Posted by JohnBoy on October 12, 2001 at 08:10:58:
The question is, since the deeds and trust agreements are already made out by Bronchick in his course and you only are basically filling in the blanks (name, address, etc.) then are YOU preparing the paper work or is the paper work already prepared which HAS been prepared by an attorney (Bronchick)? Does the attorney have to be licensed in your state to practice law or can any attorney licensed in any state prepared deeds and trusts for you that are outside your state? Don’t people that own property they sell outside of their state use attonerys that are in the state in which they live to prepared documents handling the sale of their property outside their state?
The discussion below really got me thinking (and that’s dangerous stuff!)
The states where I do business (NY/NJ) make up Attorney Heaven. The attorney lobby is very active and strong. A number of years ago, the bar association filed suit against title companies asserting that they were practicing law. It was determined that they were not, however, title companies were prohibited from preparing deeds or doing anything which bordered on legal advice. Hence, lawyers would at least get the legal business of preparing the deeds.
My question is this- If I am preparing the deed and land trust documents for my seller without the use of an attorney, could this be construed as “practicing law?” In other words, preparing their trust agreements and documents for the transfer of beneficial interest, the deed into their trust, etc. (At that point, I am yet to be a party to the transaction since they are merely transfering their property into their own trust.)
I believe that if I am doing it for myself, it is no problem. But, once I start preparing them for another person, am I acting in a lawyer’s capacity?
If that’s the case, one of the problems with Bill Bronchick’s assessment of the PacTrust, is something that he is encouraging his practioners to do, namely practicing law without a license.
Here in Texas, the Ruling Class (the Attorneys) have everyone by the (______). Put in your favorite body part. There is a law prohibiting the Unlicenced Practice of Law. Man, they love this, and they threaten people all the time, even tried to prohibit a software maker from selling their “Do it yourself Legal Software” here. As much as They would like to have Complete control over legal words and contracts, the best they could come up with (so far) is
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Texas Penal Code 38.123:
(a) A person commits an offense if, with intent to obtain an economic benefit for himself or herself, the person:
(1) contracts with any person to represent that person with regard to personal causes of action for property damages or personal injury;
(2) advises any person as to the person’s rights and the advisability of making claims for personal injuries or property damages;
(3) advises any person as to whether or not to accept an offered sum of money in settlement of claims for personal injuries or property damages;
(4) enters into any contract with another person to represent that person in personal injury or property damage matters on a contingent fee basis with an attempted assignment of a portion of the person’s cause of action; or
(5) enters into any contract with a third person which purports to grant the exclusive right to select and retain legal counsel to represent the individual in any legal proceeding.
My interpretation of this: Don’t represent others, and don’t charge for ‘advice’ or forms.
Check your state’s laws. Do what you need to do, and stay within the (bull****) law. Push the envelope and use your rights while you still have them.
(Yes, I have an attitude about this, and I am proud of it.)