LegalZoom

The service is much cheaper than going to a lawyer but you get what you pay for. Customer care is borderline clueless, does not follow up or follows up without addressing the issue. You call and they tell you to email, you email and they tell you to call.

I found it their lawyer team is great. However, for their customer representative team, it depends on your luck. I would say 50% of the time, you got a very nice and knowledgable one. Another 50% don't know what they are doing and won't try to help. I would pay if you want a good advice from their attorney. If you want some answers about all the documents and other things. You probably have to call two or three times to make sure you go the right answer. The customer representative claims that there is no way for them to call us back if the line is dropped. So, it is a good excuse for them to hang up on you if they don't want to speak with you anymore.

I was referred by an associate that used them when she started her business and so with reasonable expectations I contacted them. The person that took my information (to start a nonprofit) was friendly, professional, and, I later learned, not completely truthful. The first misinformation he told me was that my last payment would be due in December so I was unprepared in November to be told it was due. November. Two conversations later I still had to pay a decreased amount but to do so I had to change the plan I'd originally signed on for to one that offered free services.
The second surprise arrived with the paperwork to file for my nonprofit status: the fee to file had changed from: "it won't cost you anything" to $800. What?! The catalyst to write this review happened about 90 mins ago. I received a call from Legalzoom 2 days ago to make an appointment for a free consult with an attorney regarding filing taxes for my company. THEY called me. An hour before my appointment, 9a.m. Legalzoom sent me a reminder email which they should have sent to the attorney scheduled to talk to me because I haven't received a call from him/her. I don't recommend using them. They received $1100 from me and I've been lied to. Do not use them to file a nonprofit and if you do question everything and have them send you an email detailing everything you talked about.

1st order went off without a hitch. Made an error on my initial submission and had to file amendment. That experience almost made me ask for a refund. No responses, incomplete responses, failure to follow-up, etc. There is definitely room for improvement... but overall, I'm not unhappy just disappointed.

I tried the Legal Zoom estate package. Although ti was OK, it was not totally complete. After spending numerous hours reading the documents and consulting with their attorney, it became clear to me that I would have to either purchase additional legal services to prepare and or change documents for it to be complete and accurate, or find it online. For the price and my purposes it was fine. I used the legal phone consulting service a few tmes for personal legal needs and found it helpful, and so overall a good value.

I used LegalZoom for a Will and Trust and received a basic plan. The company could benefit from expanding the Estate Plan capabilities to provide more flexibility in options related to trustees and some special terms that one might want to add to a Will or Trust. I encountered customer service issues after this initial service related to contacting the company and also recurring subscription charges. I initially complained and the response to the complaint was less than satisfactory, however, the matter was escalated and the final person who worked to assist me was professional and resolved the matter. He listened to my concerns related to the initial poor customer experience, inflexibility, and long phone wait times to speak with a representative and resolved the matter. I initially gave this company 1 star and have changed my rating to 3 stars. While experience with the last person was excellent, I cannot increase the rating above the 3 stars as they will need to work on the customer service issues before I would think the entire experience was a 4 or 5 star rating.

Intitial review:
I'm being charged for 3 months of a service that was supposed to be canceled. They refuse to refund any of the money and the only way to cancel the service is to call customer service, which is what I initially did. So now I'm out $477 with no good reason behind it. The reason for my cancelation is the fact that you're treated like a number and trying to get anything done with an accountant is nearly impossible. The "unlimited" access to an accountant is very misleading. You have to wait 1-2 weeks and plan for a 30 minute meeting. You never get the same CPA twice and you'll constantly get conflicting information which makes it difficult to accomplish anything.

Edit:
When I initially posted my review I failed to mention that my plan had just renewed for less than 20 days. They were going to keep charging me for 11 months until the plan was completely finished, even though I hadn't used the service in the past 3 months. So to clarify, they were going to charge me $1908 throughout the year. I've never had an issue with ANY company not refunding an auto renewal if you bring it to their attention within 30 days

Updated review:
I called to speak with another customer service rep that actually wanted to help me and didn't shut me down immediately with "there's no refunds under any circumstances". She was helpful and was able to create a case for me that went to another team that reviewed the case. I got a call a few days later and they refunded the last 3 months of my previous subscription. They also successfully canceled my plan and I'll no longer be charged. Now, I do believe the only reason that they gave me any sort of refund is because one of their reps called me 3-4 months prior to my cancelation and asked me if I was happy with my service, to which I replied, "no, I'd like to cancel my subscription". He had told me that he was sorry to see me go and he was going to have my subscription canceled. So this entire time I had believed my subscription had ended until I saw my credit card statement recently. I went back into my email and found out that the cancelation email was simply instructions on how to cancel, which gave you the following options on how to cancel. One, was to call them and request a cancelation... (which was done as stated above) the second way is to go under your account and then cancel your subscription. There was no option to cancel the subscription with their instructions. The link simply didn't exist. That could be due to the 3-4 month time lapse as the rep had told me that they were cracking down on cancelations tho.

Overall:
Not a great experience with this service for the accounting side of things. They were an easy option to form an LLC with. I wish the accounting advertising was somewhat clear about the fact that their accounting service is not unlimited and you have to wait 1-2 weeks just to get a question answered.

I went to LegalZoom to establish our new LLC business as this was my first time doing this and I was concerned about it being done right, with all the t's crossed and dotted and so forth, and in a cost effective way and LZ is well known for being a resource for stuff like this. I chose the "Premium" $300 package, as it came with Attorney consultations, which I considered valuable for reviews of contracts, compliance, etc. During the registration process, there are numerous options to spend more money on nicely described additional features, such as the $100 expedited filing, which was important to me, and another $100 for a "Founder's Kit", which turned out to be a real zinger. One thing I must admit I was impressed with, after I finished all the application paperwork and paid what amounted to $625 including the state filing fees, I got a call from a LZ rep, who stroked me real nice for all my good choices, went over everything with me and answered questions, which was appreciated and a nice touch. He explained to me what a well named and fine thing this "Founders Kit" was, and would be FedEx'd hot off the presses after filings had been returned from the state. He did not clarify however, that although LegalZoom would indeed file my paperwork immediately for the $100 expedite fee I paid, that the state would still take a week or two to file everything and make the LLC official, which was unexpected and disappointing as this was pretty much the timeframe for the non-expedited service at no extra charge. Of course, this was my own fault, as I just didn't know better, this was my first time out with this and much to learn.

When the state finally came back with everything two weeks later, I received my Founders Kit consisting of a brown box with my new biz name emblazoned on it (in gold) and containing a mid-quality 3-ring binder with some cheap tabs in it and a pile of xerox copies with all the various LLC documents stapled together, none of which were 3-hole punched for the binder. $100 for maybe $6 worth of papers and stuff in a box, if I'm being generous. Of course all the relevant documents are also available digitally in my LZ account, which is what I actually needed, so I most definitely won't go for the "Founders Kit" if there's ever a next time.

Another point worth mentioning, and again because of my inexperience in all this, I opted for LegalZoom to act as my Registered Agent, as an RA is required by law and, while I was aware that anyone, including myself could serve as the RA, LZ makes it sound all legally cumbersome and complicated and better to just let them do it for you for a fee. This one ends up costing an additional $250, and mind that it's also an auto-renewing annual subscription and this is not very clearly disclosed during the registration process, at the time when the initial $625 fees were paid. The $250 was charged to my card several days later, which is pretty obviously by design, take a look and you'll see RA stuff plastered all over the FAQs on the LZ site. When I called to enquire and request a refund (the rep was well prepared for this) it was explained to me that the fees cannot be refunded until the state returns the completed filing, after which it is necessary to re-file with the state to change the RA name to make things legal. To do this I just logged into the state's web portal to re-file and named myself as the RA before LZ could refund this fee. Luckily, doing that was a snap, cost $30 and took 2 minutes. And beware, you have only 60 days to be able to cancel this RA "subscription", so stay on top of this. Another lesson learned, opt for yourself or your CPA, or somebody, to act as the RA when you establish your business!

Finally, for all this extra outlay I would at least have "unlimited" 30 minute consults with an attorney for 30 days, so I scheduled my first call. And got an appointment for 10 days later for the lawyer to call me. That's not too hot at all. The attorney consultation feature was really the only reason I paid the $300 for the premium "Pro" package (that's right on the nose), instead of $0 for the "just get it done" package. Live 'n learn.

All in all, I feel a bit like I just left the used car lot, who saw me comin' a mile away, and got taken advantage of due to my inexperience with all this. Filing for a new LLC with LegalZoom was a new experience for me indeed. I would strongly recommend, even if you are new to this process, take the FREE + State Fees option, you will be no worse off and you'll get what you need to get your business off the ground and save yourself a little over $600, for which you get very little value.

The only really positive thing I can say about this whole experience, was that Legal Zoom Customer Service was fairly easy to access on the phone and they were quite courteous and professional and didn't give me too much trouble with my RA refund or other questions I had. I would probably consider using LZ again for minor legal services like this, but definitely be on your guard and carefully read through every little thing, especially all the little upsells they push on you and make sure you understand what you're actually paying for for the not inconsiderable additional costs for the service you need. Like anything else in this world, it's buyer beware and don't count on anyone to be as open and upfront as you might be yourself when doing business of this kind.

Added note: I'm sure glad sitejabber asked me to post a copy of my proof of purchase for LegalZoom product, as I just read through the fine print again and realized that I missed something else. Turn out that along with the $300 I paid for the near useless attorney consultations, I had also subscribed to another monthly fee that I don't want and must now cancel before I incur more hidden charges!
And now that I think of it, when the nice rep called me to congratulate me on using LZ, he was sure to mention that I had 90 days, not 30, on the attorney thing, he just didn't mention that it was an additional subscription cost, which would of taken me well past the cancellation deadline! Nice job LegalZoom! All I can say about this, again, don't trust LZ customer service to disclose anything - make sure to read ALL THE FINE PRINT if you do anything with LegalZoom!

August 7th, 2023 - Update to this lukewarm review of LegalZoom LLC Service:

This evening I got a call from Shannon at LegalZoom in response to this less than shining review I posted about my recent experience filing an LLC. As a result of this call, I really need to make some amendments re my above comments, which looking back may have been a bit unfair and overly harsh and written while I was still pretty upset - in retrospect, maybe I wasn't in the very best frame of mind to go off posting novella length rants all over the internet.

I have to admit I'm a little humbled now and must in good conscience try to correct some misstatements I made above. Shannon very courteously clarified that the attorney consultation subscription, which I complained pretty loudly about, was in fact a 90 day and not 30 trial period - where I had implied that the rep who called me during the registration process had either made a mistake or had deliberately mislead me on this, which was not the case at all. This was my own misunderstanding and not on the part of LZ and for that I have to apologize to the agent who spoke to me. I was also refunded the $99 for the Founders Kit, which was appreciated, I really didn't feel that was worth what I paid; your mileage may vary on this.

Finally, for anyone who's actually still reading this, I'm changing my rating of LZ from 2 to 3 stars - the follow-up call was appreciated and Shannon at LZ did everything she could to correct whatever I felt was wrong and to make sure I was satisfied with the service I received from LegalZoom.

At the end of the day, LZ did what they said they would do - which was always true, my LLC is now officially established and that's what I needed. Despite whatever my personal feelings were about all the 'extra' services and features offered, which I imagine will be valuable to some people, their customer service has definitely exceeded expectations and they went out of their way to make sure I was satisfied as a customer in the end. Thank you for that LegalZoom!

Have used LegalZoom before, and it turned out to be a good buy at the time. Needed to revise, and this time found the site to be very confusing up front (before input). If you are putting together a Living Trust, the biggest problem is making revisions. In many instances, there is just no way to navigate back solely to the items you want to revise without having to click through the entire document. Very time consuming. Lastly, there is the constant push for $$$ everywhere you turn!

Used them to set up my LLC. All went smoothly. They pressed me hard to become my 'registered agent" for an annual $179 fee which I did not do. From many reviews, I'm happy I made that decision, as it seems very hard to cancel out of it.

I then used them to get an EIN #. This has been terrible. I evidently needed to sign the SS4 IRS form which I only discovered by logging on to my account... would have been nice if they sent me an email or text message requesting this, so this was a week lost. I signed form and email back directly, but the email address they provided did not work and was difficult to find the proper one. They now claim to have what is needed, but my account status can't be changed, that asks me to call their 800 # because action on my part is required. They claim it's in process, but it's been 2 weeks.

I just looked online to the IRS site and it says that I could have done this online with immediate results for free! So I have given LZ $79 to get all this frustration!

I received a 100% refund. Shouldnt take a bad review, but at least they stepped up and did the right thing.

When I email, it takes about 1.5 days to respond to my email. I expected within same day turn times to respond to their expressed customers. If in case their customers have urgent matters, they would be answered within same day. As for call back over the phone, they only tried calling me back once and my phone had an issue which hung up. Therefore, I missed the opportunity to speak to representative just because the phone line got hung up and disconnected. Legal zoom should attempt to call their customers back second time to confirm. How I know legal zoom doesnt call back second time? Because I called and the automated sustem said I have a pending call back in the file and ask me to continue to wait, however no second call was made.

I have used Legalzoom on and off for quite some time. What LZ does best for me: provide quick hits of info at times when I may be under stress—viz, my father recently passed on and a helpful chat with a local (okay, same state) lawyer about Family Trust law was very useful.

What it does worse: I used LZ to set up my LLC. Serious mistake. I should have used a local lawyer who knew local law and who could tell me what to expect. The online experience was simply not good enough. For example, I am still trying to figure out exactly what kind of LLC I am. Single owner? Partnership? I have asked and no one can explain.

Joined with the business membership... approx $200... knowing I'd likely have both personal and business questions.

First I Was more than a little disappointed that you have to wait for an appointment, and didn't have the option... as I do on Justanswer... to submit a detailed question by text on a webform and get a written answer.

My first experience was good, asking an accounting/tax question thru the connected 1800accounting.
Answer was clear, precise. The guy was knowledgeable and helpful.

Second experience not so good.
I set up a contact with the lawyer with a tax and estate question.
First I noticed had little choice of lawyers... once I said my issue was in the state of Oregon, only one.
Second, noticed I had to choose an appointment much further out in the future then I liked, more than a week, and at a time of day inconvenient for me.

Then when he did contact me he said that my question requires a specialist. That he could not answer. Or Would not. It was actually a simple straightforward estate tax question... that probably with a bit of research... IMO in less that the 30 minutes of consult time I was entitled to... One I believe any lawyer or any careful Google searcher could answer within that 30 minutes. Instead he gave me a list of other lawyers I could contact. But I would be charged their normal hourly rates, -25% discount for being a legalzoom member. That would have been a budget breaker for me. And defeat the purpose I joined LegalZoom for.

Based on my experience with the legal question I would say JustAnswer is more useful. Much faster, often within an hour, and you get a written response, with option of talking on phone.

One advantage of legalzoom. One reason I tried... is... unlike JustAnswer... if talking with a lawyer, not an accountant... your communications are protected by lawyer-client confidentiality laws. Not so at JustAnswer when communicating with lawyers there.

The site is difficult to navigate to make necessary changes and set up an Attorney Consultation. It took us several hours and several calls to finally accomplish what we had intended to do. Eventually, we talked with a couple of associates who were very helpful and able to guide us through the process we needed to complete.

I gave my order to dissolve a corporation, they did not help me at all in spite of constant follow up. They are just not bothered. Also, their one of the accounts representative Christilyn Burgos did not want to listen to me and directed the return of my money in the amount of $198.95 my closed credit card account. Now they are telling me it is my responsibility to get money from the credit card company and they just don't help me at all.

Date: 27th June 2016

First of all thank you Sitejabber for proving the platform to express our problems and concern.
After posting my review on this website, Legalzoom got into action and got my money back. Chyna smith, Social Media manager at Legalzoom was exceptionally helpful in getting my money back, She was very helpful and kept me informed about the progress of my case.

I did a Last Will and Testament on LegalZoom. There were two areas where I needed to deviate from what LegalZoom's results generated. I talked to staff at LegalZoom and was told that deviation was not possible. Three Stars is generous for this cookie cutter service.

The main problem with LegalZoom in this case is their initial search was sloppy and misleading. The Trademark Office found many instances in THEIR search that were not reported by LegalZoom for the same words I was using for requesting a trademark.

When LegalZoom did my Copyright on a manual, all went well.

For a Registered Trademark, I think I'd actually hire an attorney outright. This type of thing is much more involved than I had considered. I will not continue to pursue the Registered Trademark, but I feel like it would have been a better experience face to face with a knowledgeable attorney.

I did a dba thru zoom, it was a slow process on my states portion of it, but i got the upgraded package and i dont even know what i got, im clueless, im in business now but i dont even know what legalzoom did or is going to do for me? Seems like they dropped the ball to me!