How to Send Legal Documents

Take care to keep proof that you've sent your legal documents.
Sending legal documents to people who require them is a simple procedure that you can accomplish with a quick trip to the post office. It's important to send any required documentation out before the deadline so that all parties involved in the situation have time to read and assess the documents they receive. Keeping good records of mailing and notifying everyone involved will ensure that if your documentation is questioned in court, you'll be able to answer any charges or concerns.

Instructions

• Call each person who will be receiving copies of the documents you're sending and confirm their physical address.
• Place the documents into a document mailer. Include a piece of cardboard the same size as the paperwork to help ensure that the documents aren't bent or folded. You can obtain these items at the post office or any local office supply store.
• Take the documents in their mailer to the post office and ask the clerk to calculate and attach the postage.
• Request a Certificate of Mailing. You'll need to send you documents via First-Class mail. The Certificate of Mailing is your proof that you posted the documents with a postal worker, so be sure not to lose the receipt. If the documents pertain to an ongoing case, file the Certificate of Mailing with the Clerk of Court where the case is being heard.
• Attach a signature request to the delivery. This will show that the person who is receiving the documents actually got to him and will prevent anyone from saying that he never received his paperwork if he did.

Source : Melly Parker

How to Prepare Legal Documents

Although preparing an effective legal document is not an easy task, it is not as arcane a task as many people believe it to be. Many of the principles of preparing legal documents are the same as the principles of good writing that apply to any written work. Other principles are specific to the practice of law. A good rule of thumb when preparing a legal document is to pretend that it is being presented as evidence in court and that the opposing lawyer is trying to twist your words to make them appear to mean something other than what you intended. If you can draft the document well enough to make this impossible, then you have drafted the document properly.


Instructions

• Identify the parties clearly. First and last names are usually not enough--you will need identifying information such as an address or Social Security number that is sufficient to distinguish each person from every other person in the world. Be sure not to confuse the identity of an individual with the identity of the company that he represents--in many cases, companies rather than individuals are parties to a legal document.

• Use terms consistently--don't use the word car in one sentence and the word automobile in the next sentence to refer to the same vehicle. In many cases, parties or terms are defined by the use of capital letters (for example, ...the mortgage held by Second Central Bank, hereinafter referred to as the Mortgage...), where the term Mortgage is used consistently after that point. This may seem cumbersome, but it is often necessary to prevent opposing counsel from manufacturing ambiguities if the document is ever used in court. However, the use of definitions should not be overused to make a document look more legal--it should clarify rather than obscure the content.

• Avoid legalese but don't be afraid to use a legal-sounding term if it is a legitimate term of art. Refer to a legal dictionary if you are unsure. For example, the use of Party A and Party B or Smith and Jones is certainly superior to unnecessarily cumbersome Party of the First Part and Party of the Second Part. However, the term springing executory interest may sound arcane but is probably the most accurate and succinct way to describe what it refers to.

• Use simple grammar whenever possible. Long sentences with more than one subordinate clause can often be interpreted more than one way. This can result in ambiguous double meanings for the same sentence. Such ambiguities could be seized upon by someone who is, for example, trying to avoid contractual obligations.

• Break your document up into clear headings. Specify within the document whether the headings should be used to interpret the text or are inserted for reference only. For example, a price of $10,000 might be alternatively payable in Japanese Yen if the heading reads Payment but probably must be paid in US dollars if the heading reads Payment and Currency. If the headings are inserted for reference only, no such interpretation is available.

• Pay particular attention to any signatures required to make the document legally effective. If an individual is signing on behalf of a company or under a power of attorney, this should be clearly noted. If a document must be notarized, a place for the signature of the notary public should be provided.

• Check over the document to make sure it is flawless in terms of spelling, grammar and punctuation. Remember that the simple misplacement of a comma can change the meaning of a sentence and, in some cases, the entire document.

Source : David Carnes

How to Format Legal Documents

The proper format for a legal document can vary greatly, depending on the type of document you are drafting and laws of your state. Legal documents will have at least four parts the caption, body, signature block and certificate of service. Generally, there are not written rules regarding what font and type size should be used on legal documents, but most courts prefer that filings be printed in a clear type such as Times New Roman or Arial.


Instructions

• Review the rules of your jurisdiction. Before you begin to draft your document, review your court's rules governing the format and contents of the specific legal papers you are writing. Your state's rules will generally give you samples of common documents such as petitions and motions. You can base your formatting on these models.
• Add a caption. On all legal documents, you will need to add a caption at the top of the first page that lists the names of the parties to the case, the name of the court where the matter is being heard and the case number.
• Name the document. Underneath the caption, you will need to title your document, for example Petition for Divorce or Motion to Dismiss on the Grounds of Jurisdiction.
• Keep it simple. The body of your legal document should contain short, simple paragraphs. Most courts prefer that you number each paragraph so that each element of the document can be identified easily in other documents and in the courtroom proceedings.
• Sign and date it. You must sign and date all legal documents. Most courts also require that you add your contact information below your signature, including your telephone number, mailing address and email address. Most courts prefer that you sign in blue ink since is it difficult to tell whether a document is the original or a photocopy when it is signed in black.
• Certify service. Most documents require a certificate of service. This will state the name of the other party, the opposing party's address and a brief statement describing how you served them the document. You will also need to include what date the document was served. You must also sign the certificate of service.

source : R.A. Anderson

How to Store Legal Documents

Keep valuables and critical legal documents in a fireproof safe, a bank safe deposit box, or both.
During your lifetime you will likely collect numerous legal documents. Marriage licenses, wills, birth certificates, social security cards, tax returns and deeds are the most common legal documents. Some of these documents can be replaced if lost (such as most legal documents issued by the government); others may need to be completely rewritten (such as unrecorded deeds or wills). When choosing how to store your legal documents, rocketlawyer.com suggests keeping in mind two factors security and ease of access.

Things You'll Need

• Fireproof safe
• Locking file cabinet
• Folders

Instructions

Make copies of your important legal documents. Important legal documents pertain to you and your identity. Marriage licenses, birth certificates, social security cards, wills and a list of your bank account numbers are examples of important legal documents.

Store one set of your important legal documents in an emergency kit. Use a fireproof safe that locks. Keep your important documents in the safe and remember where the key is or what the combination is. Keep the safe hidden, yet easily accessible, perhaps in a small closet crawlspace.

Take copies of your important documents and place them in a bank safe deposit box. This creates a backup for your important legal documents and provides you security (although you can't access the documents as quickly if they're not in your home).

Place other legal documents in a locking filing cabinet. Organize the documents by type for ease of access. Other legal documents include less-important items such as tax returns, credit card statements, investment records, bills and paycheck stubs.

Keep tax documents, investment records, and lawsuit judgments in the filing cabinet for seven years. Shred after seven years. Keep bank statements, credit card statements, and paychecks for no longer than one year and then shred; typically you do not need these documents after one year (usually after you file your tax return) and these documents should be destroyed since they contain personal information.


Tips & Warnings
Consider scanning less-important documents to PDF files to save space.


source : George Lawrence

How to File Legal Documents

The rules for filing legal documents differ from state to state. In addition, the specific rules of each courthouse will likely differ. Before attempting to file any legal documents, it is important that you read the rules of civil procedure for your specific state as well as any other administrative rules prescribed by the specific courthouse. But while the specific details differ from courthouse to courthouse, there are several principles that are shared across jurisdictions.

Things You'll Need
Civil rules of procedure
Computer with Internet access
Envelopes

Instructions

• Read the rules. No matter what jurisdiction you are in, it is critically important to read the rules of civil procedure. Visit the website for the courthouse where you will be filing your documents and see if administrative requirements are listed online. You should also go to the clerk's office of the courthouse. Resources may be available there to assist you in following the rules of that court.

• Determine what type of document you need to file. If you are involved in an adversarial proceeding, it is likely you will file a complaint, a motion, a praecipe, or another civil litigation document. It's important to read the rules to determine which type of document you need to file for the specific legal relief you are pursuing. In other words, if you want the court to take a specific action, you need to determine what the appropriate format is to ask the court for relief.

• Draft the document. Draft the document pursuant to the rules of civil procedure and any other rules the individual court prescribes.

• Serve the opposing party or parties if they exist. If you are involved in an adversarial proceeding, you must send copies of your legal document to the other side prior to filing the document. Most jurisdictions require that you send the document by mail. You must also include a certificate of service with the document certifying, by your signature, that you sent the documents to the opposing party.

• File the document. Many jurisdictions require that you physically deliver the document to the clerk's office in the court. It's useful to bring two copies with you. You should file one with the clerk's office and ask for the second to have a file stamp placed on it. That way, you have proof that you filed the specific document should any document get lost. Other jurisdictions allow for e-filing, a process for filing documents online. Again, it is crucial to determine all the appropriate rules and procedures of your jurisdiction.

Tips & Warnings
Filing legal documents is a very difficult process. It's complicated and requires tremendous diligence and extraordinary attention to detail. You should seriously consider whether hiring a qualified attorney, licensed to practice in your jurisdiction, is the better way to proceed.

DISCLAIMER This article is intended to serve as a general overview of how to file legal documents. It is not intended to serve as legal advice. To determine how the law applies to the facts of your particular situation or how to file legal documents in your specific jurisdiction, consult a qualified attorney, licensed to practice law in your state


Source : Joseph Scrofano