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IPS--
Independent
Paralegal Services
As defined by the National Federation of
Paralegal Associations (NFPA), a Paralegal is a person, qualified
through education, training or work experience, to perform substantive
legal work that requires knowledge of legal concepts and is
customarily, but not exclusively, performed by a lawyer. This person
may be retained or employed by a lawyer, law office, government agency
or other entity or may be authorized by administrative, statutory or
court authority to perform this work. Substantive shall mean work
requiring recognition, evaluation, organization, analysis, and
communication of relevant facts and legal concepts.
The term "paralegal"
in previous years was synonymous with legal secretary, whereas persons
having those titles were of considerable assistance to attorneys on a
day-to-day basis, but did not exactly work independently of the
attorney. That has all changed.
The services provided by most paralegals
and legal secretaries are quite distinguishable in the current day.
Paralegals are now proficient in conducting investigations, legal
research and the preparation of pleadings, discovery demands, motions
and briefs, without the assistance of an attorney. Courts throughout
the United States are cognizant of this and, as a result, fees for
paralegal services may now be recoverable in most cases wherever an
award of attorney's fees or costs is available.
In Massachusetts non-attorneys may even
represent people in Small Claims actions pursuant to the Uniform Small
Claims Rule 7(e), which states: "non-attorneys
shall be allowed to assist parties in the presentation or defense of
their cases when, in the judgment of the court, such assistance would
facilitate the presentation or defense."
Depending on your case, our paralegals may assist you in this capacity.
In conclusion, retaining an independent
paralegal is profitable to law firms, furthers public policy and
provides quality legal services to the general public at a fair rate.
Please note, however, that if you decide to use an independent
paralegal, you must remember that we ARE
NOT
attorneys licensed to practice law and cannot give or accept fees for
legal advice.
At IPS, we
offer the following paralegal services:
Need to conduct a
search for criminal, bankruptcy, death, UCC or other type of public
record? Our paralegals are experienced in conducting public records
searches. Each search is $69.00 with a 24-hour turn-around which
includes a copy of the results. Or, for an instantaneous response,
$99.00. The following public records searches are available: 
- Death
Index / Death Record Searches
- Massachusetts
Criminal Record Searches
- Social
Security Number Verifications
- Massachusetts
Litigation Search
- Real
Estate Searches
- Phone
Number & Utility Record Searches
- Massachusetts
Sex Offender Records Search, etc.
We reserve the right to charge
additional for extraordinary circumstances (for example, you need to
search a common name like "John Smith" and you have no date of birth or
social security number to enable us to do the search in a time
effective manner).
Please note that we are not private
investigators or detectives. We perform public records searches
directly for members of the public except for the following (unless if
you're an attorney who has delegated these tasks to us):
- A
crime or wrong done or threatened or assumed to have been done or
threatened against the Government of the United States of America, or
any State, Territory or Possession of the United States of America;
- The
identity, habits, conduct, movements, whereabouts, affiliations,
associations, transactions, reputation or character of any person,
association, organization, society or groups of persons, firms or
corporations;
- The
credibility of witnesses or other persons;
- The
whereabouts of missing persons;
- The
location or recovery of lost or stolen property;
- The
causes and origin of, or responsibility for, fires, libels, accidents,
damage, injuries or losses to persons, firms, associations or
corporations, or to real or personal property;
- The
affiliation, connection or relation of any person, firm or corporation
with any organization, society, association, or with any official
member or representative thereof;
- The
conduct, honesty, efficiency, loyalty or activities of employees,
agents, contractors and subcontractors; and,
- The
securing of evidence to be used before any investigating committee,
board of award, board of arbitration, or in the trial of any civil or
criminal case.
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A Massachusetts Notary
Public has the authority to issue subpoenas in accordance with Rule 45
of the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure. A subpoena may be issued
to order a person to do any of the following:
1. appear at court to give testimony (subpoena ad testificandum);
2. appear before a notary public, justice
of the peace, or other officer authorized to
administer oaths, at the taking of a deposition (deposition subpoena);
3. produce books, papers, documents, or
other tangible things that may be used
during a
trial or hearing (subpoena duces tecum);
4. appear at a court or at a deposition
AND produce books, papers, documents, or
other
tangible things that may be used as evidence.
A Massachusetts Notary Public may also issue subpoenas that can command
a person to appear before a hearing officer who is working for a state
agency such as the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA). DTA
subpoenas are issued in accordance with 106 CMR
343.360(B).
Pursuant to M.G.L. c.
233 § 1, a notary public, justice of the peace, or clerk of
court, may issue summonses for witnesses in all cases pending before
courts, magistrates, auditors, referees, arbitrators or other persons
authorized to examine witnesses, and at hearings upon applications for
complaints wherein a person may be charged with the commission of a
crime. However, a notary public or justice of the peace shall not issue
summonses for witnesses in criminal cases except upon the request of the
attorney general, district attorney or other person who acts in the
case in behalf of the commonwealth or of the defendant.
The average notary
public will never be asked to issue a
subpoena or summons because it's a task that should
be completed by a legal professional who is familiar with the court
rules that detail how a subpoena or summons shall be issued. If the
subpoena or summons fails to comply with a court rule or agency rule,
the court or agency may invalidate it.
Since our Network has
degreed paralegals and licensed attorneys at our disposal, we can issue
your subpoena or summons that will comply with the applicable
laws/rules. This Network considers our notaries public to be "legal
notaries" and not just "bank
notaries" because our notaries
public also work as legal support professionals (i.e.,
paralegals) and have been trained in the law. (Notice:
the two titles above are not official titles. They are used by our
Network members only.)
If you need a subpoena
or summons issued, please
click here and fill out the form.
We will promptly respond to you and arrange for your subpoena or
summons to be issued and served.
Failure by any person
without adequate excuse to obey a subpoena
issued and served upon him may be deemed a contempt of the
court
in which the action is pending.
We utilize a law enforcement database
that can track people. This database also gives us marital status,
physical location, employer information, etc. of those we are searching
for. A 'basic' people search will cost $19.95 per person.
VIDEOGRAPHY
OF RENTAL PROPERTY
LANDLORDS:
Document the condition of your property before, and/or after, you rent
to tenants. Have tenants ever damaged your property? Well now you'll
have proof, should you have to take them to court to seek damages.
TENANTS:
Have you ever been accused of damaging property by a spiteful landlord?
Well now you'll have proof that you didn't, should you have to take
action against the landlord in the court of law.
- Flat Fee =
$75.00
- Hourly = $50.00
per hour
POLICE MISCONDUCT INVESTIGATION:
Our
head service providers have been approved to assist the Police
Complaint Center(PCC)
in investigating police misconduct cases. The founder has contacted
agents of PCC and has already established a volunteer relationship with
them.
Such
investigations include, but are not limited too:
Citizen
complaint process check: Police
Departments are required to document and establish a policy for
internally investigating citizen complaints. We will see how an
ordinary citizens' complaint would be handled in the absence of
authority.
Racial
profiling tests: Do you
think an officer or department is engaging in racial profiling? If so,
we will secretly test the officer and/or department to see if your
accusation is right.
Individual
officer conduct tests: A
police officer is trained and required to keep his/her cool in almost
every situation. If an officer is known to act out when angry, our
paralegal investigators will perform a test to see how the officer will
react.
Advocacy:
A
paralegal is permitted to assist individuals before government
agencies, including police departments. If you'd like to address your
concern to the officers supervisor(s), we will tag along with you and
make sure your rights aren't violated at meetings.
Our network has acquired contacts from
the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office, as well as the U.S.
Department of Justice. Should you wish to file a complaint against an
officer and/or a Police Department, we can set you up with our contacts
that may be able to assist you further.
Our network
does not get involved with minor disputes (i.e., speeding tickets,
etc.). Rather, we get involved with pattern's or practices of alleged
misconduct being done by individual officer's or an entire police
department. We acknowledge the fact that most complaints of alleged
misconduct by the general public is not actual misconduct punishable by
law. For example, many people feel that it is against the law for a
police officer to raise their voice and yell at them. This is not
misconduct punishable by law. In fact, such cases aren't even a
violation of an ethical duty because police officers, like you and I,
are allowed to yell.
Serious cases
of police misconduct should be reported immediately to an attorney,
public officer, or the Department of Justice. For more information,
please contact
us.
LEGAL
DOCUMENT PREPARATION:
It's legal to handle your own legal
matters using self-help law books, products and services. Independent
Paralegal Services offers clients with affordable access to the
overpriced legal system. We are a non-attorney self-help legal form
preparation service. We work under the direct supervision of informed
clients. We offer competent, quality service. Our clients make all
their own legal choices and call their own legal shots. We simply type
out legal forms following the client's instructions. We are not
lawyers. We do not offer legal advice or practice law. We will
immediately refer the public to an attorney we contract with, if
necessary.
Divorce:
Simple.......................................
$200.00
With
Property........................... $275.00
With
Child................................. $300.00
Property
& Child....................... $300.00
Name
Change:
Individual................................
$175.00
Child........................................
$175.00
Family......................................
$350.00
Wills:
Simple....................................
$100.00
Joint.......................................
$165.00
Living
Wills............................ $75.00
Other
Documents:
Prenuptial.............................
$175.00
Power of
Attorney................ $100.00
All
others*............................ $25.00 (single page forms/documents)
*The
actual fee is determined by the complexity, length and turn-around
time. The minimum fee is $25 per single form/document.
Hundreds of attorneys exist in the
Commonwealth. Which one is good? Which has a better track record for
winning cases? Let us screen an attorney for you. We will research
their history and let you know if they have had any disciplinary
actions against them.
If we take on
a case that eventually
involves the practice of law, then we will automatically call upon one
of our network attorney's who will assist us with your case.
Have
a felony
DUI case in San Diego? Protect
your license and find a dependable initial consultation with a Felony
DUI Lawyer San Diego .
COURT
FILING:
If you're busy and can't file your
time-sensitive documents on time, or just simply don't know how to
file, our legal support professionals will do it for you. We charge
$50.00 (per court appearance) regardless of how many papers need to be
filed. A confirmation from the clerk of court will be made available at
the conclusion of service.
SMALL
CLAIMS INFORMATION:
Pursuant to the Uniform Small Claims
Rule 7(e), which states: "non-attorneys
shall be allowed to assist parties in the presentation or defense of
their cases when, in the judgment of the court, such assistance would
facilitate the presentation or defense,"
our paralegals are willing to assist you with your small claims matter.
We can guide you through the entire
process. Just remember, paralegals are not attorneys licensed to
practice law and cannot give or accept fees for legal advice. In order
for you to win, regardless if you're the plaintiff or defendant, you
need to have the preponderance of the evidence. Let us help you!
Witnesses are crucial to your case. We
at IPS know the importance of "friendly" witnesses. If you give us
information about your case, we will send some paralegal investigators
out to try to find potential witnesses. Keep in mind that it is always
best to have a disinterested and experienced individual do this for
you. If you go out and try to find your own witnesses, it's going to
look like you influenced their testimony.
Hypothetically let's say somebody
punched you and broke your nose in the Main Street area. As a result of
the person unlawfully touching you, you suffered financial loss in the
form of medical bills, and loss of work. Now you want to regain your
finances and want to sue the assailant. You have no actual proof. You
have no witness(es). The only thing you have are medical reports
proving that you've had a broken nose, and the name of the attacker. Do
you consider this a great case?
The paralegals will go back to the
incident scene and determine where potential witnesses might lurk. They
will interview people to find out who's a witness. If witnesses are
found, IPS will send one of their Notaries Public to take the written
affidavit (witness statement) of the witness(es). In accordance with
the law, the notary will record the identification information of all
affiants.
After you file your lawsuit against the
assailant, our paralegals can then assist you with additional services.
If you need the witness(es) subpoenaed, for example, then we can draft
and issue everything for you. One of our process servers may then serve
the order upon all witnesses to whom it is directed.
Mediation is simply the process of
reaching a mutual agreement amongst two or more people. IPS offers out of court
(not court related) mediation. We'd arrange a time to meet with all
parties and allow the parties to try to work out their disputes. We
would listen and guide each side on reaching a conclusion.
Types of disputes or decision-making
that often go to mediation include the following (though use is not
limited to these areas):
-
Family:
- Prenuptial
agreements
- Financial
or budget disagreements
- Separation
- Divorce
- Financial
distribution and spousal support
- Parenting
plans (child custody and visitation)
- Adult
sibling conflicts
- Disputes
between parents and adult children
- Disputes involving the following issues:
- Landlord-Tenant
- Builders/contractors/realtors/homeowners
- Contracts of any kind
- Non-profit organizations
- Faith communities
- Other:
- Youth
(school conflicts; peer mediation);
- Violence
prevention
- Victim-Offender
mediation
Mediation commonly includes the
following aspects or stages:
- a
controversy, dispute or difference of positions between people, or a
need for decision-making or problem-solving;
- decision-making
remaining with the parties rather than being made by the neutral third
party;
- the
willingness of the parties to negotiate a positive solution to their
problem, and to accept a discussion about respective interests and
objectives;
- the
intent to achieve a positive result through the facilitative help of an
independent, neutral third person
Keep in mind that we are neutral. We do
not make decisions or issue any type of binding contract, outcome, etc.
Furthermore, we do not give or accept fees for legal advice. We are not
attorneys and have no authority to do so. Mediation service cost ranges
from $200.00 -$800.00.
NOTICE
OF TRESPASS SERVICES
If you're experiencing a problem with a person you can legally ban him
or her from your property [or business] pursuant to M.G.L.
c. 266 § 120 by giving
them a Notice
of Trespass. In accordance
with the aforementioned law, the person must know, either by a sign or
direct notice, that he or she is forbidden from entering in or
upon your property before an arrest can be made by a police officer or
constable.
Our paralegals can draft the Notice of Trespass
(N.T.P.) and arrange to have
it served by a certified process server or constable. Once a copy is
served in-hand to the person you are banning, the original notice and
proof of service will be given to you. In the event that the subject
violates the order after it was served, you can call the police and
have the subject arrested.
The fees for this service will vary.
If
your property is located in the Town of Ayer, Shirley or Groton, the
following fees apply:
- Draft
N.T.P.
= $10.00
- Notarize N.T.P.
= Free
- Serve In-Hand
= $20.00
If your property is
not located in any of the
above mentioned Towns, please call for a price quote. The drafting fee
will be $10.00; however, the process server fee will be the amount
shown on our Process
Server page and is determined by
the amount of miles traveled.
MASSACHUSETTS
SEPARATION AGREEMENTS
A Separation Agreement
is a contract designed to settle all outstanding marital issues,
drafted after marriage in anticipation of divorce. It defines the legal
end of the couple's relationship as spouses and determines their
post-divorce rights and obligations. Before any couple is granted a
non-adversarial (uncontested), no-fault divorce in Massachusetts, their
signed, notarized, Separation Agreement must be submitted to a probate
and family court for approval.
Separation Agreements are recognized by
statute -- the same statute that created the Massachusetts
non-adversarial (uncontested), no-fault divorce (M.G.L. c. 208 § 1A).
A judge must find every Separation Agreement to
be "fair and reasonable" before any
divorce can be allowed.
Parties to divorce
sign Separation Agreements before they are
submitted to a court for approval. From the time it is signed in front
of a Notary Public until it is "heard" in court, a Separation Agreement
is an enforceable contract. When a judge finds a Separation Agreement
to be "fair and reasonable" at the hearing of the parties' divorce, the
agreement rises to the level of a court order.
After a Separation
Agreement has been found to be "fair and reasonable" in court it continues as an enforceable
contract AND as a court order. If a judge determines a Separation
Agreement is NOT "fair and reasonable" the Separation Agreement will be
rendered null and void, and no longer exist as an enforceable contract.
Separation Agreements are required by law to cover the following topics:
1.) Alimony
2.) Health Insurance
3.) Life Insurance
4.) Disposition of
Debts
5.) Division of
Marital Property
6.) Care and Custody
of Minor or Dependent Children
7.) Division of Real
Estate, etc.
We can
provide you with a Separation Agreement that can be easily filled in.
This Separation Agreement complies with Massachusetts law and covers
every topic. The prices are
as follows:
Separation
Agreement w/No Minor Children
= $150.00
Separation
Agreement w/Minor Child(ren)
= $195.00
Please contact us VIA EMAIL
if you're interested in purchasing a Separation Agreement. Once your
payment is received and/or confirmed, we will email you the form in PDF
or Word format.
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LEGAL
DISCLAIMER: We are not
attorneys licensed to practice law and cannot give or accept fees for
legal advice. If you need legal advice, please consult an attorney. If
you need help finding an attorney, then we can help you. Nothing in
this website should be considered legal advice. Most paralegal services
are offered only to attorneys or can only be done if we work under the
direct supervision of one. Services are only intended for Massachusetts
residents.
Website and
all contents © Copyright Korey Humphreys 2002-2012,
All rights
reserved.
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