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May 25, 2012

Docracy – DIY Legal Agreements

Docracy is a tool that people can use to find and customize their own legal documents, contracts, and agreements online. Businesses, families, and freelancers can all use Docracy to handle legal matters without going through the expense of hiring an attorney for representation in many types of straightforward matters.

The way you use Docracy will be largely determined based on the documents or agreements you need. If you’re using Docracy to create a will, for example, then you’ll want to search for wills by keyword or click on the “will” tag at the bottom of the homepage screen. Browse through all the uploaded documents that fit into this category, and download the document that seems to best fit your goals. Each document includes a description and a community discussion page, which you’ll want to check out before moving ahead with the process. Post any questions or comments you have right on the document page, or save the document to check out later when you have more time to review it closely. When you’ve read the document and decided everything looks good, click “Sign this document” to enter into a valid agreement online.

Docracy contracts signed online are all ESIGN Act compliant, which means users don’t have to worry about printing out their contracts and signing them in pen just to make them valid. Digitally signed documents can be downloaded as PDFs, or stored in the Docracy cloud for safekeeping online.

Practical Uses:

  • Ask employees to sign a NDA before starting with your company
  • Customize a will based on your unique financial situation
  • Get access to a business agreement your partners can sign
  • Save a power of attorney agreement to your Docracy account in case you need it in the future

Insider Tips:

  • Read discussions about contracts to find out if other users have discovered any flaws
  • Electronically signed contracts meet the ESIGN Act specifications
  • Signed contracts can be saved as PDFs
  • Documents can be made public or private

What we liked:

  • Users can edit any part of a contract they wish before signing
  • All templates are free to download and free to customize
  • Users can securely store their private documents using Docracy
  • Only the owner of a document can edit the original document

What we didn’t like:

  • People with complex legal situations would be better off visiting a lawyer than trying to edit an existing Docracy document to fit their needs

Alternatives:

Company Info:

  • Launched: May 2011
  • Privately Held
  • Headquarters: New York, New York
  • Founded by: Matt Hall and John Watkinson
  • Web site: http://www.docracy.com

Costs:

  • Free

Comments

  1. …on a slightly related topic, I came across a site http://www.iubenda.com/ which may appeal to a lot of Startups – they help you quickly create a Privacy Policy for you site for a small fee.

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