why i chose legalzoom instead of a lawyer

LegalZoom is not an attorney and, by law, cannot give legal advice to its customers. For all their talk about providing peace of mind, LegalZoom is little more than a glorified template service. Many aspiring entrepreneurs go with LegalZoom because money is tight and such do-it-yourself legal services claim to be a cheaper alternative to lawyers.

Full Answer

Is LegalZoom as good as a lawyer?

LegalZoom is not even close to being as good as a lawyer. On LegalZoom’s website, their information portal has a disclaimer that the information provided is ‘not guaranteed to be correct, completely, or up to date.’ Why on earth would you pay hundreds of dollars for information that has no guarantee whatsoever?

Should I use LegalZoom or Rocket Lawyer for my business?

If you think your small business will need legal help on multiple issues or on multiple occasions over several months, then you should consider Rocket Lawyer. Rocket Lawyer is the closest competitor to LegalZoom. They offer many of the same services, such as business formation and a legal form library.

How does LegalZoom compare to competitors for business formation?

LegalZoom is costlier than competitors for business formation. Prices start at $79 plus state filing fees for business formation, whereas competitors like IncFile charge as little as $0 plus government filing fees. Certain services, like document review, are available only if you sign up for the monthly business legal plan.

What is the best LegalZoom alternative for complex legal issues?

Best LegalZoom alternative for complex legal issues. UpCounsel is a legal website that’s designed to match you up with an experienced business lawyer. Unlike LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer, UpCounsel’s business model does not involve low-cost business formation services or monthly memberships.

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Why you shouldn't use LegalZoom?

LegalZoom Admits Its Limitations in Helping You LegalZoom's legal document service is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. LegalZoom cannot provide legal advice and can only provide self-help services at your specific direction. LegalZoom is not permitted to engage in the practice of law.

Is LegalZoom a good choice?

Overall, LegalZoom is well-rated across online review sites. LegalZoom has an average of more than four stars on Trustpilot, ConsumerAffairs, and the Better Business Bureau. LegalZoom is a BBB-accredited business with an A+ rating—however, they do have more than 500 complaints closed in the last three years.

What are the benefits of LegalZoom?

LegalZoom is more focused on full legal services for business beyond just company formation. For instance, LegalZoom offers a legal plan called the Business Advisory Plan, which provides features like tax advice, attorney help, and access to legal forms.

Is LegalZoom good for a trust?

The answer to your question of whether doing a living trust on Legalzoom is as good as an attorney is an emphatic NO.

Is LegalZoom good for power of attorney?

Our family needed a power of attorney document on short notice and LegalZoom was able to deliver. They even expedited it so that we could make our only available time slot for all family members to be present, and before the bank closed.

Is LegalZoom a law firm?

LegalZoom is not a law firm, but the company does partner with thousands of legal consultants from around the country to help customers with personal and business-related endeavors.

Should I use LegalZoom or do it myself?

LegalZoom is Not Worth it When Seeking the Best LLC Service. With LegalZoom's LLC formation service, you are paying extra fees for everything. Instead of wasting money with LegalZoom you can download the forms for an LLC for free, and pay the filing fee to the state if you want to do it yourself for some reason.

How do I cancel my LegalZoom service?

To cancel your LegalZoom account:Call (800)773-0888 or email your cancellation request to customercare@legalzoom.com.Keep a record of the person you spoke with on the phone and/or any confirmation regarding your member cancellation.

Is LegalZoom profitable?

LegalZoom reported $9.9 million in profits for the year ended Dec. 31 from income of $7.4 million in 2019. Revenue rose 15% to $470.6 million for the year ended Dec.

Who owns the property in a trust?

The trusteeThe trustee is the legal owner of the property in trust, as fiduciary for the beneficiary or beneficiaries who is/are the equitable owner(s) of the trust property. Trustees thus have a fiduciary duty to manage the trust to the benefit of the equitable owners.

What should you not put in a living trust?

There are a variety of assets that you cannot or should not place in a living trust. These include: Retirement Accounts: Accounts such as a 401(k), IRA, 403(b) and certain qualified annuities should not be transferred into your living trust. Doing so would require a withdrawal and likely trigger income tax.

What is the downside of a living trust?

No Asset Protection – A revocable living trust does not protect assets from the reach of creditors. Administrative Work is Needed – It takes time and effort to re-title all your assets from individual ownership over to a trust. All assets that are not formally transferred to the trust will have to go through probate.

What is Rocket Lawyer?

Rocket Lawyer, LegalZoom, and dozens of other similar companies can help provide the legal documents you need for a variety of situations . These programs are often easy to use: they may ask you a series of questions or have you fill in blanks to create the document you have requested. Some of them even have pop-up boxes that provide state-specific information or additional information.

How much does a legal form cost?

Price can be all over the board; some online legal document sites offer legal forms for less than $50, while others provide more complex products of $500 or $1,000. The price is often dependent on how complex the document is and how many competitors are in the market.

Is online legal document better than attorney?

That being said, some of these programs provide documents that are just as good — if not better — than documents that attorneys produce. A lot of lawyers I know simply have a database of documents that they pull from and then change out the terms as necessary to suit the current client’s needs. In this way, the documents on the online legal document platforms are similar to what an attorney would produce, but at a much more affordable price point.

Is legal software fast?

Legal software is also fast— you can usually input information the same day and generate the legal document you need. You don’t have to worry about making appointments with a lawyer or other delays. Legal document management software also provides a convenient alternative. If you’re sick or worried about illness, you may be able to complete everything in the comfort of your home.

Is Rocket Lawyer a good company?

Rocket Lawyer, LegalZoom, and similar companies offer a good alternative to overpriced legal services. You can probably get a decent form through these sites if it’s not too complicated or if a recent change has not occurred in the law. However, remember to do your homework on the company and see if there are trends regarding customer reviews, such as problems contacting customer support, delays in receiving forms, or other issues.

Can a lawyer include specific language in a document?

You might not have considered certain things – A lawyer has likely experienced a variety of legal issues and may be better equipped to anticipate potential legal challenges. He or she may be able to include specific language in your document to head them off.

Do legal services offer free trial?

Most online legal service platforms will provide a free trial or money-back guarantee so that you can test out the product. But be sure you read the fine print about these options. Notice that little * beside the offer or guarantee.

LegalZoom Offers Little of Value

We’ve already mentioned that LegalZoom’s products do not provide nearly as much value as they would like for you to believe. The fact of the matter is that you are perfectly capable of doing everything that LegalZoom offers to do for you and more.

Your Business Has Unique Needs

The attorney-client relationship is one that LegalZoom could never hope to replicate. Lawyers know how to draft their documents to the advantage of their clients’ specific needs. This is obviously far beyond the scope of online templates.

Notorious Customer Service

If there’s one thing LegalZoom’s marketing hasn’t been able to convince the public, it’s that their customer service is anything other than subpar. A quick glance at online reviews shows this to be one of the most common complaints customers have about their services, right up there with their flimsy contracts and dubious automatic renewals.

What is LegalZoom for small businesses?

LegalZoom is a great option for small businesses that don’t have in-house legal departments or lawyers, but would like regular legal assistance.

What is legal zoom?

LegalZoom is an online legal service designed to be a “one-stop-shop” for all of a small business’s legal needs. Businesses can pay a low fixed rate for many types of legal work—including a Business Advisory Plan, which offers ongoing access to attorney consultations and legal reviews. LegalZoom is a great option for small businesses ...

How much does Rocket Lawyer charge?

Rocket Lawyer charges $99.99, plus state filing fees for business formation—making them slightly costlier (by $20) than LegalZoom to form an LLC, the same cost to form a nonprofit, and less expensive (by $50) to form a corporation. Like LegalZoom, Rocket Lawyer also has a business legal plan that is charged monthly.

How much does LegalZoom cost?

LegalZoom is costlier than competitors for business formation. Prices start at $79 plus state filing fees for business formation, whereas competitors like IncFile charge as little as $0 plus government filing fees.

What is Rocket Lawyer?

With the Rocket Lawyer plan, you also get unlimited phone consultations with an attorney, unlimited access to legal forms, and a unique feature called Document Defense. This feature can help you enforce legal contracts.

How many attorneys does Upcounsel have?

Instead, they focus on more complicated situations, such as patents, securities, immigration, and general counsel services. UpCounsel has a network of 5,000 business attorneys hailing from top law firms, Google, Apple, and other leading companies.

How much does it cost to start a business in LegalZoom?

LegalZoom’s prices for business formation start at $79 plus government filing fees for LLCs and only increase for other business types. In contrast, IncFile’s entry-level business formation plan costs $0 plus government filing fees for all business entity types.

What does LegalZoom do for you professionally?

Legal Zoom is meant to provide the forms needed to develop and establish a business entity, such as an LLC. However, to ensure that you comply legally and do not have to retain the services of a lawyer later, you need to contact an attorney first. Contact me at sam@mollaeilaw.com. I am the top business attorney on on the Internet.

What is LegalZoom?

On LegalZoom’s website, it says that ‘Legal help is here.’ However, it later goes on to describe that ‘we are not a law turn or a substitute for an attorney or law firm.’

Is LegalZoom.com Worth it for Wills?

Wills and other critical legal documents are too important and too complicated for a site like LegalZoom.

How do I get rid of LegalZoom?

You can easily get rid of LegalZoom by contacting a competent business attorney - someone who can advise you on business set-up and compliance. To preserve your professional standing and reputation, this is necessary. I can help you with your legal and business goals. Simply contact me by email at sam@mollaeilaw.com today. You can erase LegalZoom from you contacts permanently.

Why Is Sam Mollaei a better choice than LegalZoom for start-up companies?

Sam Mollaei is a top business lawyer online and has experience in advising clients on setting up business entities. He can be directly contacted by email at sam@mollaeilaw.com anytime - 24 hours.

Is LegalZoom reputable?

Because LegalZoom is a legal services company and not a legal firm, it cannot represent you like an attorney. Therefore, LegalZoom cannot give you legal advice and can only provide self-help legal services. To receive reputable legal help, you need to contact a well-known business lawyer, such as Sam Mollaei at sam@mollaeilaw.com.

How much do attorneys charge to set up an LLC?

Otherwise, you can save on the cost of set-up by choosing a low-cost state, such as Wyoming. You can pay anywhere from $50 to $800 for the service. I can advise you on LLC formation and the costs involved. Email me today at sam@mollaeilaw.com.

Is LegalZoom Good for Wills? A LegalZoom Will Review

While it may be tempting to use do-it-yourself solutions like LegalZoom to create a will, it often leads to unintended property distribution. To create an effective will, you need to take all possible life outcomes into consideration, including deaths, births, marriages, divorces, adoptions, and more.

Important Elements of a Will That LegalZoom May Leave Out

Even if your Will seems relatively straightforward, there are a few key parts of your document that LegalZoom won’t cover. Here are some of the essential parts LegalZoom might forget to include in your Will.

Why You Should Hire an Estate Planning Lawyer

One of the major risks with using a service like LegalZoom is that they aren’t a law firm. This means that they cannot legally review your will for legal accuracy, provide advice for filling out your will, or apply the law to your specific situation. As a result, many people who use their service unknowingly create an invalid or incomplete will.

Need Help Planning for the Future?

Estate planning isn’t easy to do alone, especially if you have unique circumstances or don’t know where to start. At Massingill Attorneys & Counselors at Law, we know that your will is an important investment in your legacy. Our goal is to tailor your will to your precise wishes and protect your family from potential legal issues.

What are some good resources for finding a lawyer?

State bar associations are also good resources for finding lawyers who practice in the field in which you require assistance. Online resources can be another good source, and many such resources have the added benefit of offering consumer reviews, so you can see how other people have rated their interactions with a particular attorney.

Do lawyers work by themselves?

The legal team. Some lawyers work by themselves, while others have paralegals on their team or outsource some of the legal work to other lawyers. You want to make sure you know who will be handling your file, as this can have an impact on both the quality of the service you receive and the cost. Communication.

What is holographic will?

A holographic Will is a Will that is written entirely in the hand of the Testator, the person making the Will. That’s it. It doesn’t meet the other requirements of having a valid Will in Georgia and this is where LegalZoom is confused. A holographic Will is a type of handwritten Will. But, as long as the handwritten Will meets the other requirements for having a valid Will in Georgia, it will be valid.

Is LegalZoom a law firm?

The first thing LegalZoom wants you to know is that they are not a law firm. Here are a few of the more important statements from their disclaimer: