legalzoom

The world of business as we know it today has undergone a tremendous change in a relatively short period of time. Anyone who compares the intricacies involved in putting up a business today to say, even a mere ten years ago is sure to find that the business landscape has gone through significant changes, some would say for the worse although you will no doubt find many who welcome the innovations and enhancements that the new business climate has to offer.

Take for example the tedious business of filling out forms. As necessary as the filing of forms is in order to ensure that you are able to operate your business in strict conformity with local business laws, let’s face it; the task is dull and boring at best and at worst it can take up a significant amount of your precious time. Time that you can better put to use in the pursuit of more worthwhile activities, like making money from your business for instance. Of course, it is precisely the quandary that faces the average businessman is that you need to accomplish all these business requirements and other various forms of paperwork before you can embark on your chosen enterprise and (hopefully) start raking in that hard earned cash.

DBA or Doing Business As forms are only one in the long line of local government requirements that you will probably have occasion to face in the course of starting up your own business. And the good news is, is that they can be found online for typically a much lower price than what your local law office can hope to provide it for. But I hear you asking now: how do I file for a DBA (Doing Business As) form and more importantly what is it exactly? You have come seeking for answers and we are happy to oblige you in your quest.

DBA forms are of a particularly weighty concern for you if you for any reason need to run a business under a name other than the one that it is legally filed under. The name used for this form may vary from town to town with some areas calling it by the terms fictitious business name, trade name or assumed name. In nay case, they all mean the same thing: a form that allows you to run your business under another name for whatever legal reason. LLC or the Legal Name of the Corporation is, as you may have guessed, the actual name that your company is registered under in line with various local and state regulatory laws.

Many online companies, most notably among them the company “LegalZoom” – can help you to navigate through this potentially confusing maze of legalese and other official documents. The LegalZoom site guarantees its potential customers honest and upfront pricing schemes that compete with the best around. You will find that their charges for filing a DBA form for you are significantly lower than what a local lawyer might charge you for the very same service.

LegalZoom is one of, if not the most, popular and widely used corporation service companies online. In fact, they are a huge online legal services provider.

They have the capacity and infrastructure to service many documentation requirements of any business – from name search and incorporation to maintaining and changing your corporation.

At the heart of LegalZoom are several lawyers, one of whom is the well-known Robert Shapiro. It’s important to note that real USA attorneys are at the forefront of LegalZoom so you know your business is in good hands.

Of course a huge benefit of using a corporation service such as LegalZoom is the money you save in setting up your business and then maintaining your corporation so that it remains up-to-date every year.

Here’s a listing of the corporation services LegalZoom provides:

Business Formations

Incorporations
LLC (Limited Liability Companies)
DBA/Business Names
Non-Profit Corporation
Partnership Agreements
Joint Venture Agreements
LP (Limited Partnership)
Limited Liability Partnerships
501(c)(3) Applications

Keeping Your Company in Good Standing

Corporate Minutes
Annual Reports
Initial Reports
Joint Venture Agreements
Partnership Agreements
Registered Agent Services

Other Business Services

Amendments
Bylaws and Resolutions
Certificates of Good Standing
Conversions
Dissolutions
Domain Registrations
EIN
Entity Name Check
Foreign Qualifications
Logos
Entity Name Reservations
Operating Agreements
Seller’s Permits
State Tax ID
Business Licenses
Certified Copies
Canadian Incorporations

LegalZoom Corporation Service Pricing*

LegalZoom offers 3 incorporation packages:

1. Economy package for $99

Your proposed company name is searched to ensure you can use it.
Your Articles of Incorporation of prepared and filed.
You can have customized corporate bylaws prepared and filed.
Your Resolutions from the first meeting of your board of directors are prepared.

2. Standard package for $239

Includes all the corporation services in the Economy package plus:
A deluxe corporate kit (binder and up to 20 share certificates) with your company name.
An official company seal
Medical expense plan forms
A license for Peachtree accounting software

3. Express Gold package for $369

Includes everything in the Standard package plus:
Priority expedited service (7 – 10 business days – note that delays may result from the processing with the State)
More than forty business forms on a compact disc.
Federal Tax ID (EIN) application preparation
S Corporation election preparation
The final package is delivered to you via 2 day FedEX service.

LegalZoom offers many benefits to any business – such as:

Search company names
Expedited corporation services (note that there may be delays by the State in which you are incorporating)
Customized corporate documents – you aren’t restricted to boilerplate or template documents
Save money on your incorporation costs – as well as your ongoing paperwork requirements for your company
Spare yourself the hassle and uncertainty in setting up your own incorporation
LegalZoom offers a 100 percent customer satisfaction guarantee
LegalZoom is experienced with having served more than 1,000,000 customers
The Better Business Bureau gives LegalZoom an A+ rating
Easy 3-step incorporation process.

How You Incorporate with LegalZoom

Of course there are many other corporation services offered by LegalZoom – each process different. However, the basic incorporation process is a simple 3 step-process which is as follows:

STEP 1:

You, as the incorporator, complete an incorporation questionnaire which essentially explains how you would like your company set up.

STEP 2:

LegalZoom takes the information from your complete questionnaire and prepares the necessary documents. LegalZoom also files your documents with your indicated State. One advantage with using LegalZoom is they review your responses and if there is anything unusual, they will discuss this with you.

STEP 3:

Once LegalZoom receives your completed corporation documents, they forward them to you as well as other documents you requested be completed and filed.

LegalZoom Customer Service

Whenever you use online services, there’s always a concern about being able to easily and quickly contact the service. LegalZoom makes it very easy to contact them via numerous methods. They are:

Via email;
Toll free telephone number;
By post to 1 of their 2 office locations in LA, California and/or Austin, Texas; and
When you hire LegalZoom, you’re given your own account which you can log in to.

LegalZoom in the Media

LegalZoom is a pretty high-profile corporation service. They’ve been featured by many national and global media giants including:

MSNBC
ABC
The New York Times
The Wall Street Journal
Fox News
CBS

LegalZoom, is what I call a legal services giant having served over a million customers.

If you are looking for an incorporation service to organize your corporation or limited liability company, you have probably heard about LegalZoom.

LegalZoom is one of the most well known providers of online based legal document and filings services covering a variety of areas such as incorporations, LLC formations, trademarks, wills and legal forms.

The founders of this company are business lawyers and business professionals and as a result the incorporation service is one of the staple offerings. They are responsible for having formed hundreds of thousands of legal entities and they back each one with a full satisfaction guarantee.

The creation of a legal entity for a business is so important to any new business owner because this step is what gives you protection against being personally liable for business obligations. Given this essential objective, you should not risk using an unknown or inexperienced service to handle this.

LegalZoom was founded in 2000 and is professionally managed by an elite management team. The entire operation is also backed by some of the highest profile attorneys in the country and also by well known venture capitalists. They have been profiled and seen on all the major networks and in prestigious financial publications like the Wall Street Journal.

In addition to exceptional customer service, their incorporation and LLC formation packages also come with customized legal forms that are necessary to give a new business entity the necessary governance structure. This is a unique add on not offered by other services and one that is necessary for any new business after formation.

LegalZoom has devoted significant resources to make working with them very easy and intuitive. Their site is optimized for simplified customer processes so you will find that the website and the ordering process are very intuitive and simple. They try to make everything only require 3 simple steps . You also can check order status at anytime online or reach a live representative during business hours.

This company is leading the way when it comes to providing affordable but highly competent products and services to individuals and businesses that choose to handle straightforward legal matters without the use of an attorney.

You get peace of mind knowing you have a reputable and experienced company behind your legal entity formation and a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Their pricing is extremely competitive and represents a great value for what you get or what you would pay for a business lawyer to handle this for you.

As an attorney I am often approached by people asking me to look over a legal document to see if it is done right. One of the first questions I ask them is, did you draft this yourself, and if not where did you get it? A common answer is, “I got it online.”

You may have heard of LegalZoom.com. The likelihood is also that you are aware that this website is one of the best known and largest online clearinghouses for legal documentation, endorsed by Robert Shapiro. One question I would like to ask Mr. Shapiro is whether LegalZoom is superior to obtaining the same service from a local practitioner.

So as to be both fair and balanced, I would like to explore the pros and cons of using a LegalZoom.

The Pros: (1) It’s affordable. Legal documents for important purposes such as a company’s LLC or a will and trust are obtainable for what may be less than the local attorney’s fees (a $69 will doesn’t sound bad); (2)It’s fast. The website offers same-day delivery of the documents via downloading; (3) It’s has attorney oversight. It is hard to say who is doing what, but LegalZoom advertises its services with the “warrantability” of attorneys working behind the scene.

Read, however, LegalZoom’s full disclaimer:

“LegalZoom’s legal document service is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney…

LegalZoom is not permitted to engage in the practice of law. LegalZoom is prohibited from providing any kind of advice, explanation, opinion, or recommendation to a consumer about possible legal rights, remedies, defenses, options, selection of forms or strategies…

Therefore, if you need legal advice for your specific problem, or if your specific problem is too complex to be addressed by our tools, you should consult a licensed attorney in your area. Visitors to our site may obtain information regarding free or low cost representation through your state bar association or local legal aid office.”

The Cons: (1) LegalZoom is not a ‘substitute’. You are not getting the advice of an attorney!; (2) LegalZoom is not engaged in the practice of law. As such, LegalZoom is not taking on the same liability that an attorney is when he/she is engaged in practicing; this begs the questions if their documents are prepared with the same “duty of care” owed to a client compared to that of a local practitioner; (3) It is not comprehensive, e.g. “if your specific problem is too complex…” Therefore, if your problem is too complex LegalZoom will not suffice for competent legal help. This also begs the question as to how one will know if their problem is complex unless they speak to a qualified attorney?

I am not one to shun or disparage an affordable and convenient service, unless I feel a consumer could end up getting injured in the end. One can relate, especially if they have met with an attorney, that very few legal problems are “simple” – thus why one went to seek the counsel of an attorney rather than attempt to figure it out on their own. Yet, in all fairness to LegalZoom, there are some sophisticated consumers who are both learned in legal matters and laws – though not attorneys – who can utilize LegalZoom to their advantage. Saving money and time is unsually a good thing; but, when “self-help” ends up costing more time and money in the end because of a critical error or lack of oversight, the regret can be profound. So, as with anything like LegalZoom use it with caution and avoid taking a cavalier approach to solving a legal problem.

We’ve all heard about the divorce financial disasters where the battle raged on for years in the courts and in the end the attorneys ended up with thousands and thousands of dollars leaving little for the divorcing couple. Do you seriously want to go through this?

I’m not exaggerating here – this happens all the time. If you can avoid a court battle, even if you have to compromise your position somewhat, it is well worth it.

Let’s face it, divorce is a terrible process – emotionally and financially. It’s the dissolution of a union that was once strong.

But, you can keep your legal costs to a minimum – and I daresay manageable – by agreeing with your spouse over the terms of your divorce and then using an online divorce service to simply help complete and file the paperwork.

The rest of this article is dedicated to one online legal service giant – introducing LegalZoom for divorces.

Overview of the LegalZoom Divorce Service

LegalZoom is a one-stop shop for many legal services done for you over the Internet. This service has saved a lot of money for over a million customers. It’s the place to get divorce papers online, but not only that, they fill them out for you and give you a free Marital Separation Agreement (as of the date this LegalZoom review was published).

Regarding getting a divorce, LegalZoom makes it easy to process your divorce for much less than hiring a local attorney would charge. They tout their 3-step process.

Let me get right to the point – how much does LegalZoom charge for a divorce?

LegalZoom’s divorce package is $299 plus state filing fees (as of the date this LegalZoom review was published). Note that it’s standard practice with online divorce services to charge state filing fees in addition to quoted fee for service.

What Does the LegalZoom Do-It-Yourself Divorce Package Include?

You start by completing a secure online questionnaire that gets all the relevant details of your divorce situation about you and spouse.
LegalZoom then tailors your divorce paperwork to the state in which you wish to file your divorce.
You then get easy-to-follow directions for completing your divorce.
As a bonus, LegalZoom provides you a Settlement Agreement that sets out the terms of your divorce at no additional cost.
A provision for the wife to change her name to her maiden name, if necessary.

If children are involved in your divorce:

From the questionnaire you complete, you’ll also get a convenient child custody and visitation plan.
Documents setting out the child support specifications for your specific case.

THIS IS KEY: You can request revisions for up to thirty days. This is a very nice feature because often is the case where you and your spouse may wish to tweak the terms of your divorce.

All your documents are delivered via FedEx to you – at no extra charge.

LegalZoom’s Simple 3 Step Divorce Process

Step 1: Find out if an uncontested online divorce is suitable for you and your spouse with a preliminary questionnaire.

Step 2: Fill out the comprehensive online questionnaire. This questionnaire forms the basis for your divorce paperwork.

Step 3: LegalZoom completes your state-specific divorce forms and paperwork for filing. Your documents will be prepared in five to seven business days.

Why Use LegalZoom for Your Divorce?

The questionnaire you complete was created by family law lawyers.
Save money and time. You don’t need to pay expensive lawyer fees and you save yourself the time trying to figure out how to fill in the forms for your divorce.
LegalZoom caters divorce processing for all 50 states.
You receive a free Settlement Agreement with your completed divorce paperwork.
LegalZoom backs up its service with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

LegalZoom in the Media

LegalZoom is a forerunner with providing legal services, including divorce, over the Internet. As a result they’ve been featured in national and global media such as:

The New York Times
MSNBC
Fox News
CBS
ABC
The Wall Street Journal

Note, you are still responsible for actually filing your completed divorce forms and paperwork. But this is pretty easy to do once all the paperwork is completed for you.