The We The People document service is a non-attorney paperwork operation that has been around since 1985, typing up court forms for people who are handling their own uncontested legal matters. You tell the staff what you want the documents to say, and they put your information into the correct forms for your local court. They do not give legal advice, pick your strategy, or stand up for you in front of a judge. That is what makes the service cheaper than a lawyer, and it is also what limits where it can help you.
What You Get for the Money
We The People offices work like clerical support centers. You walk in with a decision already made about what you want to accomplish, and someone behind the counter formats your information onto the right forms. The company has historically run on a franchise model with storefront locations, and more recently has shifted toward operating as a directory connecting customers with independently owned document preparation offices.
The company advertises savings of 50 to 70 percent against typical attorney fees and costs for the same paperwork. That gap is not a discount on legal work. It reflects what has been removed from the service: the analysis, the recommendations, the judgment calls about what should go in the documents. You are paying for typing and formatting. The thinking is yours.
What the Service Prepares
The paperwork tends to cluster in areas of civil law where either both sides already agree or a single person is setting up a straightforward legal structure.
- Uncontested divorce filings, legal separations, and the custody or support paperwork that goes with them when spouses have already settled terms.
- Wills, living trusts, and powers of attorney for healthcare or finances.
- Articles of organization for LLCs and articles of incorporation for new businesses.
- Petitions to legally change a person’s name.
- Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy petitions for individuals with relatively simple finances.
What ties these together is that the court’s role is procedural. A judge reviews the paperwork, confirms it is complete, and signs an order. Nobody is fighting over who gets the house or whether a contract was breached. Once a real dispute enters the picture, document preparation stops being enough.
How the Process Runs
You start by filling out intake questionnaires or workbooks built to capture every data point the court forms require. Full legal names, current addresses, assets, debts. For estate planning you identify beneficiaries and the people you want handling your affairs. For a divorce you list the property division, custody arrangements, and support terms you and your spouse have agreed on.
The staff then type your answers into the official court forms. You review the drafts, sign in front of a notary who confirms your identity, and the documents go to the court clerk either in person or through an electronic filing system.
Court filing fees are separate from what the service charges and vary by case type and jurisdiction. An uncontested divorce petition commonly runs between $300 and $450 in court fees alone. Name change petitions and smaller motions can cost less. After filing, you can generally expect a court date or signed order within 30 to 90 days, though busy courthouses stretch that timeline.
Where Responsibility Sits
Every decision about what the forms actually say is yours. The staff organize your information into the correct format, but they do not tell you what to put in the blanks. Accuracy at the intake stage matters because the service has no obligation to catch mistakes. Catching the wrong asset in a bankruptcy petition or a missing beneficiary in a will would require legal judgment the staff are not allowed to exercise. That tradeoff is the whole point of the price. The savings are real, and so is the responsibility that comes with them.
Extra Federal Rules for Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is worth pulling out separately because federal law adds requirements that fall on you, not on whoever prepares the forms. Before you file, you have to complete a credit counseling session with a nonprofit agency approved by the U.S. Trustee Program, and that session has to happen within 180 days of filing. After you file, you need a second course on debtor education before the court will discharge your debts. The two sessions cannot be combined.1United States Courts. Credit Counseling and Debtor Education Courses
Federal law also regulates anyone who is not an attorney and prepares bankruptcy documents for a fee. Under the bankruptcy code, a petition preparer cannot advise you on whether to file, which chapter to choose, whether your debts will be discharged, or whether you will keep your home or car. A court can disallow and order the return of any fees that exceed the value of the clerical work provided, and a preparer who violates the restrictions can forfeit all fees collected.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 110 – Penalty for Persons Who Negligently or Fraudulently Prepare Bankruptcy Petitions
A service can type up your bankruptcy paperwork cleanly and still leave you without a discharge if you skipped either required course. Those steps are yours to complete.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 109 – Who May Be a Debtor
State Rules and the Unauthorized Practice Line
The legal framework for document preparation varies by state. Only a handful of states have statutes specifically governing these providers. Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, and Washington have enacted legislation defining who can prepare legal documents for the public and the conditions they have to work under. In most other states, the line between permissible document preparation and the unauthorized practice of law is less clearly drawn.
California’s framework is the most developed. Under the California Business and Professions Code, a legal document assistant is someone who helps self-represented people by completing legal documents at their specific direction in a clerical capacity. The statute explicitly prohibits these assistants from providing any advice, opinion, or recommendation about legal rights, remedies, options, form selection, or strategy. Legal document assistants in California also have to register with the county clerk in every county where they work and post a $25,000 surety bond. Operating without registration is itself a violation, and the bond is there to give consumers a financial backstop if the service causes harm.4California Legislative Information. California Code BPC 6400 – Unlawful Detainer Assistants and Legal Document Assistants
The underlying principle holds everywhere. Helping you fill in a form you have already selected is generally permissible. Telling you which form to select, advising you on how to answer a question, or suggesting a legal strategy crosses into territory every state reserves for licensed attorneys. Penalties for unauthorized practice vary and can include criminal charges, injunctions, and fines.
The practical risk for you as a customer is quieter. If a preparer exercises legal judgment and something goes wrong, your recourse may be limited. In states with registration and bonding, the bond offers some protection. In states without specific regulations, options for recovery are narrower. That matters most for documents with lasting consequences, like estate plans or business formation paperwork that will outlive the transaction by years.
When the Service Is Not Enough
Document preparation works when the legal outcome is already decided and all that is left is filling out forms correctly. An uncontested divorce where both spouses agree, a simple will with clear beneficiaries, a basic LLC formation. Those are reasonable candidates.
The service falls apart as soon as a meaningful legal question enters the picture. Contested divorces, custody fights, complex estates, business formations with multiple owners and unusual structures, or any arrangement someone might challenge later. In those situations the missing legal advice becomes a real liability. Research on federal court outcomes shows self-represented litigants winning as few as 4 percent of contested cases that reach final judgment when the other side has an attorney. Legal knowledge matters most precisely when things get complicated.
A useful test before signing up: can you explain to a friend exactly what your documents should say? If yes, a service like We The People may save you significant money. If you are unsure which forms apply, what terms to include, or how a judge might view your situation, that uncertainty is the signal you need an attorney rather than a typist.