I really like the paralegals I work with; they know a lot. But they can’t give you legal advice, and their knowledge can be limited. Paralegals are allowed to complete documents and legal papers at your direction. The problem is, “What if you tell them to do the wrong thing?”
I see the ads and hear the commercials saying, “You don’t need a lawyer.” Living Trusts are treated like fill-in-the-blank documents. They would be this easy if every family was like Ozzie and Harriet on TV. Families who are together with only one marriage (no blended families), children who have no problems (no addictions, perfect spouses, no children with special needs), no inheritance issues, and no concerns about estate taxes or dementia.
I have lost count of the court cases I have been involved in because someone filled in the wrong thing in the blanks, or someone got advice from a paralegal who thought they knew the law but misunderstood it. Mistakes are expensive, and if a paralegal makes them, you can’t sue them because they are not expected to know the law.
The best paralegals work for and with lawyers. We work together. I use them to save my clients money by having them do much of the work they know so well, while I ensure that the right laws are used and applied. Don’t end up in court because the paralegal did not know about a case that changes some language that Trusts need to include.
