Letters, such as demand, notice, and negotiation letters, are all legal documents that you may be able to prepare without the assistance of an attorney. Letters may be written, for example, to an adverse party in order to resolve a dispute without a lawsuit, in response to another’s demand or offer, or as legal notice that a lawsuit will be filed. Directives and agreements describe parties’ obligations to one another and/or how some event or series of events will be governed. Wills and trusts are examples of directives, as are contracts to purchase a home or agreements between businesses for the purchase or sale of products or services. Pleadings are documents that are meant to be filed with a court. A pleading may be a complaint, petition, motion, affidavit, brief, or a set of discovery interrogatories.
Try searching the internet, contacting the clerk of the appropriate court, or visiting your public library to find more information on requirements that will be applicable to you. Search the internet for examples of the kind of document you wish to write. Then make an outline of those documents to see what points others have thought important enough to include in the document. The laws of your state relating to wills, trusts, guardianship agreements, etc. often have sample forms provided in the statutes themselves. All states’ laws are available online.
Try making a separate list of the things you want the document to address before you actually start writing the document itself. This way, you can reference this as you are writing to make sure your document is fulfilling its intended purpose.
Contact an attorney you trust and ask what his or her fees will be to prepare the document in question to see what your options are. To save on attorney fees, try drafting the document yourself first if you can, and then simply having your attorney read it through for accuracy, instead of having him or her draft the document from the beginning.
Your state court’s website. Many state courts offer free downloadable forms for attorneys and non-attorneys on their websites. [2] X Trustworthy Source National Center for State Courts Non-profit organization dedicated to improving judicial administration in the United States and around the world through education and advocacy. Go to source Your county or city court. You can locate your county or city court from your state court’s website or by conducting a search online, and then review its webpage to see if it has the appropriate form available. Your local library. Many legal publishers publish entire books of forms and examples of legal documents that you may be able to check out from your local library. A free form site. Try conducting a search online to see if you can find what you are looking for. [3] X Research source
Letterhead goes at the top of the first page of a letter, contains the letter-writer’s name, address, and telephone number, and may contain an e-mail address, fax number, or company logo. You may include anything you like in your letterhead, as long as it identifies you as the letter’s author and provides a way for the reader to contact you, such as a mailing or e-mail address. If you are drafting a pleading, you will need to put the case caption at the top of the first page of the pleading. A case caption contains the name of the state, county, and court, the names of the parties involved, and a case or cause number. A case caption can also contain other information specific to the case, such as the parties’ addresses, social security numbers, or the name of a special judge hearing the case. Directives and agreements generally have headings that contain the name of the document in large and/or bold font. A document title for an agreement or directive may be something like “Last Will and Testament of Bill Smith” or “Paralegal Services Agreement. "
For example, if you will be using the word “company” to refer to your company in a contract, make sure to state that “company” in your document refers to “ABC Painting, Inc. " Clarity is your goal here. [4] X Research source You don’t need to define words if you are using their normal dictionary meaning. Don’t define words in a manner that goes against their common meaning. For example, don’t define “car” as “an automobile, bicycle, or scooter. "
For example, if a power-of-attorney directive states that it becomes effective immediately but has no date, it will be difficult for interested parties to determine the date on which it became effective if events arise down the line that necessitate having this information.
Use a readable, standard typeface such as Times New Roman. Divide your document into sections as appropriate. Breaking down a large, complicated document such as a will or a contract into smaller sections that focus on separate issues will not only make the writing process easier, but will allow a reader to more easily find the information for which he or she is looking. Your language should be formal, but not unnecessary complicated. A legal document is no place for slang or conversational language, but you want to make it as simple and easy to understand as possible. If the meaning of a particular sentence in the document is called into question, you want to make sure everyone knows what it means. The order of the content in the document is important. Make sure to address the most important points first.
Unlike citation in other forms of writing, where it is permissible to simply place one citation after a paragraph of information to show where that information originated, every sentence that references case or statutory law (or other forms of legal authority, such as scholarly articles) must be followed with a citation of some form. The Bluebook is the most commonly used manual for the format of legal citation.
Other than these types of formal rules, making sure your document is neat and orderly overall will help a reader make sense of more complicated or lengthy legal documents. Numbered paragraphs, bold headings and sub-headings, and white space can all be used to make your document more readable and cohesive. While you might make a mistake on a lesser known rule of legal formatting or citation, prize consistency above all else. [6] X Research source For example, if you write out numbers instead of using numerals, make sure this is the case for every number throughout the document.
Much litigation is centered on the meaning of a particular provision of a document, such as a section detailing payment terms in a contract, and it is of utmost importance that you make sure the document says exactly what you want it to say. You may want to have someone you trust read through the document as well, because often what is clear to you might not be so clear to another person who did not draft the document. You want to make sure your document means the same thing to anyone who reads it.
This will finalize your document and give it the legal force associated with the type of document it is.
For example, if describing a parent’s visitation schedule, instead of just saying “every other weekend and one day a week after school,” say “every other weekend from 6 p. m. Friday to 6 p. m. Sunday and every Wednesday from 4 p. m. to 8 p. m. when school is in session, and from 11 a. m. to 10 p. m. during school breaks. "
For example, many pleadings begin with the phrase “Comes now the Plaintiff” or “Come now the Defendants,” and that language is the standard language used to begin a petition or a motion. This would be an example of necessary legalese. Conversely, instead of saying something like “it is incumbent on Party A to render payment for services rendered,” say “Party A must pay Party B for its services. "
A lot of litigation centers around ambiguity in a particular legal document, so avoid this at all costs.
