Conduct Due Dilligence Before Hiring Divorce Paralegal In Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Conduct Due Dilligence Before Hiring Divorce Paralegal In Santa Clarita

Today I want to talk about the importance of conducting due diligence research before hiring a divorce paralegal firm in Santa Clarita or anywhere in Los Angeles County for that matter.

Yesterday I received a call from a new client who was doing just that. Actually, the client who called me the day before called and we discussed how we can help them. The next day, I received a call from her relative who was interested in vetting me and my company.

I wish everyone would do this before hiring someone to help them with their divorce. It would save people so many problem and it would help me as well.

There are a lot of scam artists and folks calling themselves paralegals that have no business offering divorce services. These folks will take your money, do a bad job and leave you hanging. Be wary of the low cost option when it comes to divorce services.

So how can you make sure you are working with a legitimate company? Here are a few ways you can check out a company before you ever pick up the phone.

  1. Conduct a search for reviews or complaints online. For instance you could Google “Reviews for SCV Legal Doc Assist Santa Clarita”. When I did, Yelp was the first to come up and show our 5 Star reviews.
  2. Read the client testimonials on thier website. Our testimonials are actual client testimonials, but beware of companies making them up. Usually you can tell if the owner made them up on their own.
  3. Make sure they are licensed and bonded. In order to provide legal services, one must be a “Legal Document Assistant” Anyone who calls themselves a “Paralegal” is not allowed by law to work for you without attorney supervision nor can they create a client relationship directly with you.
  4. Read the content on their website or blog to learn about the company (if they even have one). Read the “about” page. I write all our articles on www.divorce661.com and other blogs. They are written from personal experience with current clients and are very informative. Also check to see if they publish their pricing. We do!
  5. Watch a few YouTube videos, if they have any. We have almost 100 videos about divorce and the divorce process.
  6. Listen to any Podcasts they may have done. We routinely broadcast a Podcast “audio” feed and upload it to our blog. Here we offer tips and tricks about divorce.

Now that you have done this, which would probably take you all of 15 minutes, you can pick up the phone and call the company.

The people that do some or all of these things makes for a much more productive conversation  They already know about me, what I look like, sound like, etc. Now we can get down to business and talk about how we can help you get through this thing they call divorce.

 

High Cost Of Divorce Attorneys Good For Business – Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

High Cost Of Divorce Attorneys Good For Business – Santa Clarita

As divorce attorneys in Santa Clarita have less and less clients and more and more competition from other attorneys, the only way to keep the money rolling in the door is to keep raising their prices.

I have learned that the more divorce attorneys raise their prices, the more business they drive toward our affordable divorce service in Santa Clarita.

There comes a point where you just have to say “enough” and many are. Those who used to go to attorneys are now realizing that they don’t need and attorney to get divorced.

This has always been the case, but folks have not been aware that there are alternate methods of getting divorced.

That is where we come in and spend countless hours a week writing on our blogs until our fingers are bleeding, screaming at the top of our lungs about our affordable divorce serivce.

And guess what? It is starting to work.

As the word gets out that folks can complete their divorce with us for a fraction of the cost of hiring an attorney, and have the forms completed exactly as the attorney would have, our business grows by leaps and bounds.

People have reached that threshold where they are not willing to pay for a service that has no value. When you over price your service, you drive clients right out the door.

As our divorce services are affordable, clients find we are a great value, not just because of our prices, but because of the level of service we provide.

Give us a call to learn more about our divorce services in Santa Clarita.

 

How Much Are You Willing To Spend On Divorce – Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

How Much Are You Willing To Spend On Divorce – Santa Clarita

You know we talk about the costs of divorce quite a bit here. And I have another update about the costs of divorce in Santa Clarita.

This article asks the question, “How much are you willing to spend on your divorce in Santa Clarita”

This week I met with 2 clients who, prior to meeting with me, consulted with an attorney to find out how much it would cost.

The first couple went together to a single attorney. They explained they had a simple, uncontested divorce and simply wanted the divorce paperwork completed to reflect their agreement.

They were shocked to learn the attorney wanted $3,500 to complete this process. Could you imagine spending $3,500 for someone to type of legal forms?

The second couple i met with each paid $300 for a 1 hour consultation to 2 different attorneys. They were each quoted a fee of $5,000. If my math is correct, that comes to $10,000 to complete their divorce.

These prices attorney’s are charging fall inline with the average costs of divorce which are at $15,000.

These prices are prohibitive for many and in my opinion these costs of divorce are ridiculous.

But as long as divorce attorneys continue to charge outrageous fees for divorce, I will have a successful divorce paralegal service in Santa Clarita.

 

How To Break The News About Divorce – Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

How To Break The News About Divorce – Santa Clarita

You have made the decision that you want to get divorce. You may have even had casual conversations about it with your spouse. But how and when should you break the news that you have taken the step to file for divorce.

This questions is asked of me on occasion when my clients come into the office to get started with their divorce document preparation.

The first think i tell them is that communication is important. The more you discuss this with your spouse, the easier things will go. Even if it does not feel that way.

The client we got started yesterday, even though they have already talked about divorce and moved into separate homes, was dreading having to tell her husband she filed for divorce. This is totally normal. At least I think so.

Look, you have been married for some time now and there is a history there. Obviously, things did not go as planned, and you need to cut the ties.

When you first approach the idea and discuss things with your spouse it is just small talk. Possibilities, maybe’s, etc. Nothing definite.

But there is something finite about filing the divorce papers. It means you have actually decided to move forward with the divorce and make it official. It is no doubt a big step in your life. One which we understand.

That is why we will never rush you into getting divorced. We sometimes speak to our clients for months before they ever file for divorce. You know when the time is right, we will be here when you need us.

We specialize in providing divorce services in Santa Clarita. Feel free to give us a call so we can help you prepare a plan for breaking the news to your spouse.

 

COC Interns Approved For Santa Clarita Divorce Paralegal Firm

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

COC Interns Approved For Santa Clarita Divorce Paralegal Firm

This week the College of the Canyons Director of the Paralegal Program approved SCV Legal Doc Assist to train and provide their paralegal students with real world paralegal skills.

To be recognized by College of the Canyons as a company worthy of training their paralegals was a real achievement.

Students enrolled in COC’s paralegal program have to complete an internship during their schooling in order to graduate. Internships are generally offered by law firms who supervise and train the interns so when they graduate they have some experience for their resume.

We are a non-lawyer, legal document preparation firm in Santa Clarita. This would be the first time a non-law firm has been approved to provide training and internships to local Santa Clarita residents who are completing the paralegal program at College of the Canyons.

The reason we are excited about this is because not only is this an opportunity to give back to the community by assisting others to gain experience in their new endeavor, but to be recognized as a player in the legal services industry and be trusted by COC to provide their students with training and guidance.

Internships are an interesting animal. Both sides receive some benefit. Our company benefits from having an intern assisting with the day to day tasks and they receive necessary job skills.

While the interns understand that there is no guarantee of a job after completing an internship, we certainly hope to expand and hire the interns we have spent the time training.

 

Communication Is Key During Divorce – Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Communication Is Key During Divorce – Santa Clarita

If you thought communication was important during the marriage, it is even more important during divorce.

You decided to get divorced and figured you were done having to speak to your spouse, right? Not so fast. If you want to get through your divorce in an amicable way, you are going to have to communicate with your spouse.

The divorce process is about making decisions about the final terms of your divorce. This obviously is not going to work if you are not talking to each other.

In fact, the answer to not speaking to one another is to hire an attorney so they can do the talking for you. In the end you will have to make all the decisions, but you will just be paying an attorney several hundred dollars an hour to speak on your behalf.

This is obviously not what we are shooting for when working with you to assist you in your divorce.

So when clients ask me if they should speak to their spouse when they are going through divorce, the answer is yes. The more you communicate the less chance you will need an attorney and the less chance you will end up in court.

We can help you get through your divorce and assist you in communicating with your spouse. We will lay out a plan to help pave the way to make it easier to get through the process of getting divorced.

Remember, it may be hard to speak to your spouse, but it will be much worse if you have to hire an attorney and get stuck with a huge bill at the end.

Divorce Paralegal Services Plus Limited Scope Attorney Representation

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Divorce Paralegal Services Plus Limited Scope Attorney Representation

We are very excited to announce that you can now use our divorce paralegal service in Santa Clarita and also receive limited scope attorney representation.

This is how it works. When you decide to use our divorce legal document preparation service, we will take care of all the paperwork related to your divorce. We will prepare, file and serve all documents and complete your divorce for you.

If, for some reason, you case has issues that end you up in court, we can refer you to a flat fee attorney service who represent you in your hearing.

Limited scope representation simply means that the attorney is representing you for a specific function and when that has ended, so does the representation.

Let me give you an example of how this would work. I have a client whose spouse filed a motion and there is an upcoming hearing. Husband came to me to assist in drafting his response and declaration.

He was feeling a little uneasy about representing himself in court because his wife had an attorney. But at the same time, he did not want to spend the $3,500 to be represented in court.

So he came to me and used our affordable document preparation service to draft his response and declaration saving him thousands of dollars. Then we referred him to a divorce attorney who was willing to represent him just at the hearing.

Essentially, he will only be paying the attorney for the hours he spends in court. This is a tremendous savings for him. Not only does he get expert divorce document preparation, but also receives attorney representation at his hearing.

Limited scope representation is not something new. However, attorneys don’t like to offer this service because there is more money to be made in full representation.

Please give us a call to learn more about how using our divorce paralegal service and a limited scope attorney service can help save you thousands of dollars on your divorce.

We are headquartered in Santa Clarita and specialize only on divorce and serve all of Los Angeles area courts.

Free Divorce Attorney Consultation When Using Document Preparation Service

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Free Divorce Attorney Consultation When Using Document Preparation Service

If you read our article about our searching for a flat fee attorney in Santa Clarita who would provide more affordable divorce representation, then you know we are always looking for ways help our divorcing clients save money, even when they may need to hire an attorney.

After I wrote that article asking if there were any flat fee attorney’s in Santa Clarita who would provide free attorney consultations and flat fee divorce representation, I ran into just such an attorney.

While 90% of my clients get through the entire divorce process without any need for an attorney, I do get my fair share of contested cases where one spouse has hired and attorney and the other spouse does not have money to hire an attorney.

When this happens, they usually come to me to help assist them with their divorce case and prepare their responses, etc. But I always wanted to have my service go a step further and provide a great legal service.

The arrangement I made with this attorney is that he will provide a free divorce consultation to any of my clients that need one. This way you can use my affordable divorce document preparation service and when you need legal advice, you can speak to the attorney free of charge.

This greatly improves the service I am able to offer. No longer do you have to make a choice between using a paralegal service or paying the high costs of attorney representation.

Now you can use our divorce paralegal services, get your legal questions answered and, if need be, have representation in court for one low flat fee.

If you are looking for the best value with your divorce in Los Angeles, give us a call. We are headquartered in Santa Clarita and serve all the courts in LA County.

Should I Speak With My Spouse During Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Should I Speak With My Spouse During Divorce

Not all divorces start out amicably and no divorce is going to be completely easy. It is normal to not want to discuss the issues with your spouse.

But communication is key if you ever expect to get through your divorce. How else are you going to resolve your issues if you are not speaking to each other?

I know it might be easier to ignore and avoid dealing with what is happening, but things will only get worse if you don’t communicate with your spouse during divorce. It is very much like a toothache. Ignore it and it will always get worse and cost you more money.

I have a client who falls into this category. He just wants to get divorced without speaking to his wife. His wife has been reaching out to him in an attempt to discuss the issues, but he has refused to communicate with her. Going as far as changing his cell phone number.

He asked me if he should be speaking to her and that she said unless he does, she will be forced to hire an attorney.

As I am saying in this article, I told him that communication is important if he expects to get through the divorce process. Furthermore, if he does not speak to her, what other choice does she have but to hire an attorney who will communicate for her.

I know it is not easy, but unless you communicate with your spouse during divorce things will only get worse.

In this case, if the wife hires an attorney, not only will the divorce end up costing them a bundle of money, but it will most certainly muddy the relationship further and make coming to a compromise on the issues of their divorce that much more difficult.

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation company that specializes in divorce. We are headquartered in Santa Clarita and serve all of Los Angeles County.

Use A Divorce Service You Trust In Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Use A Divorce Service You Trust In Santa Clarita

You shouldn’t take your decision on choosing a divorce document preparation company lightly. You should conduct your due diligence research and make sure the company you use is someone you can trust.

When you go through divorce you have to disclose all your financial assets. That means that the person you have assisting you with your divorce is going to know all about your assets and debts. They will have access to your bank statements, tax returns, pension information and everything else related to your finances.

This should make you take a second to think about who you decide to use to help you with your divorce.

Unfortunately, in this industry, there are lots of folks operating illegal paralegal business’s. These folks are unlicensed and have not met the educational and experience guidelines necessary to obtain a legal document assistant license.

Many people tell me that, prior to hiring our firm, that they found us online. Then they did some research about our firm and read reviews about our company. I recommend that you conduct research on any company that you plan on hiring to help you complete your divorce. Don’t take this decision lightly.

We specialize in divorce and have worked for the courts, law firms and now directly with clients providing affordable divorce service.

It doesn’t cost you any more to work with the best, most trusted divorce service in Santa Clarita.