Rebecka,

I'm just getting a business started and I hope my sister-in-law will start a VA business. Are you familiar with http://www.legalzoom.com/ They have all types of forms and their rates are significantly cheaper than brick and mortar lawyers in town. Is this legal or a substandard rip off for those of us who don't know better?

Callie

Callie,

I have not personally used legalzoom, but I know a lot of people who have and were very happy with their service. I think it's a good way to go if you are not familiar or comfortable with setting up a business on your own.

You can't beat their rate of $149 plus state filing fees (which vary by state), a lawyer would cost you a lot more.

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Rebecka Melson ~ Virtual Business Services

Callie, we used LegalZoom to set up our LLP and it spared me the time of researching just what needed to be filed and where...well worth the invetsment. We paid for the economy package, plus the filing fee for our state so it worked out to around $350+ - your own cost will vary depending on where you're located, some states are more or less expensive.

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I used LegalZoom for a client and was very satisfied with how simple the process was. I intend on using them personally when I form my LLC.

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Dawn Riley
A Virtual Assistant in Paradise
Our business is about making yours better

I'm sure there's legal forms that are free. I have prepaid legal business membership. I have to check and see if they supply forms and contracts. I'm sure they do, I have to check.

I have used legalzoom as well as searched for "free" legal documents. The one area I would caution in is that each state has different perspectives on certain types of legal documentation and their interpretation of their laws in regards this. You need to make sure that you are state specific. Case in point: when looking for a lease agreement to rent out a house, I had to make sure that I included language that was specifice to the state the proprety was in and not include anything that wasn't allowed by that state. I was able to find what I needed, but there were a lot of things out there for free that would not have served me well, especially if I had to evict a tenant for non-payment. So again, when using any documents free or paid, double check with your state code to ensure that it is binding in that state.

Exactly. Every state can be different. In fact, every county can be different. AND every judge can be different.

Consult with an attorney if it is regarding anything you value.

We used it for other legal documents and were quite satisfied as well. You definitely can't beat the price compared to using a lawyer!

LegalZoom can be dangerous. They just have "cookie cutter" documents. The best way to ensure that you are protected for your specific situation is to consult with an attorney. There are no shortcuts in the field of Law.

I've often wondered about legal zoom myself. For those of you who have used their services, are their forms state specific? Do they actually file the forms for you?