My husband and I had an idea

[kittencaboodle]

I've read these boards for quite some time, even when I wasn't logged in.  But now I have a question for this group of people about starting a home-based business.  I don't want this to be spam, but I do want to see what the interest level would be.  

The idea actually came from talking with a good friend of mine who is getting beaten pretty badly by his ex about their 4 year old son.  I offered to draft up a letter and do some documentation for him since he doesn't know where to begin, he can't afford a lawyer, and he doesn't pay attention to spelling and grammer.  

I know how poor my husband and I are with court and everything, and it took a big donation from a good friend of ours for us to be able to afford a lawyer.  Until then, I handled all the letter writing and documentation.  I know how hard that is for me with a full time job and no kids.  And come December, I'll have a kid of my own.  

So I was thinking of starting a letter writing business.  There's a lot of people out there that can't afford attorneys and certainyl can't afford to have their attorney waste time writing documentation letters.  For us, any letter the lawyer writes is at least $75 between the lawyer and his paralegal.  I can do that much cheaper...  Plus, I wouldn't be as emotionally invested so the letters would be more straightforward.  (That's the problem I have with writing letters for my husband.)

Plus, I graduated with a degree in English so I HAD to learn how to write properly and do research, and between my husband and my mom's divorce with my step-dad, I've been dealing with the family court system in both Michigan and Indiana for the past 8 years.  And my husband's ex-wife's lawyer had a fit about the "professionalism" of the letters we were sending her, and trying to use it against my husband in court that obviously his ex shouldn't have to pay our attorney fees for her contempt for denial of visitation since it seemed obvious my husband didn't need a lawyer to stand up for his rights.  LOL  

But I know from experience how hard it is to write these letters and do the documentation, and I know a lot of people can't afford a lawyer.  Would this documentation and letter writing service be a good idea?  Would anyone here be interested in using such a thing?  

[Sunshine1]

Yes.  I think it is a very good idea.  I too do this for a lot of people.  I have learned how to draft motions and write responses etc as well and I owe it all to DH ex -wife's nazi free lawyer.  She sent us every kind of letter/motion imaginable so I used them as templates and whaaala...I sent my own free motions/letters.

There are lots of people out there that do need this service.

Good Luck!

[SLYarnell]

That you cannot be construed as offering legal advise, or as acting as an atty without proper credentials... I have heard of situations were wives or girlfriends have gotten into trouble for doing things for spouses/boyfriends... and they were not charging money...

Sly

[kittencaboodle]

>That you cannot be construed as offering legal advise, or as
>acting as an atty without proper credentials...

Yeah, I am going to come up with some sort of contract to be signed that basically says: By signing this you understand that I am not a lawyer, I am not trained as a lawyer, and I cannot act as a lawyer.  

I know people need this type of service, I just have no idea how to get word of this out there.  

[Mediator]

You might still be held responsible for providing legal advise and practicing law. As strange as it may seem I would suggest checking with an attorney or the bar association before doing this.  Even as aprofessional mediator we are very careful as to how documents are created and we have more protection and leayway than you do.

[SLYarnell]

I totally agree... I think they are setting themselves up for trouble...  Is it a good idea?  Certainly... but in todays legal climate... I wouldnt take the chance

[awakenlynn]

That is one part of my business that I am running.  I have a contract which states nothing I say or do is to be construed as legal advice.  They then initial a statement to that effect at each visit.  Basically I have a blank form, they fill it out, and I make the necessary corrections and wordings.  I also do other work that consists of documentation management.  I keep track of all support paid, visitations(made and denied).  Contact with all legal areas(such as courts, attorneys), all contact with other parent, all documentation of correspondence., etc.

With me doing it, everything is in order and easy for an attorney or judge to peruse.  I basically "subcontract" with 2 lawyers and have appointments to review any cases I see potential problems with and they review my work in general.  They also supply me with packets of forms needed for the individuals that wish to go pro se.  Each packet is accompanied by a letter from the attorney.

If I see any problems or questions arise, the only "advice" I give is a lawyers business card.  I am only there to manage their documentation and help finalize forms.  I also made my company and LLC to ensure my family cannot be help accountable if my business were to fail.

[flewwellin]

Personally I'd do it myself before I'd hire someone other than an attorney who has a legal degree.  That is my opinion, there may be some others that would be willing, I wouldn't be one of them though

[MYSONSDAD]

What about holding seminars and guidance classes. You can do the training and be the guidance they need to do this for themselves. That might just take the punch out of any legal issues that may come up.
 And they learn in the process...
"Children learn what they live"