Let’s face it – divorce is a gruesome battle for anybody to have to endure. As stressful as the whole process is, the last thing you want to do is spend countless hours and dollars seeking the proper legal guidance for your case.
Save your time and your money. We’re here to help. We’ve researched and compared two of the top legal services available online, LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer, to help you determine who to seek out to help with your divorce case.
Keep reading for an in-depth look at what services each provides, their price points, and additional recommendations to look out for when looking to work with either platform. Let us help you determine which is better – LegalZoom vs. Rocket Lawyer.
What are LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer?
Divorce is never a simple process, but the idea is that through hiring either LegalZoom or Rocket Lawyer, they will help to guide you through the process as painlessly as possible.
LegalZoom
LegalZoom is an online company specializing in legal technology, helping its customers drafegal documents quickly and easily. The concept behind LegalZoom is that you can avoid excessive lawyer fees when you can create individual forms used in court yourself.
Some of the legal documenting services LegalZoom provide include assistance with the following:
- Wills
- Living trusts
- Business formation documents
- Copyright registrations
- Trademark applications
Rocket Lawyer
Much like LegalZoom, Rocket Lawyer is yet another online company that specializes in legal technology. Rocket Lawyer provides a multitude of different legal services offered exclusively online for both individuals and small businesses for both individuals and small businesses for both individuals and small businesses for both individuals and small businesses.
Rocket Lawyer has an extensive list of legal guidances available, some of which include:
- Incorporation
- Estate planning
- Legal document review
Why Use Online Divorce Services?
Finding a trustworthy divorce attorney can be stressful, time-consuming, and incredibly expensive. Contrastingly, having the ability to file the paperwork yourself by utilizing online divorce services can save you some cash, time, and heartache.
It is common for divorce lawyers to charge a retainer of thousands of dollars. In addition to their retainers, they also add on hourly rates that can range anywhere from $100 to well over $1,000 per hour. When all is said and done, a good portion of the assets you will be addressing through your divorce will end up in the hands of your lawyer.
You can avoid paying these extensive rates for divorce attorneys by seeking online help. There are differences in the services provided, though, so it is important to do your research to see which is better suited to your specific situation.
LegalZoom vs. Rocket Lawyer: Features
Now that you have a better idea of the two companies, we’ll take a closer look into each of their unique features in terms of divorce.
LegalZoom
Hands down, LegalZoom is the leader in terms of providing quality online legal services for uncontested divorces.
Pros
- Paperwork usually returned within two business days
- User friendly website with easy navigating
- All forms come with the guarantee to be accepted by the courts of your state
- All forms will be reviewed by legal staff prior to being sent to you for review
- Backed with a 100% satisfaction guarantee
Cons
- One of the most expensive legal services available
- Limited to uncontested divorces only
- No option for mailed paperwork, only electronic
LegalZoom has been in the online legal service game since 1999, proving their credibility and perseverance through the times.
They also ensure a support staff is available to every state via phone, online chat, or email. You can even increase your access to legal support by purchasing additional plans including 30-minute phone calls.
LegalZoom offers clear, easy to access legal information to help you through every step of your divorce. Their website is user friendly and has an extensive library of free reading materials, ensuring all of your questions have answers.
Rocket Lawyer
If you are looking for more hands on legal assistance, Rocket Lawyer provides that with attorney support via phone.
Pros
- Unlimited access to online forms and assistance
- Lowest cost for legal support
- Any divorce and family law documents can be prepared
- 40% discount for hiring attorneys from the website
Cons
- Website is not necessarily user friendly
- There is an unknown amount of time for document review
With over a decade of experience as an online technology company, Rocket Lawyer is based off of a monthly membership subscription fee. You can take comfort in knowing that al of your divorce forms are guaranteed to be accepted by your state courts.
Also, you have access to direct conversation with an attorney including a 30-minute phone call. Through the whole process, you will have answers to all of your questions via email.
Verdict: LegalZoom provides the best legal services for uncontested divorce
With over two decades of online legal service experience, LegalZoom leads the race in terms of features they offer to help customers through the tangles of divorce. Keep in mind that their services are limited to uncontested divorces, requiring that both spouses are willing and able to sign the paperwork.
LegalZoom vs. Rocket Lawyer: Pricing
One of the main reasons to turn to online legal services as opposed to hiring lawyers for divorce is to save some serious cash through the process. So who will help you save the most?
LegalZoom Divorce Pricing
At $499, the pricing for LegalZoom’s divorce assistance is on the pricier side. That’s not to say that the price isn’t well worth it, though. When you pay this flat rate, you will receive the following:
- Preparation of divorce paperwork
- State-specific formatting
- Instructions on how to file your paperwork yourself
Rocket Lawyer Divorce Pricing
Rather than a packaged deal rate like LegalZoom, Rocket Lawyer offers their online legal services for the low price of $39.99 per month. Included in your membership fees are:
- Generation of divorce paperwork
- Papers are guaranteed to be accepted by the courts in yoru state
- Direct access to lawyers
- Discounted ongoing legal assistance
If you are in need of additional help, it can be provided by site attorneys who can be hired on the spot at a 40% discount with your membership.
Verdict: Rocket Lawyer provides more affordably priced legal assistance
Rocket Lawyer enables you to have constant and direct access to actual lawyers with the option for ongoing assistance at a discount with your membership. For $39.99 a month, you can’t beat that pricing.
LegalZoom vs. Rocket Lawyer: Turnaround Time
Price isn’t always everything when it comes to legal documentation preparation. It is also important to consider what sort of timeline you are working with.
LegalZoom
While it’s not guaranteed, most customer see their divorce paperwork returned to them, ready to be submitted, within two business days. Not many online legal services can guarantee a turnaround that quick.
Rocket Lawyer
Rocket Lawyer does not clearly specify an amount of time you will have to have your divorce paperwork reviewed by an attorney. If you are on a tight time constraint, this might present challenges to you.
Verdict: LegalZoom gets your divorce papers back to you ASAP
It’s hard to compete with a two business day turnaround time to have your paperwork back to you, with a guarantee that they will be accepted by your state courts.
LegalZoom vs. Rocket Lawyer: Customer Support
Depending on your level of familiarity with the legal system you might need to rely heavily on customer support to help get you through the process.
LegalZoom
LegalZoom has a customer care team of agents who are based out of the United States. They can be reached:
- Monday-Friday: 5am-7pm Pacific Time
- Saturdays & Sundays: 7am-4pm Pacific Time
You can also submit a question via email, or browse their frequently asked questions section of their website to see if any of your questions can be answered there.
Rocket Lawyer
Rocket Lawyer has a customer support team that is only available during weekdays:
- Monday-Friday: 6am-6pm Pacific Time
Aside from your initial 30-minute phone call with your attorney, you are always able to reach them via email as well.
Verdict: LegalZoom has customer support more readily available
Because both companies are quite large, call volumes can make it difficult to connect on the phone quickly. But, between the two, LegalZoom has hours that include weekends, setting them above Rocket Lawyer in terms of availability of customer service.
Conclusion – LegalZoom vs. RocketLawyer for Divorce
Now comes the most critical question of them all – which is better?
Depending on the terms of your divorce and the type of assistance you are looking for throughout the document preparation process, you will find preference in one over the other between LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer.
Choose LegalZoom for:
- Uncontested divorce documentation preparation
- 100% satisfaction guarantee
- Simple, streamlined process with documents returned in two business days
Choose Rocket Lawyer for:
- Any type of divorce, not just uncontested
- Legal review of all documents by actual lawyers
- 30-minute phone call with an attorney included
While LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer offer similar services as online legal assistance providers, they do have varying specialties.
LegalZoom is great for streamlining uncontested divorces, with the majority of documentation being returned in two business days. Rocket Lawyer provides assistance with divorces of all types, with access to real time attorneys for a low monthly membership fee. RocketLawyer does offer a free 7 day trial, so it’s definitely worth at least checking out.
Given these specifications, picking the best service for you will be entirely dependent on your divorce and your needs as an individual.
- More Info about LegalZoom’s Divorce Services
- More Info about Rocket Lawyer’s Divorce Services / Get a Free 7 Day Trial
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Emily is a professionally trained freelance writer who covers a wide range of topics but specializes in business, law and hospitality content. With over a decade of professional writing experience in the hospitality industry, Emily comes from a strong background in the field backed with a BS from the world-renowned William F. Harrah College of Hospitality at UNLV. When she is not spending her time freelance writing, Emily enjoys growing her social media skills and spending time with her rescue puppy. Find out more about Emily’s extensive background or reach out directly at www.linkedin.com/in/Emily-Kho.