Thinking of Hiring a Paralegal Service to Help You in Probate? Read This First

Let’s say that you have a probate case, and you know that you can’t handle it yourself. Suddenly you see, or hear about a paralegal who is offering probate services, at what seems to be a very reasonable price. You figure that’s the best of both worlds–you get a legal professional, without the expense of an actual attorney.

Paralegal Services

This isn’t unusual; in many legal areas, from family law to bankruptcy to probate law, you can find paralegals and legal paraprofessionals, offering their services to people for what seemingly are a fraction of the cost of an actual attorney.

While paralegals are trained legal professionals (although no paralegal degree is required to be a paralegal), and while most law offices could never run without them and the vital services they provide to attorneys and to their clients–paralegals are not attorneys, and because of that, most paralegal services, are not what they seem.

Limitations of a Service

A paralegal service suggests that the paralegal is working without an actual probate lawyer supervising him or her. The paralegal is not a legal office, with supervising probate attorneys. That means that the most that the legal professional can do, is help you fill out forms.

The paralegal cannot give you any legal advice or guidance. The paralegal cannot advise you as to the legal ramifications of your choices, or contact any other attorneys or professionals, or even the judge, on your behalf.

And the reality in probate work, is that there is a lot of legal advice to be given.

While some areas of law may, sometimes, be amenable to just filling out some forms, probate law is not like that. Probate law involves working with heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, trustees, government agencies, appraisers, or financial institutions–and that;s in a probate case that is not heavily contested.

The paralegal cannot advise you as to whether the will is correct or how to admit your will, or what kind of probate proceeding is appropriate for you and why nor advise you how to handle the myriad of problems you may have, as a personal representative or beneficiary of an estate during a probate case.

An Easy Case?

Even if you believe or were told that your case is “easy,” even if it is, in fact an “easy case,” you never actually know what difficulties or complexities or unexpected hiccups can arise during the course of any case of any kind–and if a problem does arise, you’ll be on your own; that paralegal cannot legally give you the legal advice that you need.

An Attorney Can be Affordable

Remember that a probate attorney is usually paid from the proceeds of the estate itself, and in smaller estates, the fee for a probate lawyer may not be very expensive. It’s simply not worth going it alone, without help for unexpected problems, all because you thought it was a good idea to hire a “service,” instead of an actual probate lawyer.

Call the West Palm Beach estate planning attorneys at The Law Offices of Larry E. Bray today for help in handling your probate case, the correct way.

Source:

bls.gov/ooh/legal/paralegals-and-legal-assistants.htm