Website zooms in on do-it-yourself legal services

You’ve seen that episode: The embattled victim, worn thin by the legal system, wary now even of his own attorneys, contemplating what will be left once the lawyers are done with him. “Criminy. They’re lawyering me to death!”

Such portrayals of the intricacies of division of wealth have no doubt given pause to many a prospective beneficiary, prompting the question, “Couldn’t I just handle all this myself?”

Well, welcome back to (what else?) the Internet, where a supersaver of a website called LegalZoom.com promises its customers the opportunity to do just that: organize and settle such legal matters on their own, lawyer not included.

If you’ve been keeping up with your Howard Stern or rediscovering your Celtics loyalties, you’re familiar with LegalZoom’s radio and television ads, offering a wide range of lawyer-free services, from creating a trademark to settling a divorce to drafting a will — all for a supposed fraction of the price it would cost you to hire an attorney to do the same.

Need a will? No problem. After confirming that you are of sound mind and legally sane, brief questions requiring brief answers and drop-down menus carry you through a series of expected checkpoints: Who will be your personal representatives? Would you care to protect them from liability? Who will take care of your fish?

Along the way, the familiar “help” windows attempt to answer any lingering questions, and the money-back guarantee, toll-free customer-service number and ubiquitous Better Business Bureau seal provide the mandatory cyberwoobies of security.

LegalZoom even displays your savings approximation at checkout, right next to the celebratory photo of the smiling grandmother, smooched on both cheeks by her son and grandson, overjoyed to have at last settled her financial affairs. Clearly she hasn’t been this happy since replacing the family accountant with TurboTax.

But hold on, Nana. Lawyers strongly advise that you look before you Zoom.

“My primary concern is liability,” says Dedham attorney Lawrence J. Okstein. “If a lawyer makes a mistake, there’s malpractice insurance; if LegalZoom gives you guidance and you lose your house, what then?”

Okstein also cautions against the very efficiency that LegalZoom trumpets.

“An experienced attorney will sit down with you, face-to-face, asking detailed questions about your specific situation, questions that a standard form does not address,” he says. “Customer support is good, but I worry that you’d be waiving significant rights simply because you did not know to ask in the first place.”

Boston attorney David L. Gilpatric, whose practice is focused on wills and trusts, echoes Okstein’s concerns about overlooked details. “If your will is simple and straightforward, fine. Of course, you won’t know if there’s a problem until you’ve died. If someone contests the formality of execution, it’s important to be Massachusetts-specific. State to state, laws are similar but not identical,” Gilpatric points out

Chas Rampenthal, vice president of product development for LegalZoom, acknowledges these concerns.

“We provide information so that people can decide for themselves how they want to proceed,” he says. “In some cases, the complexities are such that it would be foolish to try to do it on their own.”

With a will, for example, in addition to state-to-state variations, there may be a specific allowance involved, such as a special needs trust, which LegalZoom does not offer. And LegalZoom handles only uncontested divorces, where waiving rights is inherent in the process.

Rampenthal notes that, currently, only California and Arizona have statutes addressing legal document preparers and rules, and LegalZoom has insurance policies in both states.

“We’re lawyer-friendly,” says Rampenthal, who endorses a lawyer-LegalZoom combo, likening the process to do-it-yourself home repair after a visit to the experts at Home Depot. “We recommend that people get legal advice. Seek an attorney or professor if necessary, do your research, then come back and let us help you to save money.”

LegalZoom has been endorsed by everyone from CNN’s Larry King to “Mad Money” TV host Jim Cramer, and, Rampenthal claims, its document preparation and filing are so efficient that it has become valuable as a virtual paralegal service.

Although the service does not dispense legal advice and employs no lawyers on its customer-support staff, its management team is full of them, including chairman Brian Liu, formerly with the mega-New York firm of Sullivan & Cromwell, and co-founder Robert Shapiro of O.J.-Simpson-defense-team fame. In its seven years on the Web, LegalZoom reportedly has never been successfully sued, and user feedback is said to have been overwhelmingly positive.

To many 21st-century keepers of their own houses, Legalzoom.com may be the best thing to happen to wills since Shakespeare. And in many cases, it may be all you need. If you require a review of a particularly prickly situation, however, consider the advice of lawyer and LegalZoom alike: Check with an attorney first.

Matt Yas is a freelance writer. He can be contacted at mdp2419@yahoo.com.