Can I File for Divorce Online?
Posted by Jeff Hindenach
Q: I want to get a divorce but don't want to deal with a lawyer. Can I just get a divorce online?
A: Actually, yes, you can at least start the paperwork online. Many of the top legal services sites will help you fill out the paperwork to file your divorce, although the majority of the actual filing needs to be done by you.
LegalZoom, for example, will take you through a step-by-step process based on your needs and the kind of divorce you are filing for. They will even give you step-by-step instructions on how to file the paperwork with your local courthouse. LegalZoom can even set you up with a lawyer consultation, so you can ask any questions you need to about the divorce. If you think the divorce is going to be complicated or that the division of assets might be difficult, it might be a good idea to hire an actual lawyer, since LegalZoom does not provide you with actual legal counsel. Divorce paperwork pricing from LegalZoom starts at $299.
Rocket Lawyer can also help you prepare your divorce paperwork. Their interface actually has an interactive feature that allows you to see the paperwork being filled out as you answer Rocket Lawyer's step-by-step questionnaire. The benefit of Rocket Lawyer is that they can hook you up with a local lawyer for a discounted rate. They also offer their services for $19.95/month, so once you are done with their service, you can just cancel.
Check out reviews of both LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer here to get more information.
Enter the NextAdvisor $500 Giveaway!
Posted by Jeff Hindenach
Need a little extra spending cash for the summer months? We are giving away a total of $500 to 4 of our lucky Google+ followers! We will be drawing 4 winners over the course of a month. The first winner, picked March 22, will win $50. The second winner, picked on March 29, will win $100. The third winner, picked on April 5, will win $150. And the last winner, picked on April 12, will win $200. You must follow all instructions below to enter. Good luck!
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Will LegalZoom Defend Me in Court?
Posted by Jeff Hindenach
Q: I need a lawyer to defend me in a criminal trial, can LegalZoom get me a lawyer to do that?
A: LegalZoom does not handle any criminal matter, nor do any of the other online legal services we review. The sites also don't provide any legal advice when it comes to criminal cases. Most online legal services mostly deal with paperwork (registering your business, simple divorce, wills, power of attorney), and rarely would be involved in any courtroom cases, criminal or not.
If you are looking for a lawyer, though, Rocket Lawyer has tools to locate local lawyers in your area that can help with everything from starting a business to a criminal trial. If you are a Rocket Lawyer member, all of their in-network lawyers are 40% off. You can sign up for a free trial or contact them for free to see if they will be able to help you with your legal issues.
To check out our review of Rocket Lawyer or to see which other online legal services might be right for you, check out our compare page here.
Post-Valentine's Day Is Most Popular
Time to File for Divorce
Posted by Jeff Hindenach
Love is not in the air once Valentine's Day is over, it seems. According to a recent study, requests for divorce lawyers skyrocket on the days surrounding Valentine's Day by almost 40 percent.
“I see a rise in divorce filings shortly after Valentine’s Day," Kelly Chang, a prominent divorce lawyer, said in the study's release. "This can be attributed to two groups of people: ‘Delayed New Year’s Resoluters’ who are merely moving forward on their resolution to be single, and ‘Waiting to Exhalers,’ who, depending on the actions of their spouses on Valentine’s Day, will either reconcile or file for divorce.”
The number of questions about divorce also skyrockets by 36 percent during the same time, according to the study. Other factors that contribute to the spike: cabin fever during the winter, people waiting until after the holidays, and people waiting to find out about their spouses bonus and income status in the new year.
Have questions about divorce? Most of the top online legal services sites specialize in simplified divorces and can easily answer any questions you have. Check out our reviews of the top services here.
Understanding Web Hosting and the DMCA
Posted by Mary Humphreys
Enacted in 1998, the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (also known as the DMCA) governs rights management issues arising from digital content and distribution. This includes everything from DRM (Digital Rights Management) measures embedded in digital files and on CDs and DVDs to rules about reverse-engineering software. For the purposes of most web hosting customers, DMCA comes up most often when we talk about what happens when someone reports a copyright violation to a web hosting company.
When a company or individual finds content online that they think violates copyright, they can file a DMCA complaint with the company currently hosting the site in question. As the entity providing storage for and access to your website, your web hosting provider is responsible for responding to any notifications it receives about copyright violations you may have committed.
Different hosting providers follow different procedures, but the basics are outlined by the DMCA. Often, hosting companies remove the page in question or suspend the account before getting in touch with the owner, since taking quick action gives them safe-harbor under the law and ensures they cannot be held responsible for the violation. Next, the host must notify the owner about the complaint and offer a chance to either challenge the complaint by filing a counter-notification or remove the offending material.
What if I want to file a complaint?
If you find content online that you believe violates your copyright, you can file a DMCA takedown notice. You can find more information about this online or you can consult an attorney about how to file. However, it is often worth attempting to contact the owner of the site that has posted content you believe you have the copyright for directly first. Often, site owners will take down content upon request to avoid the hassle of an official takedown notice.
What if someone makes a complaint against my site?
If someone files a complaint against your site, there are a few things you can do. First, you should make sure you've backed up the site, so that, if necessary, you could move the site to another host without losing any content. Then you should address the issue at hand. If you have violated copyright, whether accidentally or intentionally, quickly removing any offending material should resolve the takedown notice fairly simply. If you believe you are in the right, you can file a counter-notification. This may take a little more time, but if it is important to you to keep the content up, it may be worth the effort. If you need assistance, you can contact an attorney with experience in online intellectual property issues.
How Do I File for Bankruptcy with an
Online Legal Services Site?
Posted by Jeff Hindenach
Q: I think I need to file for bankruptcy but don't know anything about hiring a lawyer. Can I do it through on online legal site?
A: Yes, many online legal services sites actually offer bankruptcy packages, which include an attorney to represent you. The top two sites that we reviewed, LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer, both have bankruptcy options and free advice for anyone considering bankruptcy. Here's a quick breakdown of some details you'll need to help decide on a site and a plan:
Price: Oddly enough, filing for bankruptcy is expensive. Filing for Chapter 7 can cost you between $800 and $2500 just for attorney's fees depending on the state, and that's not counting the filing fee, which is usually around $300. LegalZoom's prices are in the same ballpark, but they save you the trouble of looking for a lawyer yourself, and the up-front pricing is good peace of mind. Rocket Lawyer will actually help you find a local lawyer and give you a 40% discount on their services, but you have to sign up for their monthly-fee service, which is $19.95/month. (Although, you can cancel after one month.)
Free Consultation: Both LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer offer free consultations with a lawyer before you even start. LegalZoom asks you to fill out a questionnaire which will help with your free bankruptcy evaluation. Rocket Lawyer actually asks you to fill out the bankruptcy documents beforehand (they will assist you with this) and then your lawyer will perform a free review of those documents.
Bankruptcy advice: If you are not sure what you want to do yet and need more information about bankruptcy, both LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer have answers to frequently asked questions. Rocket Lawyer does one better and has many articles and tools to help you with your bankruptcy, including documents to help you get ready for bankruptcy like a response letter to the IRS, and a free bankruptcy worksheet that can help you determine the terms of your bankruptcy.
Bottom line: If you are exploring the idea of bankruptcy and want some free guidance, try LegalZoom's online questionnaire and free consultation to get you started. If you know you want to file bankruptcy and just need help with the documents and legal issues, you can sign up for Rocket Lawyer, pay the $19.95/month and get 40% off a local lawyer that Rocket Lawyer will help you find.
If you want to read our full reviews of either LegalZoom or Rocket Lawyer, check out our online legal services compare page here.
Making A Will on a Legal Services Site
Posted by Jeff Hindenach
Q: I need to make a will, which site is best to do that?
A: That's a good question. It really depends on how much help you need and how much you are willing to spend. Here's a breakdown of the services based on those two criteria:
How much help do you need? If you have a fairly straight-forward will but still need help filling it out, LegalZoom would be your best option. They have a step-by-step process that will walk you through the entire process. If you think your will might be a little more complicated, it might be a good idea to look into Rocket Lawyer. While they may be a little more expensive because of their monthly price structure, they also have the easiest and most transparent will-making process, as well as discounts on local lawyers if you need some in-person advice on your will. If you are completely comfortable with filling out your will yourself, you can download a variety of will and trust forms from US Legal Forms for cheap.
How much are you willing to spend? LegalZoom's pricing of $69 includes their automated system that will help you complete the form, but doesn't include any extra legal advice or the fees for filing the forms. Rocket Lawyer's pricing is based on a monthly subscription. The Basic Legal Plan, which includes wills, is $19.95 per month, and can be cancelled after a month, if you only need them to help you with your will. To simply download the will paperwork from US Legal Forms, you will need to pay based on how complicated your will or trust may be. A single person with no children will pay around $20, while a married couple with children might pay upwards of $50.
Bottom line, if you have a straightforward will that you can complete yourself but want to make sure is filled out correctly, you might want to try LegalZoom. You don't have to worry about canceling your monthly membership, like with Rocket Lawyer, and you don't have to worry that you made a mistake, like with US Legal Forms DIY forms. To compare these sites yourself, check out our online legal services compare page here.
US Legal Forms vs LegalZoom: Which Online Legal Services Site Is Better?
Posted by Jeff Hindenach
So, you need to file some legal paperwork, but are not sure which site to use. We're here to help. Both US Legal Forms and LegalZoom have excellent options and qualities, but each stands out in its own way. We've broken out the most important aspects of each site and compared them side-by-side to help you make a more informed decision when choosing between US Legal Forms and LegalZoom.
1. Number of legal forms: No one in the online legal services space can hold a candle to US Legal Forms' vast library of legal forms. They even have a form if you need to file a complaint for misrepresentation of a Dairy Herd Feeding System, which is a pretty obscure form to need. Not to say that LegalZoom doesn't have a healthy amount of forms to choose from, but it's nothing compared to US Legal Forms.
2. Usability: If you have no legal background whatsoever, using LegalZoom is probably the way you want to go. They have a simple, easy-to-use interface that is especially helpful for those that don't have any experience with legal documents. Plus, LegalZoom will file most forms for you. For most documents, US Legal Forms only allows you to download the forms and then fill them out and file them yourself, which can be confusing for those of us without a law degree.
3. Price: It's a little difficult to compare the pricing of the two sites because they offer such different things. Most of the forms on US Legal Forms are fairly cheap, but that's because you don't get any support in filling out the forms like you do on LegalZoom. US Legal Forms does help you fill out forms for incorporating your business, and those prices are much higher than LegalZoom. So, if you are just looking for forms, US Legal Forms is cheaper. If you need help with incorporation or filling out other forms, LegalZoom is cheaper.
3. Customer service: Both have superior customer service. LegalZoom has a more extensive help page and more options for help, but their phone number can be confusing as it initially directs you to a paid service. US Legal Forms has a smaller help page, but their phone number directs you straight to a human who helps you with your issues, which is a big plus in our books.
The bottom line is that if you need help filling out your forms, then you should pick LegalZoom for all your legal needs. If you know which forms you need and how to fill them out, then you should go with US Legal Forms, especially if the form you need is obscure or hard to find. To read our reviews of both services and compare them and other online legal services side-by-side, check out our compare page here.
BizFilings Vs. CorpNet: Which Legal Site Is Better for Incorporating a Business
Posted by Jeff Hindenach
Incorporating a business can be challenging, but there are several online legal services sites that specialize specifically in helping new entrepreneurs with the details of setting up a business. The best of those sites are BizFilings and CorpNet. So which one is best for you? Here's a quick breakdown of which is best at what they do:
Pricing: CorpNet has BizFilings beat on this front. Their basic plans for LLCs and C-Corps are $49, and the basic plan for an S-Corp is $79. BizFilings' pricing, while consistent, is $97 for the basic plan for all of the above. If that wasn't enough, CorpNet also offers more perks with their basic plan than BizFilings, including a 100% money back guarantee and a free tax consultation.
Selection: While most people incorporating a business will choose one of the standard choices that CorpNet offers (LLC, C-Corp, S-Corp, Non-profit or Professional Corporation), BizFilings does offer additional business options that CorpNet doesn't, including a Limited Partnership, a Limited Liability Partnership, a Profesional Limited Liability Corporation (PLLC) and a Sole Proprietorship.
Usability: BizFilings' interface is well organized and consistent, to make the user experience as easy as possible. The drop-down menus make it easy for users to find what they are looking for, and the consistency and simplicity of the forms make filling out the paperwork a breeze. While CorpNet's site is definitely clean and user-friendly, it's not as well organized or easy to use as BizFilings.
Customer Service: CorpNet has BizFilings beat hands down on this one. CorpNet has the best customer service that we've ever encountered in all our product testing for NextAdvisor. There is no recorded message; you are instantly connected to a person who not only does everything they can to help you, but also follows up with an email containing all the information they gave you during the call. While BizFilings has good, solid customer service offerings, there is no competing with CorpNet's above-and-beyond customer service.
As you can see, each site has its strengths. If you are looking for the cheapest price with excellent customer service, CorpNet is your best choice. If you are looking for more options with a great user-friendly interface, you should check out BizFilings. To read our full reviews or to check out other online legal services, check out our compare page here.
New BizFilings Review: Best Online Legal Services Site for Business-Related Offerings
Posted by Jeff Hindenach
If you are in the market to incorporate your business and don't want to mess with lawyers, BizFilings is a good, solid choice. BizFilings is more organized and more robust than any other incorporation-specific online legal service that we've reviewed. Their simple and clear interface and competitive pricing make them a top choice for your business-related legal needs. Here's a quick breakdown of the best parts that we found while reviewing BizFilings:
Pricing: BizFilings offers competitive pricing to top sites like LegalZoom, but unlike most of the other online legal services sites, has a consistent price for all its incorporation options. Whether you are filing an LLC, C-Corp or Partnership, they all have the same price structure.
Selection: Taking into consideration that they only offer business-related options, BizFilings actually has more of those options than other business-focused legal sites. From Non-Profits to DBAs, BizFilings has every incorporation option you need, as well as any features you may need to help run your business and stay compliant with state and federal law.
Usability: The law can be confusing, especially for those who have never studied it. However, we found BizFilings to be simple and easy to understand. They explain in-depth all of the different incorporation options, as well as walk you through the process of filing. The interface is clean and simple, leaving little confusion about what options you have or how to use the site.
To read our full review of BizFilings or to check out the site for yourself, click here.
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Disclosure: NextAdvisor.com is a consumer information site that offers free, independent reviews and ratings of online services. We receive advertising revenue from most of the services we review. Our editors thoroughly research and whenever possible test each service we review and offer their honest opinions about each one. We are independently owned and operated and all opinions expressed on this site are our own.