1. What is the difference between the Virtual Online Law Office and a "forms website"?

A) Our documents are prepared for you directly by the attorney. The "form websites" use unlicensed workers or software to knock out cookie cutter forms. When they say "attorney prepared" they mean a lawyer provided the underlying form, not that a lawyer is preparing your documents. Dig into their websites and you find disclaimers like "You should consult an attorney in your state for serious legal matters. We are not a substitute for the advice of an attorney." By contrast, using the Premack Virtual Online Law Office gives you direct access to the attorney, who individually crafts your legal documents based on the information you provide when completing the detailed questionnaires.

B) Paul Premack is licensed by the Supreme Court of Texas as an attorney and counselor at law. He is board certified as an expert in the issues you are addressing when you come to the Virtual Online Law Office. Premack only works with Texas residents under Texas law. The "forms websites" work with everyone everywhere because they work outside of the licensure requirements imposed by various states. They are not licensed to provide legal services.

C) Your communications with Premack are protected under the attorney-client privilege. The "forms websites" promise you privacy, but your communications with them are not legally privileged or confidential. Working directly with a licensed attorney gives you the highest level of legal privacy.

For example, one legal forms website (see http://www.legaleinstein.com/AdditionalPages/Privacy.aspx) "protects" your privacy with this unprotective policy:

"We may collect and/or track … information knowingly provided by you through on-line forms, registration forms, surveys, and/or other entries….

We may also use your personal, demographic and profile data … for marketing and promotional purposes, and for editorial or feedback purposes for our advertisers…

If you choose to provide personal information, it may be used for … marketing products and services which we determine, in our sole judgment that you might find of interest. We reserve the right to share, rent, sell, or otherwise disclose data we collect to third parties. "

Clearly, they are providing a "legal service" as a smoke screen to obtain your personal private data and to sell it to the highest bidder.

Here at the Premack Virtual Online Law Office your information is confidential and legally privileged, will not be used for marketing purposes and will not be disclosed to any third party.

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2. What is "Fast 2 Business Day Service"?

Your legal documents are not being prepared by an automated computer system; they are being prepared by Mr. Premack (he uses Microsoft Word to draft the documents, and sends them to you in Adobe PDF format). Because this is a personal and hands-on professional service, it takes some time.

Generally, Monday through Friday are "business days". If you submit an order on  Monday, you should have it on or before 2 business days pass... that is, by Wednesday.

If you submit an order on a Saturday or Sunday, you should have it on or before 2 business days pass, that is, by Tuesday. Let's say that the following Monday is Labor Day (not a business day); you would then have your completed legal documents or or before Wednesday.

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3. Can't I just download a form from some website and fill it in myself?

Well sure you can.

But ask yourself: are the issues I am addressing casual or unimportant? No. They are serious. The issues may be the most catastrophic things imaginable: What if I have a stroke or get Alzheimer's? What if I die? How will my hard-earned money be used to care for me? Will the savings that I have fought to accumulate be wasted, or will my money be used for things I care about most? If I have young children: who will care for them, manage their inheritance and see to their education?

Then ask yourself: do I want to trust an untested preformatted form I got off the internet? No. You want reliability and enforceability. This Virtual Online Law Office is a direct link to Paul Premack's experience and expertise. The documents he will write for you are not cookie-cutter mass produced forms. They are written specially for you by Paul Premack sitting at his desk, working on his computer. They are enhanced and improved, address issues that the state's forms ignore, and give you more choice and flexibility that the state's forms.  They are solid, and as far as is possible under Texas law provide reliable solutions to the issues you face.

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4. What about something simple like a Medical Power of Attorney? I mean, doesn't Texas law provide a sample form that everyone just reproduces? How is it different getting this from Premack?

Texas law does provide sample forms for some legal issues, like a sample Medical Power of Attorney. But you do not want to use those basic forms. Here is why:

A) The basic forms lay out options without explaining your choices. If they are filled out incorrectly, the form may not function properly. Premack's questionnaire helps clarify those options, so when he writes the legal document it relays the correct legal instructions.

B) The basic forms are not complete. For instance, the Texas legislature last update the Medical Power of Attorney law in year 1999. Since then, the federal government has imposed new restrictions on the use of an individual's private health information (the HIPAA rules). The Texas basic form completely ignores the HIPAA rules. Premack will create a legal Medical Power of Attorney for you that addresses both state and federal law. The "forms websites" do not give you the benefit of working directly with an experienced, board certified Attorney.

C) For an example of the failings of the "state's form", take a look at Premack's comments on the state's "statutory durable power of attorney".

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5. I need a Will. Why are the fees for your Wills higher than some "forms websites"?

Premack is a licensed and board certified attorney with 27 years of experience. At the forms websites your papers are prepared by an unlicensed clerk and will never be seen by an attorney. The nuances of Texas law will be accomodated by Premack.

You worked hard to accumulate your life savings. This is not the place to save a few dollars by purchasing a low quality product from a forms website. Protect yourself with quality work from an experienced attorney.

Your Will alone does not tell the whole story of your legal estate plan. In fact, your Will may not control the disposition of large portions of your estate. Life insurance is the classic example: you have designated a beneficiary to receive the insurance when you die, and the funds will be paid by the insurance company regardless of what your Will says.

It is vital that your Will be properly coordinated to work with your non-testamentary assets. Let's say that you have three children and want your assets to be divided equally among them when you die.... so you ask for your Will to say just that. However, you also add your daughter to your bank account so she can pay bills if you become ill. Has adding her to your account affected the equal distribution? The answer is very likely YES because banks often add rights of survivorship to accounts without disclosing the effect of their contract. Consequently your daughter owns that account when you die, and the kids DO NOT get an equal share of the assets like you wanted. The "forms websites" will accommodate those plans, but Premack tries to coordinate them with your Will.

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6. What Security is Provided?

When you submit your questionnaire, your information is SSL encrypted and sent to Premack's VLO site on a secured server. (Read more about SSL as implemented on this site).

Your credit card transaction is SSL encrypted and transmitted to goEmerchant.com and Elavon credit card processing center.

All information you provide to Paul Premack, JD, is confidential under the attorney-client privilege. We do not release your information without your express consent or unless required by law.

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