5 Reasons Not to Use LegalZoom (or other DIY legal document preparing services)

July 3, 2020

By: Brittany E. Bennett, Esq.

Although it can be tempting, do it yourself (“DIY”) legal document preparing services can create more problems and headaches and end up costing you more than if you would have just hired an attorney to draft the documents for you in the first place. There are many reasons you should avoid using these services, but I have narrowed it down to the 5 main reasons.

When seeking legal advice, a lawyer will ask certain questions to analyze the matter in its entirety. Although online documents services, such as Legal Zoom, attempt to replicate this, certain information may never be uncovered through online prompts. Without relevant information, the necessary documents cannot be produced.

In addition to missed information, you might think you know what document you need but a different document might be more effective or more appropriate. For example, say you want to purchase a business. What documents do you think you need? A purchase agreement? Is that all you need? No. You may also need other documents such as a letter of intent, landlord consents, and a Note.

Not only are other documents likely needed, a lawyer can give you advice on the best documents to use and the best language to use in your situation. Documents created online use “form language” which is equivalent to the clothing industry’s “one size fits all.” Experience will tell you that one size, in fact, does NOT fit all!

A lawyer is there to advise you on the nuances of your situation and let you know the legal implications and legal meaning of certain provisions of documents drafted for your legal matter. A lawyer will also tell you the best provisions to use and what provisions are not necessary.

Online legal document preparing services do not guarantee the accuracy or legal sufficiency of their documents. In fact, LegalZoom even publishes a disclaimer at the bottom of their website that states, “We are not a law firm or a substitute for an attorney or law firm. We cannot provide any kind of advice, explanation, opinion, or recommendation about possible legal rights, remedies, defenses, options, selection of forms or strategies.”

Services such as LegalZoom are based on the sole direction of the user. Think of it as being handed the keys to a vehicle before you have been instructed on how to drive. Could you make it go? Probably. Would it be a smooth ride? Probably not. Even LegalZoom admits that their site is not a substitute for a lawyer. So why spend the money on making a mess that will result in needing legal advice anyway?

Laws change constantly. While a service can be up to date on new forms and statutory requirements, a representative from the company is likely not going to call you if your documents should be updated at some point. When you hire a lawyer to draft documents you can ask to be updated on new laws that are passed or you can call their office to check periodically. If you draft a document online on your own, the service is complete and no continued relationship exists.

Even though online services use form language, forms could still be incomplete if information is left out by the drafter (you). In addition, clerical and grammatical errors happen all the time. Without a skilled drafter reviewing the document, these errors can be missed completely. While many errors have no legal significance, some may seem small but could have significant legal consequences. It is best to have a lawyer draft and review documents for this reason.

You may look at your newly drafted documents and feel satisfied with the completed product without knowing that they are riddled with flaws. These flaws could be a source of confusion and unnecessary litigation down the road.

For example, say you draft an operating agreement that clearly states that a partner will be expelled from the partnership if he “embezzles” money from the business. Seems pretty straight forward, right? Well, what if the word “embezzle” is not defined in the operating agreement and a partner takes funds from the business for his personal use? Is this embezzlement? Perhaps it should have been clearly defined in the operating agreement.

Sometimes ignorance is bliss, and sometimes it can be risky.

When you hire a lawyer, you are paying for their legal knowledge, experience, and expertise. These unquantifiable qualities simply cannot be reduced to fillable prompts that spit out your responses on a form.

While LegalZoom and other online services can be less expensive than hiring a lawyer, the accuracy and legal sufficiency of your documents is too important to trust an online service that issues a disclaimer about its own services.

In short, hire a lawyer. It’s worth it.

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