Many tasks that used to require a lawyer simply don’t anymore: Where there’s a form you can file in a particular court, there’s an automated wizard to walk you through the questions for a song.
You don’t even have to completely forego receiving the advice of an attorney; some of the websites include in their premium level of service the ability to have an actual lawyer field any outstanding questions you have about the forms.
These websites all market free teaser versions of their offerings but have varying tiers of paid services allowing you to customize and print out a larger number of forms per month.
If you expect you might need to update and resubmit any of these forms or if you have multiple legal needs — like you do when you own a business — the subscription versions of all these sites are much cheaper than what it costs to hire a lawyer.
Lawyer Up for Less
Here are all the legal forms sites:
- eForms has a free seven-day trial with unlimited access to all legal forms; after that, the site charges $45 for a single document or $120 annually for a subscription.
- FormSwift charges $1.95 for a seven-day trial of its site offering 500 different legal and tax forms; the paid version goes for $39.95 a month.
- LawDepot offers a free one-week trial letting you access all documents; thereafter, it sells individual documents in basic form for $7.50 to $39 apiece, which includes full access to it for 14 days; a monthly subscription version costs $33.
- LawFormsUSA sells you a one-time download for $20 and offers a premium service for $33 a month.
- LegalNature offers a free seven-day trial, and then sells subscriptions to individuals for $38.95 a month or $299 annually, while charging businesses $58.95 monthly and $499 annually.
- LegalZoom offers three tiers of pricing for each type of legal form, with each having a different starting point.
- Nolo Press sells annual subscriptions for $20 to $40 for access to one form you need in your state.
- RocketLawyer has a free seven-day trial, which includes your choice of three forms along with one bonus question queued to an attorney. After that, there’s a flat fee of $39 monthly.
Court Fees
Now just because you save money on the forms doesn’t mean you’re out of the woods with respect to all fees. You still have to pay filing fees imposed by the particular court that oversees the area of law your form concerns. Charges vary widely by jurisdiction.
Readers, when was the last time you consulted an attorney — and how much did it cost you?
Jackie Cohen
Jackie Cohen is an award winning financial journalist turned turned financial advisor obsessed with climate change risk, data and business. Jackie holds a B.A. Degree from Macalester College and an M.A. in English from Claremont Graduate University.
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