Attorney Services Agreement

Thank you for selecting Debra H. Buchanan, LLC (“attorney”) to prepare the legal documents necessary for your uncontested divorce, as offered through www.marylanddivorceonline.com (“website”). Our Agreement to assist you begins when you accept this Agreement for Limited Legal Services (“Service Agreement”), and we have received payment of your fee through the website by way of a credit card. This Agreement will end after we have prepared your Maryland Complaint for Divorce and the related uncontested divorce documents or provided any other services that you have purchased or service is canceled as limited by our mutual promises of this Agreement.

1. Object of Representation: The object of the unbundled legal services is to provide you with professionally prepared documents, known as ghostwriting. In addition to the ghostwriting the attorney provides limited legal advice as necessary to prepare your divorce documents to reflect your agreements with your spouse. All documents are prepared based on the information you provide to us. You may file the documents we provide to you with the court pro se to obtain an uncontested divorce in Maryland. The limited scope of this service is document preparation as allowed by Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct. No attorney will e-file your completed documents with the court or file an appearance with the court on your behalf unless you opt for this additional service, as expressed in item #12 below.
2. Fees: For a total website fee of $195.00 or two payments of $99.00, a duly licensed Maryland attorney will prepare the documents necessary for you to file and finalize an uncontested divorce in Maryland. This base, flat fee service price is only available through the website and subject to your adherence to this Agreement and the website’s terms of use.
3. Limited Advice: Any legal advice provided in conjunction with the ghostwriting service is limited to questions and/or issues that need to be addressed to prepare your documents properly. If extensive advice is needed and falls beyond the scope of this limited offering and/or your situation materially changes, an additional fee may be required.
4. Limitations of Service: You are making no commitment to use our services at any time in the future. We have not agreed to represent you by, for example, filing any notice of appearance with any court, going to a hearing in person or by telephone, going with you to any court hearing or trial, preparing your case for trial or providing any legal assistance other than the limited legal services listed above in the Objective of Representation which describes the particular service that you are purchasing. We have no further obligation to you after completing the task that you purchased unless you purchase additional services.
5. Additional Service: In certain jurisdictions, it may be necessary for an attorney to file a notice of appearance in order to finalize your agreed divorce case. Should the court require an attorney to contact the court and/or file a notice of appearance in order to finalize your agreed case, the attorney offers a flat fee service, exclusively via the website, wherein the attorney will email, call or file a case status inquiry, in a limited scope capacity, for a flat fee of $95 exclusively for the purpose of attempting to finalize your agreed case without a court hearing. In no instance does the attorney agree to represent you before an in-person hearing.
6. Filing: If we prepare a document for you, such as a Complaint for Divorce, and it requires filing procedures, you hereby agree to take responsibility for having the document filed properly and comply with all legal procedures according to the instructions that we provide to you. We do not promise or guarantee any particular outcome. You may opt to have the attorney e-file your case for you as outlined in item 12 below.
7. Filing Fees/Court Costs: You are responsible for paying all fees associated with the filing of your documents with the court. Our base fee does not include any filing fee or court costs.
8. Attorney-Client Relationship: By affirmatively accepting this Agreement, an attorney-client relationship is created solely for the purpose of ghostwriting your divorce documents based upon an agreed divorce. This means that all communications with you will remain confidential, and we may decline to provide you advice if we have a conflict of interest. For example, if we find that we have already advised your spouse or business partner on a matter or for any other reason outlined in the Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct.
9. Authorization: You have read, understand, and agree to be bound by the above, and you authorize the attorney to prepare your legal documents or provide you with limited legal advice based upon these terms and conditions.
10. Service Cancellation: We reserve the right to cancel if your situation or circumstances do not qualify for our limited service or you fail to adhere to the website’s terms of service or the terms of this service agreement at any time and for any reason.
11. Refunds: You understand that once we have provided service to you, our fees are non-refundable, based on our Service Guarantee as found on www.marylanddivorceonline.com.
12. Optional Service (E-filing): For a service fee of $55, the attorney will file your documents with the court electronically. This is known as E-filing. The attorney will enter a notice of appearance with the court and serve as your attorney for the limited purpose of finalizing your agreed divorce as filed with the court. The court filing fee and any court convenience fee must be paid prior to the attorney filing your documents with the court. You understand that the $55 attorney fee and the court fees can’t be paid via credit card; payment may only be made via Zelle, CashApp, or Money Order.
13. Optional Service (Case Status): You understand that it is likely that the court may request additional information to finalize your case. If you do not use the attorney to E-file your case and you self-file, the attorney charges $100 to contact the court to determine the status of your case. The attorney will then explain what is needed to finalize your case with the court.
14. Optional Service (Online Notary): You can sign and notarize your documents online for a fee of $25 per person. Notary services are not provided by the attorney but rather an Maryland Notary Public. You are not required to use our online notary service. But if you wish to have the attorney E-file your case for you, we suggest using our online notary service. The online notary service is provided as a convenience.