Are you looking for the best DIY legal documents and forms? Have you been considering LawDepot as an option for your legal forms and documents? If yes, this review will provide you with everything you need to make an informed decision.
The truth is hiring an attorney for something as simple as drawing up a new living will or a prenuptial agreement can be expensive. But, services like LawDepot provide a considerably cheaper alternative that’s just as effective and valid.
LawDepot is essentially a service that makes it easy for you to create your own custom legal documents and forms. They have every type of legal document you need, and all of them are standard. Do you want a lease agreement? They’ve got it. How about a prenuptial agreement? It’s available. Need a real estate contract agreement? Just check.
In addition to these documents, the website offers good advice that can serve as a guide of sorts. But, the real question is, are they the real deal? Why should you get your custom legal documents from Law Depot instead of other providers? Are their services good enough for your needs? We’ll try to answer all these questions.
LawDepot Services
Established in 2001, LawDepot offers high quality legal forms and documents that can be used by just about anyone. So, they’ve been helping millions of users for about 18 years. In internet years, that’s a really long time. If they weren’t legit, they wouldn’t have survived this long.
With their wide array of forms and documents, intending users can download, edit and use the documents as they see fit. This not only saves you a lot of money but also time and effort. While the documents are designed for users in North America, the UK, and Australia, they work for just about anyone, anywhere in the globe.
So, whether you’re a small business owner in the US or a freelancer who loves traveling, the forms and documents make it easy for you to draw up contracts, and agreements. Some of the documents they have include:
- Last Will and Testament
- Living Will
- Bill of Sale
- Business Contracts
- Corporation Operating Agreements
- Residential Rental and Lease Agreements
- Sales Agreement
- Promissory Note
- Partnership Agreement
- Commercial Property Lease Agreements
- Healthcare Directives
- Confidentiality Agreements
- Separation Agreements
- Loan Agreement
- Freelance Contract Agreement
- Power of Attorney
These agreements are broadly grouped into six categories. These include estate, real estate, financial, business, and family. Just click the category you’re interested in, and scroll through the drop-down menu to find what you want.
All these documents are easy to customize and use. You’ll find legal forms and documents for everything from living wills and trusts to prenuptial agreements and divorce forms. People looking to create important contracts will find it just as useful as landlords who want to draw up lease agreements.
Law Depot Pros and Benefits
Easy Online Legal Document Creation
LawDepot makes it easy to create hundreds of legal documents for your every day or occasional use. Whether it’s business or real estate lease agreements, the process is very easy and straightforward. All you have to do is locate the document you want, click through, and start the editing process. It’s that easy.
You’ll have to answer a few questions, fill out some questionnaires and check some boxes. Once that’s done, you’ll be able to review your information, and go ahead with your download. You don’t need to come up with any complicated legal terms.
Those are already drawn up for you. All you have to do is input important details like names, dates, and signatures. If you want to include specific clauses too, that’s easy to do. Once done, all forms and documents become legally binding and acceptable in all relevant states.
Just remember to go to your country’s website, and select it to choose the relevant legal documents.
Money-Back Guarantee
It’s always nice to know that if you’re unsatisfied, you can always request a refund, and it’ll be honored. The only downside is the refund might take a while -the company says refunds are issued within 50 days. This isn’t fair, but that’s their current practice. We’ll update the information here if there’s any change.
Also, they’re liable to the tune of $10,000 if you suffer any damages from errors made on your documents and forms. However, there has to solid proof that they goofed. This is why you must review the final copy of your agreement before downloading and sending it out.
Highly Informative Resources
The company clearly states that they’re not a law firm and don’t give legal advice in any official capacity. But, you can learn a lot from the knowledge base aka The Law Library on their website, as well as the blog. There’s a ton of highly accurate and factual information about all the categories on their site that you can use.
There’s also a dedicated FAQ section for every category. They took the time to meticulously answer most questions you might have there. If you’re in doubt about anything, do a search. And if nothing pops up, get in touch with their customer support.
Great Client Support
Poor client support is always a nightmare. No one likes it. LawDepot understands this. This is why the company prides itself in helping regular folks get their legal documents and forms sorted out. Once you have an account with them, you can easily request help via email or live chat if you’re stuck. Their customer support is pretty competent and responsive.
So, you won’t have to wait for days before hearing back. If you want near-instant support though, just call their dedicated helpline. They’ll walk you through the necessary processes, and stay with you until you’re satisfied.
It’s Quite Affordable
Lawdepot has great pricing options that make it easy for you to get and use the forms or documents you need. There’s even a free trial option (see How Much Does LawDepot Cost for more information). This affordability translates into huge savings for you.
In fact, it’s estimated that over 1 million customers have ended up saving billions of dollars by using their service, as against hiring an attorney. For example, the average cost of drawing up a prenuptial agreement is $2500. And depending on your state and how long it takes, it can cost a lot more.
But with LawDepot, it’ll cost you anywhere between $7.99 and $100 -depending on your preferred payment option. That’s huge savings right there.
LawDepot Cons
As with everything, the DIY legal documents service also has its downsides. These include:
Confusing Payment Process
Many users complain that the payment process isn’t straightforward. And that they were getting charged even after they canceled. Well, we tried it for an LLC Operating Agreement, and the process was pretty seamless.
All we did was select the documents we wanted, fill out the necessary information, and click the Print/Download button. As soon as we did that, we were redirected to a page with clear payment options.
As you can see, it’s pretty straightforward. You just have to select your preferred payment plan, enter your card details and you’ll be charged the specified rate.
Monthly Subscription Can Pile up Pretty Quickly
The Free Trial option is quite tricky. Sure, you’ll get 7 days to check out the service without payment. But, if you forget to cancel, you’ll get billed $33/month for as long as your subscription is active -even if you don’t use it.
Someone complained that he was billed for 30 months before he realized it and requested a refund. Of the $990 that he was charged, they only refunded $120. That’s crazy, but it is what it is. If you’ll be using that option, just remember to cancel your subscription or pay the full amount.
Payment Cancellation is Difficult
Speaking of payment cancellation, most people say they can’t find where to cancel. This means the subscription keeps running even if they’re no longer interested in using the service. If you want to cancel, just go to lawdepot.com/cancel while you’re signed it. It’ll take you to your subscriptions, and you can initiate the cancellation from there.
How Much Does LawDepot Cost?
There are various price options, all of them designed for your convenience. There’s a monthly, yearly, free trial and pay per document option.
$7.99 monthly subscription: This is a one-time charge, and you’re billed upfront for this annually. This is great for people who need lots of documents and forms.
Free trial, followed by a $33 monthly fee: This gives you unlimited access to hundreds of documents too. Only thing is you’re not billed upfront.
$39 one-time upfront charge for the document you want: This gives you a 5-year access to the service, so you can update and edit however you see fit. Only downside is it’s only limited to just that document type.
Is LawDepot’s Customer Support Any Good?
Yeah, they’re pretty decent. The company provides four contact options. If you ever need to reach customer support, just click the HELP menu at the top right part of the website. You’ll find a dropdown menu that lists the various means of contact.
There, you’ll find various contact channels include email, live chat, help center, and phone number options. If you’re in a hurry, just call their 1-855-231-8424 number.
What are Other Buyers Saying About LawDepot?
As with any business, the results are mostly mixed. Some were satisfied with their service. Others weren’t. The one thing many customers really liked though, was their customer support.
According to them, they’re very helpful, friendly, and patient. These come in handy when you’re trying to create legal documents you’re unfamiliar with. The service is user-friendly too and easy to navigate. Of course, because there are a lot of documents, you may have to look for your specific legal document.
The good news is, most people can create their legal documents within 5-10 minutes of signing up. Also, customers complain about being unable to stop the company from the monthly deductions. But, as we’ve shown you, it’s easy to cancel your subscription.
So, Should You Use LawDepot?
In all, LawDepot provides a sorely needed service and does a great job of it. While they may have a few issues, we think they’re an amazing company.
You’ll find hundreds of useful and standard legal documents here that’ll save you a ton of money. That, plus their competitive pricing, easy-to-use website, great customer support, and the ability to cancel whenever you want, gives them an edge over other providers. Remember LawDepot doesn’t offer legal advice or service. If you’re comfortable with reviewing the contracts and agreements yourself -pretty easy- you should just use them. So, click here to start creating your legal documents for dirt cheap today.