Legal Document Assistants Save Divorcing Californians Billions of Dollars

Newport Beach, CA, February 20, 2007 --(PR.com)-- As gas and grocery prices have soared, so have legal costs. In Orange County, an uncontested divorce using one attorney now costs a minimum of $3,000. If it’s contested, each party will likely pay a minimum of $20,000. 

That is where Lynne Diamond, founder and president of Divorce Wizards, steps in. As a registered legal document assistant (LDA), a new profession born in California, she handles about 800 cases a year at an average cost of $600. This means she is saving each couple about $39,000, for a total of about $3 million a year. With more than 800 LDAs in California, the savings amount to billions of dollars statewide.

“Using a legal document assistant saves thousands of dollars and is a very efficient way to approach divorce if the parties are in agreement about how to divide their assets and share their children,” says Ms. Diamond. She charges $350 plus the court filing fee for the simplest cases. Also, a divorce through an LDA takes only six months while a litigated divorce takes about two years.

Legal document assistants used to be called “independent paralegals” but aren’t the same as paralegals now must work under the direct supervision of an attorney. With the law that creates LDAs, paralegals can act independently of an attorney, provided that they register with the county and are bonded. A member roster of LDAs is available at CALDA (California Association of Legal Document Assistants)’s web site, www.calda.org.

Because of the prohibitive legal costs for divorce, some courts are reaching out to LDAs by offering training in the courtroom on subjects ranging from procedures to how to pursue child support with the California Department of Child Support Services. 

While some LDAs just prepare paperwork for clients to file with the court themselves, others, like Divorce Wizards, file the papers for clients. “We serve as an intermediary to solve any problems that may arise. This will save clients waiting in long lines and making multiple trips to the court,” says Ms. Diamond. If clients file papers themselves and there’s an error, they are left alone to solve the problem. Divorce Wizards often helps other LDAs’ clients complete their cases.

Divorce Wizards also handles dissolution of domestic partnerships and provides ancillary divorce documents, such as QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order), Order to Show Cause, custody evaluation, bifurcation, and mediation.

About Divorce Wizards
Founded in 1995, Divorce Wizards (www.divorcewizards.com) is a registered and bonded legal document assistant (O.C. L.D. A. # 138), providing divorce mediation and document-preparation services. In 2007 Divorce Wizards launched its new web site with over 120 pages of helpful articles by local experts, including the new section “Body, Heart and Soul,” full of information on healthy diet and exercises. Lynne Diamond, the president, is a professional mediator with advanced degrees in psychological counseling and training in family mediation. Divorce Wizards offers free consultations with complete confidentiality. Divorce Wizards was first to offer an online divorce service in California.

###