My Legal Docs

01/29/2022

New services available from My Legal Docs! We now offer Civil Litigation services including Complaints, Answers, Responses, Motions, Orders, Legal Research and more!

01/21/2022

01/19/2022

PROBATE SERVICES – SUMMARY ADMINISTRATION
If the Estate value is less than $75,000, exclusive of exempt (homestead property), you can use the simplified and expedited process of Summary Administration of Estate. If the only Real Estate owned has been homesteaded, the property is considered exempt. This means that the value of the Real Estate does not count towards the $75,000 limit. However, if the decedent owned non-homestead property such as a 2nd home or investment property, this is not exempt. If it has been more than 2 years since someone passed away, you are eligible for Summary Administration regardless of the value of the Estate.
We can also prepare the paperwork for an Ancillary Summary Administration. Ancillary means that a Probate case is before the Court in another State, however Florida property is part of the Estate. For example, a Probate case is ongoing in Colorado, but the person owned a vacant lot of land or a time-share in Florida that needs to be sold in order to settle the Estate in Colorado. Whether you are an individual or a Probate Attorney from another State, we are here to help with your Ancillary needs. Our fee for Summary Administration of Estate is $475. This does not include Court filing fees, which are payable to the Court.
Service is available state-wide, however if you are in Sarasota or Charlotte County we include delivery and notarization.
For more information about this and our portfolio of Legal Document Preparation services please visit our website at

Legal Document Preparation including Estate Planning, Probate, Florida Family Adoptions, and Post-Conviction Legal Documents.

01/18/2022

From lengthy Probation terms to the fact that Arrest and Criminal records stay a part of Public Records forever without action taken to remove them, Florida is a pretty unforgiving State. The team at MyLegalDocs.net is here to help! And, we are offering a special discount on top of our already affordable prices. Now through February 1, Early Termination of Probation is only $99 (normally $150). You will spend much more than that in future supervision costs! Seal/Expunge service is only $199 (normally $300). For more information or to check whether you or a loved one is eligible for one of these services please visit our website at https://mylegaldocs.net/post-conviction-legal-documents/. You do not need to be in the Sarasota-Charlotte market, we offer this service state wide (excluding Miami-Dade county).

01/10/2022

An affordable alternative to expensive Legal fees! Recently moved to Florida? Got Married? Started a family? There are many reasons people avoid Estate Planning, but it’s important to do for your loved ones, and yourself. Do you know what happens if you pass away without a Will? The State of Florida decides what happens to your Estate. What if you, and your partner are incapacitated and can’t communicate your wishes to your healthcare provider? Life can change in an instant, and if it does, then it will be too late to prepare documents like a Florida Living Will, Power of Attorney, or HIPAA waiver.
We address the 2 top reasons people avoid Estate Planning: Cost and Time. We make it easy, and affordable! No need to spend thousands of dollars and make multiple trips to see an Attorney. We not only save you money, but also your time. Take a few days to answer our written questionnaire, and then once you approve your documents, we’ll come to your home (or office) and notarize them for you.
Please visit our website at MyLegalDocs.net for more details and transparent pricing, or message us with any questions you have.
Disclaimer: We are not Attorneys, and therefore, can’t provide Legal Advice.

11/24/2021

Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving! We are offering a Black Friday special of 20% off any Legal Document Preparation service from now through the end of November! Services include Estate Planning (Wills, Trusts, Health Planning documents), Florida Family Adoptions, Small Probate, and Post Conviction (Early termination of probation, expunge/seal). For more information please visit our website

MyLegalDocs.net. Legal Document Preparation, Freelance Paralegal services and Notary service in Sarasota and Charlotte County, FL.

11/13/2021

REAL ESTATE AND THE LAW

I’m not an Attorney, and, if I’m not working under the supervision of an Attorney, I can’t be called a Paralegal. But I’ve been a licensed Florida Realtor for over 8 years, so that does qualify me to provide information about Real Estate contracts and a few dirty little secrets about the Real Estate industry that most people just don’t know about.

REAL ESTATE CONTRACTS ARE LEGAL DOCUMENTS, AND THEY ARE ENFORCEABLE, BUT THE ENFORCEMENT MAY NOT BE WORTH THE COST OR THE HEADACHE

A Real Estate contract is a Legal Document like any other contract. It sets out the terms and conditions for a Real Estate transaction. If a buyer breaks the contract, such as, decides not to close the transaction, the seller does have Legal recourse – to sue the buyer for specific performance. But what does that really mean for the seller?
One, if you’re going to sue the buyer, you’ll need to hire a Real Estate Attorney. And Real Estate Attorneys are not cheap. Figure anywhere from $250 to $400 per hour. Hours add up quickly. Two, and a little known fact, is that if the seller does sue the buyer to perform, he or she can’t just re-list their house. A house can not be sold while there is pending litigation. So the seller must ask themselves, one, what do I hope to recover in damages and does that outweigh what my Legal fees are going to be, and two, just how long is this going to take, because the intention was to sell the house, and you can’t do that if you’re going to litigate. The wheels of justice do spin slowly.

REALTORS HAVE A CODE OF ETHICS

Most people don’t realize or really even care that there’s a difference between a Real Estate agent, and a Realtor. The real estate license is issued by the State. But, if you want to call yourself a “Realtor”, you have no choice but to join “a board”. Every city and region in the US has a Board of Realtors. But when you join the board, you also have no choice but to also pay membership in both your State Association of Realtors, and the National Association of Realtors. You know, the giant lobbying firm that runs commercials on TV. On top of that, you get to pay fees for the MLS (multiple listing service), and “supra”, the electronic keys that open lockboxes.
Realtors are supposed to abide by a “Code of Ethics”. After 8 years in the business, I could write an entire book about the ethics violations I’ve seen. One example was a case where I was representing buyers looking to buy their first home. After working with them for over a month, they finally found the home they wanted. They made an offer, and it was accepted. There was a contract. The other agent found a buyer in the meantime, and she proceeded to blow up the contract. Now she could earn both the selling agent and buying agent commission. The buyers had already paid for a home inspection, so they were out the $450 cost for that. Could they have sued to enforce the contract? Sure, but they didn’t have a budget set aside for real estate litigation, so I suggested they just find something else. They never did. I did file an ethics complaint, but since the other agent worked for the broker who was President of the local board, you can rest assured that my complaint went nowhere.
In another case, an agent left the company I worked for, and I was tasked with taking over their remaining listings. In real estate, listings “belong” to the brokerage, not the agent. One of the listings was for a “real estate investor”. As I was working on listing bank owned homes, I certainly had access to what all offers for these homes were. The investor was interested in one of them, and asked me what he needed to bid in order to have the winning bid. I said, I can’t do that, it’s a violation, and I could lose my license. His reply was, “well Susie and Jason (names changed) always used to tell me what I needed to bid”. So as you can see, the “Code of Ethics” is just total nonsense.

IS NOT DISCLOSING KNOWN FACTS THE SAME AS LYING?

I served on the Community Economic Development Advisory Board for the City of North Port, at the request of the Commissioners. I learned many things about the City. North Port has numerous “commercial nodes” around town. Some are on streets that are currently all residential. Several years ago, when Dollar General decided to build a store at the corner of Cranberry and Price, there was quite an uproar in the community because people who purchased homes in that area “thought” they were buying in a residential area, but the intersection had always been a commercial node. You can bet that none of the Realtors involved in the sale of those homes ever informed their buyers about this. Realtors also tend to gloss over things like the age of the home and how it affects insurance costs, and fun Florida stuff like flood zones and how that can affect insurance, as well as future resale value. Florida is a “buyer beware” State. Which means that if your Realtor representative is not telling you EVERYTHING you need to know, you could get into a serious mess. You can’t rely solely on a sellers disclosure, and home inspectors are humans and as such, they do make mistakes and miss things sometimes. Did you know that North Port, where most homes are on septic, has proposed city wide sewer service that will add a $30,000 cost or lien in the near future? If you are looking in North Port and your Realtor hasn’t informed you of that, you are working with the wrong Realtor.

SMALL HELPFUL HINTS

If I’m representing a buyer, I suggest to put down as little a deposit as the seller is likely to accept. If I’m representing a seller, I suggest they prod the buyer to put down as large a deposit as the buyer is likely to accept. While the cost and time of litigating contracts is usually prohibitive, if a contract does get cancelled after the inspection period, the deposit is at risk. One way out is the “finance clause”. If you can’t get financed, then the seller can’t keep the deposit. I also highly suggest that buyers specify that Title not be ordered until 10 days prior to closing, because if it’s ordered right away, and the house fails inspection and terms can’t be renegotiated, the buyer will be liable for the cost of Title.

WATCH FOR THE FLIP AND LOOK AT PUBLIC RECORDS

Studies are done about what most attracts buyers. Kitchens and bathrooms are at the top of the list. Kitchens and bathrooms can always be updated, we consider these to be cosmetic things. When working with buyers, I always suggest we take a look at the big, high cost items that are not cosmetic things. Like the electric panel, the roof, the windows, the AC unit, the plumbing. These things are far more important than upgraded counters and cabinets. Most of the time, people who “flip” properties – fix them up for quick re-sale – focus on the cosmetic things.
Sometimes, the listed square footage doesn’t match up with public records. This happens when a homeowner does work that is not permitted. Most of the time this happens when a lanai is enclosed. But if it hasn’t been permitted, it’s not reflected in the public records. And even if that doesn’t bother you, as a buyer, it should, because it can cause big headaches for you down the road.

ABOUT US
Stephen Schoenfeld has been a Realtor since 2012. He served as a volunteer representing the Real Estate industry on North Port’s inaugural CEDAB, at the request of the Commissioners. He is also an award winning graduate of the SCF Paralegal program, and is working with the program director to create and develop the Real Estate Paralegal Certificate program. He is the co-owner of My Legal Docs, a Legal Document Preparation service company.

10/13/2021

Special Offer for October...Early Termination of Probation for only $99! Normally $149. We offer this service throughout the entire State of Florida (excluding Miami/Dade County). If you or someone you know can benefit from this service do not worry about being embarrassed, we can help. To qualify you should have completed at least 1/2 of your probation period, be current on all costs, met all conditions, and not re-offended. You can even request a waiver for future costs of supervision! Disclaimers: Although most requests are granted, results are not guaranteed. We do not prepare these requests for violent or s*x offenders. We are not Attorneys and therefore cannot provide Legal Advice. Per Florida Law, we are allowed to provide Legal Information. For more information, or if you have questions, please message us. You can also visit our website at https://MyLegalDocs.net. Mention code FB99 for this special price offer.

10/01/2021

My Legal Docs is a member of the FALDP.

Why Choose an FALDP member as your legal document preparer:

A legal document preparer is never a substitute for an attorney. However, if all a consumer needs is properly prepared documents, a legal document preparer may be just the right choice. Legal document preparers may not provide legal advice or representation, but if no advice or representation is needed, consider the services of a legal document preparer. Members of the Florida Association of Legal Document Preparers must meet certain standards in order to join this association. Among these requirements are:

Completing our Online Courses - INTRO & a content specific course, or;
Two years experience preparing Florida legal documents, or;
Two year paralegal course, or;
A combination of related professional experience and education, and
Above average proficiency in spoken and written English;
Acknowledges and agrees to follow the rules set forth by the Florida Bar Association and the Florida Supreme Court regarding UPL;
Agrees to refrain from offering legal advice, and to refrain from representing themselves as legal experts.
Agrees to abide by the FALDP Pledge.

Six Ways our Members Help Consumers

1. Providing Legal Information. A document preparer can assist consumers by locating laws, cases, and court rules. Although, the interpretation of this legal information is considered legal advice, locating them and providing them to consumers is perfectly fine. For example, on many of the instruction sheets for Florida Family Law Supreme Court approved forms, a Florida Statute is referenced, but the statute itself does not appear. Many Florida Statutes are straight forward and do not require legal interpretation. Providing the statute itself to the consumer may be all that is needed for the consumer to make an informed decision.

2. Explaining Procedure. Many consumers are stymied by not knowing the steps in their case. A document preparer can explain procedure so that the consumer knows what to do next, or what to expect next. And the consumer can also get a better idea of time frames and deadlines once he has a basic understanding of legal and court procedure.

3. Preparing Documents. Document preparers help consumers by preparing complete and proper documents to file in their case. Sometimes a form's instructions includes a list of which additional forms must be filed at the same time. However, sometimes the list is incomplete or more forms that must be filed at the same time are listed on yet another form's instructions. While a document preparer may not select forms for a consumer to file, showing the consumer which forms are required according to the court's written instructions helps the consumer follow the court's rules and moves their case along.

4. Formatting Documents. While many consumers may be able to fill out forms themselves, consumers may not be aware of specific formatting requirements, such as font, font size, margins, etc. An FALDP member provides the client with properly formatted documents for Court acceptance.

4. Active Listening. Legal document preparers may not offer legal advice, but there are no rules to say a document preparer should not actively listen to their customers. Asking questions that help the customer arrive at their own decisions or acting as a sounding board may be the most valuable aspects of hiring a legal document preparer.

5. Flat Fee Pricing. Most document preparers offer flat fee pricing for various form sets. The flat fee pricing allows consumers to know in advance how much to expect to spend. And, rolled into the flat fee pricing plan, most document preparers also include corrections and minor revisions at no additional charge.

6. Affordability. Since consumers are only paying document preparers for limited nonlawyer services, the fees document preparers charge are much lower than an attorney might charge for similar document preparation services. By definition, document preparers do not provide legal advice, and if the consumer has no need for legal advice then there is no reason to pay for it.

So, for consumers who do not require legal advice or representation, a legal document preparer may be their best option.

For more information about the FALDP, please visit www.FALDP.org

Florida Association of Legal Document Preparers (FALDP) are Floridas’ Legal Document Preparation Services & Preparers Call Now: 800-515-0496

09/03/2021

Working today on an Early Termination of Probation for a young lady. Our service should (no guarantees, but most ETP's are successful) liberate her from Probation, and also save her hundreds of dollars in future supervision costs. Our service had been recommended to her more than a month ago by a mutual friend but she hesitated to call us because she was embarrassed. It's the most common thing we hear regarding ETP's but there is no reason to be embarrassed, everyone makes mistakes, we never judge. Helping people and expanding access to Legal services is what we do! If you know anyone on probation, please let them know we can help. ETP service is only $150. Visit our website MyLegalDocs.net for more info. Note - we are not Attorneys and therefore, can't provide Legal Advice.

08/27/2021

My Legal Docs offers select LGBT friendly services

Among the many services offered by My Legal Docs, several are LGBT friendly. As part of their Florida Family Adoptions, the company offers Stepparent Adoptions. “This can be for the biological child of one of the parents in a same-s*x marriage”, says Stephen Schoenfeld of My Legal Docs, adding that, “it’s not limited to minor children, as we also handle adoptions for adult children, which gives both parent and child certain legal rights”.

For LGBT non-married couples, the Last Will & Testament package includes the essential Health Planning documents, which are of particular interest to the community. Having a Florida Living Will and designated healthcare surrogate, along with the HIPAA waiver and Power of Attorney, gives people in a partnership a place in healthcare settings that are normally afforded only to immediate family members in absence of these documents. “They establish legal rights to be involved in healthcare decisions in the event of incapacitation when you are unable to give verbal permissions”. A Last Will & Testament is also a way to protect your partner as without one, your assets will be divided according to Florida Law and “the rules of Intestate Succession”, which have no provision for a domestic partner.

My Legal Docs is a Legal Document Preparer. We typically save people around 75% of the cost of Attorney fees. We are not Attorneys. Therefore, we can not give Legal Advice. We can provide Legal Information, per Florida Law. We are members of the Florida Association of Legal Document Preparers. Please visit our website at MyLegalDocs.net for more information.

08/20/2021

Summer Sale at My Legal Docs! We already save our clients 75% (on average) on Legal fees, now save an additional 20% off our prices, just mention code FB20 when contacting us! Also part of our Summer Sale, a BOGO offer on our Last Will & Testament package, for couples ordering at the same time! Offer valid from now through the end of August. Located in North Port, and delivery and notarization is included for clients in Sarasota or Charlotte counties. Note that we are not Attorneys and therefore, can not provide Legal Advice. BOGO offer not eligible for additional 20% off.