You probably don’t know what an AZCLDP is, and who could blame you? Its one of those acronyms that you skip over when you come across it because you don’t know what it is, and you don’t care.

But you should. Let me tell you why.

An AZCLDP can save you time, money, and a whole lot of headaches. An AZCLDP is an Arizona Certified Legal Document Preparer. “Oh,” you’re thinking, “a paralegal!” No, not a paralegal.

Paralegals are people who work under the supervision of an attorney to help the attorneys with their work. This means that in order to get the services of a paralegal, you have to go through an attorney. A paralegal cannot legally help you on their own. And you and I both know that anytime you go through an attorney, you’re going to pay big bucks.

An AZCLDP, a Legal Document Preparer, can prepare your legal documents without the supervision of an attorney. The Supreme Court of the State of Arizona grants a special license that allows us* to prepare documents on our own, at your request. So if you need something done — a will, a divorce, a law suit – we can do it for you, with the blessing of the Supreme Court.

“Well”, you’re thinking, “then I’m going to fire my attorney and just use an AZCLDP!” Not so fast. There are some things that attorneys can do that a Legal Document Preparer cannot.

First and most importantly, an attorney can give you legal advice, a Legal Document Preparer cannot. This means that if you have a huge hairy problem and you just need someone to tell you what to do, you need to go talk to an attorney. An attorney can give you your options and advise you on which one is the best one for you. A Legal Document Preparer can help you when you already know what you want to do, and just need some help getting it done.

Secondly, an attorney can represent you, a Legal Document Preparer cannot. This means that if you don’t want to or cannot go in front of a judge or just would rather not do the talking, then you need to hire an attorney. A Legal Document Preparer can get you ready to go to court, prepare you documents, and explain the process to you, but we cannot go with you. Choose a Legal Document Preparer when your problem won’t require you to go to court, or if you feel comfortable representing yourself.

There are definitely times when you will need an attorney, but it is important to also know that there are times when you will not. Ask most attorneys and they will tell you than in about 80% of the family or civil cases, one or both of the people involved don’t need an attorney. And statistics in Maricopa County show that in almost 90% of divorces one or both people are self-represented. http://bit.ly/8WZFSU

If your case is one of those 80% or more of cases who don’t need an attorney, consider using the services of an Arizona Certified Legal Document Preparer to save you time, money, and a whole lot of aggravation.

*QuikHelp’s AZCLDP is Tannya R. Gaxiola Gaxiola, Arizona Supreme Court license number 81199