Critique of Online Document Services

Bruce Belenky, a Texas attorney, has strong criticisms regarding online legal document services.

Many people have used services like these successfully, and the temptation to pay a low flat fee for legal documents is a strong one.  But many lawyers can also point to horror stories of people who relied on unenforceable, off-the-shelf documents to their detriment and without legal recourse.  One such service, for example, brags that its documents were "accepted" by courts in all 50 states, but "acceptance" of a document (i.e., entering it into evidence) and enforcing the document (for example, having a will probated) are two very different things.  

Belenky makes several important points about the customizability of those forms as well as the accountability of those who provide them. Class action suits were filed regarding some of these services (and claims surrounding them) in 2010 and 2011.

Hat tip: David Zimmerman

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