LawDepot Legal Services

LawDepot is a leader in providing automated legal documents online. Many automated forms are further complemented by LawDepot Services. The dedicated Services team at LawDepot strives to provide effective assistance to customers, quickly, accurately and efficiently.

The following Services are available with many forms:

Accuracy Review

Experienced LawDepot staff review user answers and selections for completeness, consistency, and spelling and grammatical errors. Customers receive reviewed documents in html or .pdf format within 1-2 business days.

Legal Information and Technical Support Special

The Legal Information Service allows users to ask an unlimited amount of specific questions related to the forms they are completing. LawDepot research staff will provide published information (if available) in response to the question asked within 1-2 business days. High priority phone and e-mail support allows you to receive assistance for any technical issues within 1 business day.

The following are actual questions and responses from users that have ordered the Legal Information Service:

Power of Attorney

Question: When becoming an Attorney in Fact for someone that is on SS do I need to become their Payee through the SS department in the state of [user's state not disclosed for privacy reasons]?

Answer: I had an opportunity to search the Social Security Act and Regulations of [user's state]. I found the following booklet provided by the US Social Security Administration that may be helpful to you: http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10076.html. It contains the following passage: “NOTE: A payee is appointed to manage Social Security funds only. A payee has no legal authority to manage non-Social Security income or medical matters. Family members often use a "power of attorney" as another way to handle a family member’s finances. For Social Security purposes, a “power of attorney” is not an acceptable way to manage a person’s monthly benefits. Social Security recognizes only a representative payee for handling the beneficiary’s funds.“ Further, according to http://www.socialsecurity.gov/oig/hotline/factsheets.htm, individuals who have power of attorney over someone do not automatically qualify to be a representative payee of the donor. The attorney in fact will need to apply to be the representative payee for the donor by using form OMB No. 0960-0014 located at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/online/ssa-11.pdf.

Question: My mother has had a stroke and cannot sign her name. Nor, can she speak. She is able to indicate her wishes. How can she execute a power of attorney or have one executed for her?

Answer: In this situation, it is best to consult with a specialized attorney in your state for two reasons:

  1. The legal definition of capacity is critical if the Power of Attorney is ever challenged in court, and an attorney will be in a better position to assess whether your mother has capacity to execute the Power of Attorney;
  2. After assessing your mother’s condition, an attorney may indicate other legal options that may be required (i.e. if there is a loss of capacity, then guardianship or a dependent adult application will need to be made).
Typically, most jurisdictions provide for the ability of someone signing the power of attorney for a donor that is physically incapable of signing it, but still has mental capacity (again it is best to leave this assessment to someone professionally qualified to offer such an opinion). The power of attorney needs wording similar to: I, ... [person signing at donor's direction prints his/her full name] ..., state that: (a) I am the person signing at the direction and in the presence of the donor as the donor is unable to sign (b) I am at least 18 years old (c) I am not a witness for this document or an ... [attorney/alternate attorney/guardian/ alternate guardian] ... for the donor. [Person signing under donor's direction and in donor's presence signs here.]

Last Will and Testament

Question: Is there a way an elderly married woman can omit her current husband and his children from receiving any of her estate? She wants to leave her estate to her children and grandchildren.

Answer: LawDepot's Will contains the clause "If I have omitted to leave property in this Will to one or more of my heirs as named above the failure to do so is intentional." This means that as long as you have named all your heirs in your Will, it is not necessary for you to specifically name individuals whom you wish to disinherit.

Most states and provinces have enacted laws which protect spouses and children (biological, adopted and where the parent acts "in loco parentis" or has taken on legal responsibility for that child) from disinheritance. If you have disinherited your spouse or children, these laws may override the disinheritance provisions in your Will. You should get counsel from a local lawyer to determine whether such laws will apply to your disinheritance provisions.

Question: Are witnesses required in [specific state]? If so, how many?

Answer: The answers to your question are (a) yes, and (b) two. Please refer to the LawDepot FAQ for more detailed information about witnesses for your Last Will and Testament.