Just when I was ready to shut up about LegalZoom, figuring I'd said all I could say on the subject...the company is being sued!
Plaintiffs say they bought a living trust through LegalZoom, which was to include a revocable living trust, a will and a durable power of attorney. But [Plaintiff's Attorney] Webster says the documents were flawed as a result of LegalZoom's failures, and [Plaintiff] Ferrantino's estate had to hire an attorney to correct the problems. (bolding is mine)
The lawsuit alleges claims that LZ failed to follow California laws regulating the practice of law; that LZ encouraged customers to practice law without a license; and that LZ engaged in fraudulent business practices:
Webster said almost all of LegalZoom's other claims are contradicted by disclaimers that are accessible only by following links to secondary pages of the website, and in much smaller type than that displayed on the website's main pages.
For instance, Webster said that while the company claims that "virtually anyone" can use its product, the disclaimer states that "the law is a personal matter and no general information or legal tool like the kind LegalZoom provides can fit every circumstance."
I agree that it's deceptive to say on the main page that virtually anyone can use the program/product, and then issue a disclaimer on a different page. I also found the attorney testimonials to be extremely deceptive as well. As far as I can tell, none of the testimonials are from actual estate planning attorneys (because that would never, ever happen).
While I'm saddened that this situation happened, and that this man's estate has to deal with the ramifications of a company's deceptive business practices, I'm glad that someone is finally stepping up to fight LegalZoom.
To your family's health & prosperity,
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