Nationwide Relief Center

Effective October, 2009 in California, it is illegal to collect any fees, regardless of the form, for negotiating or attempting to negotiate a loan modification for a residential mortgage. All modification services must be fully completed before any money can be collected. It is also illegal to divide fees or services into components for the purpose of avoiding this law.

HUD approved housing counseling agencies are exempt from this law. For businesses outside of California, please check with the agency that regulates this industry.

A Legal Document Assistant (LDA) is an experienced professional who is authorized under California law to prepare legal documents for consumers. However, an LDA is not an attorney and cannot provide legal advice or represent individuals in court. LDAs have the same educational background as a paralegal and are required by law to be registered and bonded in the county in which they have their principle place of business. The registration is valid for two years, at which time it must be renewed. In the past, individuals who assisted the public in completing legal documents were permitted to call themselves Independent Paralegals. Effective January 1, 2001, California law redefined "paralegal" to mean only those who work for and are supervised by attorneys. Excluded from that definition are LDAs. LDAs are prohibited from calling themselves paralegals.

The LDA statute clearly requires LDAs to maintain a bond, and to be registered in order to offer document preparation services to the public. Paralegals are not required to register as they work only for attorneys and not for consumers. At your direction, LDAs can complete court forms for you, helping you to avoid pitfalls and make sure every important detail on a form is accounted for. LDAs may also file the forms with the count and serve them on the appropriate parties. LDA's may supply books and publications authored, written or approved by attorneys which you may use to help you with your matter. A LDA cannot represent you in court, cannot give you legal advise, cannot tell you what information should be inserted in the documents, cannot interpret documents, or select forms.