Find legal advice and services online

Thanks to the internet you can do several things online that used to require a trip to a lawyer’s office, such as applying for a divorce or writing a will.

By cutting out the solicitor you can save money and time. But is the service as good as the one you would get from a solicitor, and is it as straightforward?

What do online legal services offer?
According to The Law Society, the solicitors’ trade association, “people can now find just about any legal-related matter online”.

A kit to make a will can cost around £20 from a legal website, which compares well against the £250 starting fee a solicitor will charge – an alternative is the Will Maker software. Even getting divorced can be cheaper online, using a site such as Divorce Online.

If you have a monetary claim against someone (if a company or person owes you money) you may be able to claim it online using the Money Claim Online service.

This allows you to make a claim in what’s called the Small Claims Track of the civil courts (sometimes erroneously called the ‘small claims court’) for claims of less than £100,000 against no more than two people (if you are claiming against a company you will need to nominate a director or other employee to receive the summons).

As the guidance website points out, the court should be used as a last resort, and there will be a charge for using the service that will not be refunded if your claim is dismissed.

That is a good reason to use the Citizens Advice Bureau, which has a good website with plenty of information on legal matters.

Another good advice site is Community Legal Advice It has pages of advice and a tool to find local solicitors. If you prefer to speak to a solicitor in person the Law Society can help you find one.

Online services can be used to obtain forms such as a Power of Attorney document, which allows you to nominate someone to look after your affairs if you cannot. The Office of the Public Guardian has detailed guidance and the forms to download, though you cannot apply online.

Several companies offer services to send out legal letters on your behalf for any kind of disagreement from disputing a parking fine to getting a refund for a poor restaurant meal. Desktop Lawyer has lots of forms to download for a few pounds each – you fill in the details and you can print the letter at the end.

However, free equivalents are available: Money Saving Expert has a large section on reclaiming things, with lots of free template letters available for parking ticket appeals, flight delay compensation and more.

Legal Helpers has a selection of forms to download for a fee, such as tenancy agreements if you are renting out a property. You can preview them to see if a free version is available from, for example, Money Saving Expert.

Cheaper the better?
Do you really save money doing things online, and will the resulting documents have full legal force?

We spoke to two solicitors, George Patros of Charles Ross Solicitors and Craig Holt of Quality Solicitors, who both pointed out that online legal services could end up costing the user in both time and money, especially if they end up having a complicated problem.

“If you want to use an online service for something straightforward such as a will and want to leave your estate to one person, then an online service could be the way to go,” said Mr Patros. “We have seen a number of cases where the client has used one of these kits and complicated the matter further.”

Mr Holt agreed: “A number of people have come into the office because they have used a cheap kit online and made a mountain out of a molehill,” he said.

“It cost them far more time and money as they had to employ a solicitor to rectify it.”
Both solicitors said this was usually when people used these sites for intricate plans such as trust funds – in those cases a lawyer is a must as most of us know little about the relevant laws.

The Law Society agrees: “Although these sites offer legal advice and help along the way, law is a complex topic. Solicitors have trained for years to be able to give the right advice and deal with legal matters so people who believe they can do just as good a job could land themselves in hot water. A solicitor will also be able to asses you to see if you qualify for legal aid.”

A compromise is to use a service that will look over the draft of your legal document. You will be asked a series of specific questions about your affairs and the document is then drafted using these responses, either online or through the post, from appropriate legal paragraphs. One example is Mylawyer which works with law firms to draft personalised legal documents at good-value rates.

Legal or not?
The solicitors’ advice to people using online legal services is to ensure they follow instructions to the letter to ensure documents stand up in court. There may also be formal requirements to make a document valid such as getting it signed in front of a witness.

Our verdict
Although online legal websites seem to be good value they could prove a false economy. If you don’t follow the instructions fully it could cost you money to fix.

There is also document-safety issue: a solicitor will store wills and other documents for you.

For simple matters such as sending a letter, a downloaded template may be a good start, but for most other things it’s worth making sure a professional at least gives it a look over before you continue.

Do you think online DIY services are a good idea? Send your opinions to letters@computeractive.co.uk