’s still a decent chance you’re going to screw this up by trying to do it yourself.
It doesn’t take much searching to find plenty of examples of documents being drafted incorrectly, sometimes with very serious consequences. Yes, sometimes attorneys make mistakes. But you know what you get if I draft your document incorrectly? You get to file a claim with my malpractice insurance company and ask them for a big check to make it right.
If you use Legal Zoom to draft your documents and they aren’t done right, you can forget about filing a claim with anyone. You see, Legal Zoom has a disclaimer which says it’s not their fault. What’s not their fault? Nothing is their fault. Here’s one special part of their disclaimer:
“The information on this site is not legal advice and is not guaranteed to be correct, complete or up-to-date.”
Well, that makes me feel secure. It’s almost like the site was co-founded by a member of the O.J. Simpson defense team. Oh wait, it was. Here’s another gem from the disclaimer:
“LegalZoom is not responsible for any loss, injury, claim, liability, or damage related to your use of this site, whether from errors or omissions in the content of our site, from the site being down or from any other use of the site.”
I also co-founded shoedazzle.com with Kim Kardashian so you’re in good hands.
Translation: “Even if there’s a mistake on our site, we’re not responsible for any of the consequences caused by that mistake, even though we took your money in return for our product. Sorry, not our problem. Good luck with the mess we helped create.”
The disclaimer ends with this sentence that sums it all up:
“In short, your use of the site is at your own risk.”
Translation: “Thanks for the money, you’re on your own, buddy.”
As an actual attorney, I’m not allowed to tell clients that their use of my services is at their own risk. It’s at my risk, too, because I have a law license I use to feed my family. If I make mistakes, the State Bar can take that license away from me and put me out of business. How careful will the Legal Zoom folks be when they have absolutely nothing to lose if they make a mistake?
Even if you’ve seen “A Few Good Men” or “My Cousin Vinny” ten times, do you really want to bet your future on your legal knowledge with nobody to stand behind you if you make a mistake? Or would you rather make that bet with the assistance of a trained and experienced attorney with his livelihood on the line and insurance to cover the rare mistake? Do-it-yourself is great for building a mailbox or birdhouse, not for complicated legal documents. Before you decide lawyers are too expensive, call around and see how much something is really going to cost you. Chances are, it’s probably pretty cheap compared to the dire consequences that could result from going it alone.
Basic Estate Advice
If a family member or friend has passed away and you are going to be acting as the Executor or Administrator of the estate (the “personal representative” in the words of the Legislature), here are some preliminary tips for getting off to the right start:
Grieve First
When someone dies, there is no real deadline for filing his or her Will or otherwise opening the estate. The Clerk of Court would prefer that you do so within 90 days, but in reality, the Clerk is not going to turn you away if it takes you a little longer than that to get started. Be with your family, attend to the funeral arrangements, and don’t worry about opening the estate until you are ready to proceed. Serving as a personal representative can be a difficult job, and you should have a clear head before beginning the process.
Don’t Give Away Any Assets
It can be tempting to go ahead and start distributing money or other items to a deceased person’s heirs, especially if there are specific items listed in a Will or if the heirs are pressuring you for their share. The best practice is to wait until you are ready to settle the estate or at least until you have information concerning the deceased’s debts. If the person dies leaving behind medical bills, credit cards, taxes, or other debts that can’t otherwise be paid, you will be held personally responsible for reimbursing the estate for the value of any items or money that you gave away. You will usually know what debts are out there within three or four months after you’ve opened the estate file at the courthouse, so everybody just needs to be patient until then.
Keep Accurate Records
One of your most important duties as a personal representative is to complete and file estate accountings with Court. Do yourself a favor and hang on to every bank statement, cancelled check, receipt, invoice, or other financial document that crosses your path. I once put a lot of time into compiling final account documents in a complicated estate, only to discover that in between drafting the documents and receiving the final bank statement from the estate bank account, the bank paid interest into that account in the amount of one cent ($0.01). Because of that one-penny difference, I had to go back and redo the paperwork before the Court would accept it. Take the job of personal representative seriously from the start and you’ll save yourself a lot of headaches in the end.
It’s Alive
With the publication of this first post, The Garner Lawyer blog is officially alive and kicking. While the plan for this blog is to discuss any and all areas of the law, the areas in which I have practiced will probably appear more often in the rotation than others. Fortunately, I practice in a wide variety of areas, including the following: bankruptcy, foreclosure, wills and estates, adoptions and guardianships, real estate, incorporations, and various types of civil litigation. In the few areas of the law in which I don’t practice, I have access to plenty of lawyers who do, either within my own firm or elsewhere, so there’s no real limit to the potential topics available.
The Garner Lawyer 