Frequently Asked Questions About Our Web Site and its Operation
- Who operates Maryland Divorce Online?
- What are the fees involved with a divorce action?
- What does your Document Preparation Service include?
- What if I registered for the wrong state?
- Can I really represent myself in my divorce?
- Who provides the answers to the legal information questions?
- What if I need legal advice?
- How do I contact Maryland Divorce Online?
- Who processes my credit card information when purchasing kits or services?
- Are my communications with Maryland Divorce Online secure?
- What is your refund policy?
- How do I extend my free trial period?
- Why did your system decline my credit card, when I know that it is good?
Q. Who operates Maryland Divorce Online?
A. Maryland Divorce Online is operated by SmartLegalForms, Inc. SmartLegalForms, Inc. is an legal information services company that publishes digital solutions that help users solve their legal problems over the Internet. We offer state-specific interactive legal documents and legal tools, enabling citizens to access the law without incurring the high cost of legal fees. Our goal is to provide legal solutions at prices that people can afford.
(Back to Top)Q. What are the fees involved with a divorce action?
A. The cost of our forms/service is the only charge we will collect. Other charges you may incur in the filing of any legal pleading with a court could include: filing fees, postage for certified mailings, fees associated with the signatures and seals of a Notary Public, publication fees and service of process charges. It is difficult to determine exactly what fees will be needed due to the varying circumstances surrounding any legal action or case. Moreover, the processes and requirements for a divorce vary from state to state and sometimes even from county to county or courthouse to courthouse. We recommend that you contact your local court clerk for information regarding the exact current cost of these fees.
(Back to Top)Q. What does your Document Preparation Service include?
A. Our fee includes the preparation of the forms and delivery of the forms in a data format. Paper copies of the forms can be mailed to you for an additional charge. Other charges which may become necessary in the filing of any legal document with a court could include: filing fees, postage for certified mailings, fees associated with the signatures/seals of a Notary Public, publication fees and service of process charges. These fees and charges are the responsibility of the Petitioner, not our company.
Once the forms have been delivered, you will have further steps to take. Our service does not include any notarization of forms. Likewise, we do not file your papers with any court or assist with other requirements, such as service or publication procedures.
(Back to Top)Q. What if I registered for the wrong state?
A. If you registered for the wrong state please contact us and we will move your account to the correct state.
(Back to Top)Q. Can I really represent myself in my divorce?
A. We believe that with accurate and complete legal information a person of reasonable intelligence and education can represent themselves in a wide variety of routine and uncontested family law, and other legal matters. This assumption is based on fact. In an evaluation study undertaken by the University of Maryland School of Law of a sample drawn from over 10,000 pro se litigants in family matters in Maryland Courts, seventy-four (74%) of the reported that they were satisfied with the result and would represent themselves again. Fifty-four (54%) percent reported that they decided to represent themselves because they thought a lawyer would be too expensive, and an additional eighteen (18%) reported that they represented themselves because they did not think that the problem was sufficiently complicated that a lawyer's services were required. These research findings are supported by similar research in other jurisdictions which are collected at the Pro Se Law Center. There are situations when you should not represent yourself and you should seek the assistance of counsel. These situations include where you have substantial assets; where you and your spouse cannot reach agreement on custody, visitation, or child support issues; and where your spouse is uncooperative or has been abusive. On the other hand if your dispute is uncontested, securing a legal result is only a matter of filing the correct legal documents in the correct order.
(Back to Top)Q. Who provides the answers to the legal information questions?
A. Our Legal Research Team answers you directly, but, provides general legal information answers only -- not legal advice -- since we are not a law firm.
(Back to Top)Q. What if I need legal advice?
A. We would like to help you with your legal advice question. Unfortunately, we are not a law firm and cannot provide legal advice in particular cases nor do we answer individual legal inquiries. Our staff can only offer general information and any technical assistance you may require while using our sites and services. Many of our sites contain detailed Law Guides which cover many legal topics. Please review these guides, which can be located on the homepage of this site. You may wish to contact your local court clerk or a licensed attorney in your area.
(Back to Top)Q. How do I contact Maryland Divorce Online?
Contact Information:
SmartLegalForms, Inc.
9141 Reisterstown Road, #43
Owings Mills, Maryland 21117
Toll-free: 855-LGL-FORM (855-545-3676)
Support
Q. Who processes my credit card information when purchasing kits or services?
A. We work with Chase Paymentech credit card processing, which is one of the largest credit card processors in the United States and processes your card securely and immediately for any credit card purchase made from this web site.
(Back to Top)Q. Are my communications secure?
A. Maryland Divorce Online is hosted on a secure Netscape Commerce Server, which uses the Secure Sockets Layer protocol. (SSL). It is a security protocol and emerging standard like HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) to transfer information across the Internet. The main difference between the two, is that SSL, developed by Netscape, has made special provisions (via various encryption schemes) to transfer information securely across the Internet. SSL enables a Web site visitor's browser to connect and transparently negotiate a secure communication channel. Once this connection has been made, information can be exchanged with theoretically no chance of any unauthorized third party interpreting the data.
(Back to Top)Q. What is your refund policy?
A.
We offer a 100% money-back guarantee if for any reason your documents are not accepted by
the courts, we will either fix them at our cost or refund your money, your
choice. We must, unfortunately, strictly enforce this policy since our product
is such that it may be easily copied and used by individuals who have not
purchased.
To request a refund, please simply contact us toll-free at 855-LGL-FORM
(855-545-3676), or
contact us.
Q. How do I extend my free trial period?
Thank you for your interest in our sites and on-line documents. Our staff can reset the 30-day Expiration date on your trial account. Please send us an e-mail message stating your request.
Q. Why did your system decline my credit card, when I know that it is good?
We apologize for any difficulties which may have been caused by our web-site or your attempted purchase.
Common reasons for a card to be declined include:
(1) P.O. Box listed as address.
(2) Wrong address listed.
(3) Credit card number entered incorrectly.
(4) Fields within the order process are skipped.
(5) Sometimes debit cards are not accepted by our systems.
(Back to Top)
Maryland Divorce Forms
Self-Prepared
| Maryland Divorce | $59.00 |
| MD MSA | $39.00 |
| MD Divorce & MSA Combo (best value) | $89.00 |
Legal Technician-Prepared
| Maryland Divorce | $149.00 |
| MD MSA | $79.00 |
| MD Divorce & MSA Combo (best value) | $199.00 |
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