Legal Document Preparation Services for Self-Represented Filers
Court forms, family-law petitions, probate filings, real estate deeds, and LLC formation documents prepared by U.S. document preparers.
Our legal document preparation services are produced by U.S. legal document preparers under each state's LDP, LDA, or UPL framework. We fill in the form based on the facts you supply, prepare the document to the controlling court or agency's filing standards, and return it for you to file pro se. Optional licensed-attorney review available on request for a substantive accuracy check before you file.
LDP · LDA · UPL Boundary
Optional licensed-attorney review on every document family
Eight Document Families Our Preparers Build for Self-Represented Filers
Pro se court forms preparation, non-attorney document preparation, and legal forms preparation bundled into the eight document families our preparers work on. Engage one document as a project or a set of related filings as a package (full divorce file, full probate file, full LLC formation file).
Family Law Forms
Divorce petition, marital settlement agreement, child custody, child support worksheets, parenting plan, name change, and domestic-partnership forms. Prepared to the controlling state's family-law forms manual.
Estate Planning
Simple last will and testament, durable power of attorney, healthcare directive, living will, and HIPAA authorization. Custom drafting on testamentary trusts and complex estates routed to optional attorney review.
Probate Filings
Small-estate affidavit, probate petition, letters testamentary, notice to creditors, inventory and appraisal, and final accounting. Prepared to the controlling probate court's local forms.
Real Estate Deeds
Quitclaim deed, grant deed, warranty deed, deed of trust, transfer-on-death deed, and lease agreement. Recorded with the controlling county recorder's office; we prepare to recordation standards.
Business Formation
LLC articles of organization, operating agreement, corporate bylaws, doing-business-as filing, EIN application support, and registered-agent designation. Prepared to the controlling secretary of state's filing requirements.
Small Claims & Civil Forms
Small claims complaint, demand letter, answer to civil complaint, fee waiver application, and judgment-debtor examination forms. Prepared to the controlling small-claims court's local forms and filing fees.
Landlord-Tenant Forms
Notice to pay rent or quit, unlawful detainer complaint, lease termination notice, security-deposit demand, and tenant move-out checklist. Prepared to the controlling state's eviction and landlord-tenant statutes.
Contracts & Notices
Independent contractor agreement, freelance services agreement, bill of sale, promissory note, release of liability, and cease and desist letter. Prepared for self-represented small business owners without attorney review unless added.
State LDP and LDA Regulatory Matrix and the UPL Baseline
Four states (California, Arizona, Nevada, Florida) operate formal registration regimes for non-attorney document preparers. Every other state regulates non-attorney document preparation through general unauthorized-practice- of-law statutes only. Our preparers operate to whichever framework controls in your filing state.
| State | Regime | Authority | Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | Legal Document Assistant (LDA) | Bus. & Prof. Code §6400 | County registration + $25,000 bond + posted disclosures |
| Arizona | Legal Document Preparer (LDP) | Ariz. Code Jud. Admin. §7-208 | Arizona Supreme Court certification + ethics CLE |
| Nevada | Document Preparation Service | NRS 240A | Secretary of State registration + $50,000 bond |
| Florida | Non-Attorney Family Law Form Preparer | Fla. Fam. L.R.P. 12.750 + Bar Rule 10 | Disclosure form + restricted form-only preparation |
| All other states | UPL framework only | State UPL statute | No legal advice + no court appearance + clear non-attorney status |
What our preparers do not do
Our document preparers do not give legal advice, do not recommend a specific course of action, do not represent you in court, do not file documents on your behalf, do not select the legal theory you should plead, and do not interpret how a statute applies to your facts. Those touchpoints sit with a licensed attorney, which is what the optional attorney-review add-on covers. If your matter needs strategic legal advice, the document-preparer engagement is not the right product and we will route you to a licensed attorney before drafting starts.
How the UPL Boundary Works and When Attorney Review Helps
The unauthorized-practice-of-law line is the central constraint on non-attorney document preparation. A legal document preparer may transcribe facts you supply into a form, format the form to a court's filing requirements, and explain how to file it. A preparer may not recommend a legal theory, advise on the strength of your case, interpret how a statute applies to your facts, or represent you in court. The line is the same across every state; the only difference is whether the state adds a formal registration regime on top.
The optional attorney-review add-on layers a licensed attorney's substantive accuracy pass on top of the document-preparation pass. The attorney reviews the drafted document against the facts you supplied, flags substantive issues that an experienced practitioner would address, and either signs off on the draft or returns it with attorney-marked changes for the preparer to incorporate. The attorney review is quoted as an add-on line item at intake and is the right call on divorces with property division, probate matters with real property or business interests, LLC operating agreements with multiple members, and contracts where the counterparty has counsel.
If your matter is fully form-based (small-claims demand letter, simple will with no business interests, uncontested name change, quitclaim deed between family), the document-preparation engagement alone is usually the right product. If you are not sure which way your matter cuts, intake will route you either to attorney review or to a licensed attorney before drafting starts.
How a Document Preparation Engagement Runs From Intake to Filing
Six-step engagement flow runs whether the document is a single court form, a probate file with multiple filings, or an LLC formation package.
- 1
Document intake
Tell us the document family, the controlling state, and any filing deadline you are working against. We return scope and the assigned preparer in one business day.
- 2
UPL boundary disclosure
Before any drafting starts, we share the written non-attorney disclosure required in your state. You confirm you are filing pro se and you are not relying on us for legal advice.
- 3
Secure intake portal
Your facts, supporting documents, and identifying information come in through an encrypted intake portal. No email attachments, no shared drives, no third-party messaging.
- 4
Preparer assignment
We assign a U.S. legal document preparer matched to the document family (family law, probate, business formation, real estate) and the controlling state's forms manual.
- 5
Document drafting + optional attorney review
Document drafted from your facts, formatted to the local court's filing requirements. Optional licensed-attorney review adds a substantive accuracy pass on top before delivery.
- 6
Returned for you to file
Completed document returned through the portal in print-ready form. You file with the controlling court, recorder, or agency under your own name. We do not file for you and we do not appear in court.
What Self-Represented Filers Say After the Document Files
Five-star feedback from pro-se family-law filers, probate personal representatives, small business owners, and self-represented real-estate filers that engaged Legal Tank document preparers on a single document or a related package of filings.
“Filing for divorce in California without a lawyer was overwhelming. Legal Tank prepared the dissolution petition, the marital settlement agreement, and the parenting plan from a phone-call intake. The forms came back in the county-specific format and the cover sheet was already filled in. I added the optional attorney review on the marital settlement agreement because I wanted a second set of eyes on the property division. Filed pro se at the Superior Court without a single rejection.”
“Small probate after my mother passed in Arizona. The small-estate affidavit threshold applied, but I had no idea what forms I needed or how to value the assets. Legal Tank prepared the small-estate affidavit, the inventory, and the notice to creditors per Arizona probate procedure. Their preparer was clear about what they could not advise on, and they routed my one substantive question (whether the homestead exemption applied to my mother's house) to the optional attorney review. Probate cleared in twelve weeks.”
“Forming an LLC in Texas for my freelance design business. I read the Secretary of State filing rules and got confused on the registered-agent designation and the operating agreement. Legal Tank prepared the articles of organization, the single-member operating agreement, and the DBA registration. Filing went through the SOS portal on the first submission. Added the optional attorney review on the operating agreement because I have a co-founder discussion coming up and I wanted the equity language stable.”
“Quitclaim deed on a Florida property I co-owned with a relative who passed. The recorder's office in Broward has specific formatting and witnessing requirements I would have missed. Legal Tank prepared the quitclaim deed to the recordation standards, walked me through which witness and notary blocks I needed, and returned the deed ready for the recorder. Recorded on the first submission. Did not need the attorney review on this one but appreciated knowing it was available.”
U.S. Document Preparers, Licensed-Attorney Review on Request
Every document is prepared by a U.S. legal document preparer matched to the document family. The preparer operates inside the controlling state's LDP, LDA, or UPL framework and does not give legal advice. When you add optional attorney review at intake, a licensed attorney licensed in the relevant state runs a substantive accuracy pass on the drafted document before delivery.
You file pro se under your own name
The completed document returns to you in print-ready or e-filing-ready form. You file with the controlling court, recorder, or agency under your own name. We do not file for you, we do not appear in court, and we do not sign any document as your representative.
Optional licensed-attorney review
The attorney-review add-on layers a licensed attorney's substantive accuracy pass on top of the document. The attorney reviews against your facts, flags issues, and either signs off or returns attorney-marked changes for the preparer to incorporate before delivery.
Legal Tank Preparer
- Transcribes your facts into the controlling court's form.
- Formats the document to local filing and recordation standards.
- Routes any substantive question to the optional attorney review.
- Returns the document in print-ready form for your filing.
You (Self-Represented Filer)
- Decide the legal theory and the relief you are seeking.
- Supply the facts the document is built from.
- Sign every document under your own name and file it.
- Appear in court or before the agency on your own behalf.
For attorney-supervised drafting on law-firm engagements, see legal document drafting services. For document review on a draft you already have, see legal document review services. For attorney-drafted custom contracts, see contract drafting services.
Questions Self-Represented Filers Ask About Document Preparation
What do you call a person who prepares legal documents?
Can a non-lawyer prepare legal documents?
What is legal document preparation?
What is the difference between a legal document preparer and a paralegal?
What states require legal document preparers to register?
Get Your Document Prepared by U.S. Drafters
Send the document family, the controlling state, and any filing deadline through our quote form. We return scope and the assigned preparer in one business day.
Quotes return same business day on intakes received before 5 PM ET