Legal Forms Called Legal Pleadings Ask The Court For Something
By: James Kahn | Posted: 01st December 2009
A legal pleading is a legal form that is typically prepared by an attorney, of course anyone can prepare a legal pleading and file it, but usually it is best left to an attorney.
What Is a Legal Pleading Used For?
A legal pleading is a legal form that is filled out and filed with a court. The legal form is reviewed by a clerk of court for accuracy before it is accepted for filing. In the most basic of terms a legal pleading is used to ask the court for something. In civil matters a legal form is filed to demand payment for something. A legal form that is expressed as a pleading is used in all civil matters. The form typically spells out the story. These legal forms can be many pages long, and lays out the case and order of events. A legal pleading is presented to a judge in a civil matter and usually includes a page where the judge can sign the order. It is the hope that the pleading will be signed and the order entered into court. Legal forms are also filed in criminal cases in the forms of pleadings. Usually if a legal form or pleading is filed in criminal court it is used as a tool to ask the judge to make a certain decision regarding the criminal case, a decision that can seriously impact the life of the accused.
Requirements and Regulations
There are rules that govern the use of legal pleadings, these rules are very specific and are relatively simplistic, but can be daunting to follow. There are rules regarding the format of the legal forms that are filed as part of the pleading. The rules are so specific in fact that they dictate the width of the margins. Each locality has separate rules for formatting and content of a legal pleading, following these rules are tantamount to the success of what is being requested of the court being granted. A form that is improperly prepared properly won't be accepted for filing and if it is accepted could be denied. In addition an improper form looks very unprofessional.
Best Practices
There are a lot of folks that are choosing to file legal forms with the courts pro se, meaning without the help of a legal professional to save the money that a legal professional will charge for preparing the forms.
With a little research filing legal forms can be accomplished pro se successfully. Knowing the local rules for the local court is the most important step in the process. Finding a sample online and using that as a guideline is a great idea. Most court clerks are will go above and beyond to help an individual to file legal forms successfully.
If there is any hesitation in preparing the forms than hiring an attorney may be the best practice. An attorney will charge a fee based on the complexity of the legal forms and of course the filling fee for the court will be additional.
Legal forms are usually actually quite simplistic but most people find them intimidating so they hire a legal professional.
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Tags: best practices, margins, formatting, accuracy, locality, legal forms, criminal case, criminal court, clerk of court