You've been there before; an issue came up which required a legal form and you, not knowing anything about what the legal document should look like, were forced to go to a lawyer and pay them $100.00 an hour or maybe more. Here are 5 things that you need to know to create a professional looking and binding legal document.

1. Learn how to use the Software

My Aunt Catherine used to tell me "You always get what you pay for.” Well she was right! If you are trying to draft a professional looking document you can't really use notepad and expect anyone to take you seriously.

The good news is that most document producing software such as Microsoft Word or Corel WordPerfect are usually included with new computers.

The bad news is that most people don't take advantage of all of the features of their software.

TIP: Become proficient with your software by using the tutorials included with them. If you want to go the extra mile go to your local college and take a course on it. If you’re going to learn something new you might as well get credit for it right?

2. Know What it Should Look Like

Anybody can write up a power of attorney, a bill of sale, or a living will but it will probably look like it was drafted by a drunken monkey to the trained professional if you don’t know what it should look like. Most legal forms are all pretty similar in nature but they definitely are not the same.

For example, if you drafted a power of attorney so your secretary can sign for you while you are away on vacation you should probably put a specific limitation as to what your secretary can sign for. You could come back from vacation and notice your secretary is driving around in a brand new BMW which they signed for using your credit and it would be totally legal!

Now that was a pretty obvious example but the point is that unless you know what verbiage to use for your particular document all your doing is spinning your wheels.

TIP: Find a good template for the document you are trying to create and simply cut and paste it into your document producing software. Now all you have to do is to fill in the pertinent information in the blanks and just like that - you now have a document that is ready for printing.

3. Choose the Right Paper for the Right Job

Choosing the right kind of paper for you document is like choosing the right kind of tires for your car. If you live in upstate New York you would probably make sure that you have some good snow tires on your car for the snowy winter months instead slapping on whatever tires where on sale at the time. Now if you like to slip and slide your way around that’s fine but you can almost expect to be stuck in a snow drift waiting for the tow truck to pull you out. The same goes with choosing the right paper for the right document.

You wouldn’t present a contract proposal to a potential client on some construction paper written in crayon would you? Neither would I. How your document looks is just as important as what your document says!

4. Use a Good Printer

You’ve seen them. You’ve heard about them. Now it’s time you used them. This goes back the construction paper and crayon thing. Now you have the best paper you can find for your document – but if you stick it in a printer, built in 1986 and that your father used to use as a shelf for his briefcase you might not be happy with the results.

Now this doesn’t mean you have to go out and spend every dime you have on an enormous industrial powered “Danger Will Robinson” printer that will do your laundry as well as your taxes. There are hundreds of printers on the market that are reasonably priced and can produce excellent documents.

For documents the best kind of printer is the laser printer. It uses a powdered toner as opposed to liquid ink for inkjet printers. Now don’t get upset if you have an inkjet printer but if you took the same document and printed one from a good laser printer and the other from a really good inkjet printer and compared the two you’ll see a noticeable difference in the clarity of the documents. Not only that but inkjet printers clog over time and the more you print the worse your documents will look. But what if you don’t have to print volumes of documents at a time?

Depending on your printing needs it may be more cost effective to outsource to a commercial printing service. You’ll get professional results without having to give up precious desk space.

5. When in Doubt - Seek Professional Legal Counseling

If there is any doubt in you mind as to the legitimacy of your legal document or you just want to make sure its verbiage matches what you are trying to accomplish do not hesitate to seek professional legal counsel. Here are some options:

1. Join a pre-paid legal service which will charge you an affordable monthly fee. Check to make sure before you do that they don’t have a limitation on consultations.

2. Hire an Attorney by the hour. Be careful though, this can get expensive. Some might only take look at your document for ten minutes and then charge you for a full hour.

3. Find a friend or relative who happens to be an attorney. This is great if you can get it.

4. On a budget? Stop by your local court house. They are usually packed with attorneys and notaries public. You can usually find them outside by the hot dog wagon at lunch time. Try buying them a hot dog and then ask them to review your document. (Yes it works! I've done it.)

If you follow these guidelines you will be better prepared to draft your own legal documents to help protect your business, your home, and your family. At the same time you can avoid unnecessary attorneys’ fees by taking out the time it would take for an attorney to draft the same document.

Steve Moore, BBA
President and founder of LegaleForm.com, Steve has studied contract law with his brother who is an attorney in New Orleans, Louisiana and has over 9 years experience with legal contracts by working with auto dealers, finance companies, and insurance agencies all over the country. He has served with the US Army during Operation Iraqi Freedom and spent fifteen months in Baghdad, Iraq helping to ensure that countries freedom. His dedication to helping his fellow man is suburb and he continues today with the formation of LegaleForm.com. This online forms provider has a library of easy to follow legal document templates as well as access to over 36,000 other Federal, State, and Local legal forms through a partnership with the biggest online forms providers in the business. We highly recommend it!

http://www.LegaleForm.com