Frequently Asked Questions About NameChangeLaw.com

A. NameChangeLaw.com is owned by Epoq US, Inc., a legal information services organization that specializes in publishing self-help legal software tools on the Web, enabling citizens to access the law without incurring the high cost of legal fees. Epoq is an organization consisting of lawyers with computer skills, paralegals, web marketing specialists, legal researchers, and computer professionals skilled in web site development.

The Founder and President of Epoq US, Inc., is Richard S. Granat. Richard was previously the President and Dean of the Philadelphia Institute for Paralegal Training, the nation's first paralegal training school. Richard has been a member of the Maryland and District of Columbia Bar for over 30 years, and is the author of "How to Do Your Own Divorce in DC, Maryland, and Virginia," and "How to Do Your Own Divorce in Maryland" (1998). Richard is a member of the American Bar Association, the Maryland State Bar Association, and the District of Columbia Bar Association. However, Richard believes that there are too many lawyers in the United States and unlike normal business markets, this increase in the number of providers has resulted in an increase in legal fees, rather than a decline in legal fees. Richard is committed to the idea that there are many routine legal tasks that can be undertaken without the full participation of an attorney and that information technology can make the law accessible and understandable to the lay public. These beliefs are grounded in empirical research that has been ignored by the majority of the practicing bar.

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Q. Can I really represent myself in changing my own name?

A. We believe that with accurate and complete legal information a person of reasonable intelligence and education can represent themselves in a wide variety of routine and uncontested legal matters. This assumption is based on fact. In an evaluation study undertaken by the University of Maryland School of Law of a sample drawn from over 10,000 pro se litigants in family matters in Maryland Courts, seventy-four (74%) reported that they were satisfied with the result and would represent themselves again. Fifty-four (54%) percent reported that they decided to represent themselves because they thought a lawyer would be too expensive, and an additional eighteen (18%) reported that they represented themselves because they did not think that the problem was sufficiently complicated that a lawyer's services were required. These research findings are supported by similar research in other jurisdictions which are collected at the Pro Se Law Center.

There are situations when you should not represent yourself and you should seek the assistance of counsel. These situations include where you have substantial assets; where you and your spouse cannot reach agreement on custody, visitation, or child support issues; and where your spouse is uncooperative or has been abusive. On the other hand if your dispute is uncontested, securing a legal result is only a matter of filing the correct legal documents in the correct order. If you can follow instructions, you can represent yourself as a pro se litigant -- you don't have to have three years of law school.

Q. Who provides the answers to the legal information questions?

A. Our Legal Research Team answers you directly, but, provides general legal information answers only --not legal advice--since we are not a law firm.

Q. What if I need legal advice?

A. If you need legal advice, defined as applying the law to the specific facts of your case, we recommend a telephone legal advice service which is being offered by the ARAG Group, our strategic partner, and one of the largest pre-paid legal insurance organizations in the United States. ARAG Group maintains a network of law firms in each state who are available by telephone and who will answer your questions for a flat fee per telephone call. (Under $40.00, with no time limit). See ARAG's ARAGdirect.com site for additional information.

Q. How do I contact NameChangeLaw.com?

Name Change Law Information Center
9141 Reisterstown Road, #43
Owings Mills, MD 21117
PHONE: 1-800-311-6123
E-mail: contact us here

Q. Who processes my credit card information when purchasing kits or services?

A. Credit card transactions for The Name Change Law Center are processed by Yahoo, a leader in providing billing solutions to web site developers. Yahoo provides secure transactions services to over 4,000 web sites. Yahoo's clients include USA Today, the Washington Post, the State of New York, Pennzoil, McDonalds, and other Fortune 500 Corporations.

Q. Are my communications secure?

A. NameChangeLaw.com is hosted on a secure Commerce Server, which uses the Secure Sockets Layer protocol. (SSL). It is a security protocol and emerging standard like HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) to transfer information across the Internet. The main difference between the two, is that SSL, developed by Netscape, has made special provisions (via various encryption schemes) to transfer information securely across the Internet. SSL enables a Web site visitor's browser to connect and transparently negotiate a secure communication channel. Once this connection has been made, information can be exchanged with theoretically no chance of any unauthorized third party interpreting the data.

Q. What is your refund policy?

A. We will refund 100% of your payment, for any self-help legal product purchased from NameChangeLaw.com, provided that you make your request within 14 days after purchase and that you certify that you have not used the form kits to prepare your legal forms. If for any reason a court will not accept forms that we have prepared or which you have purchase from us, we will refund your money, provided that you provide us with evidence of the court's rejection of our forms. To request a refund, contact us here. PLEASE NOTE: A separate refund policy exists for our Document Preparation Service. Please click here for those details.