How to Prepare a Legal Document

For this session we will focus on teaching students how to prepare a legal document. 

It is best to use Legal Paper for legal documents; however some businesses use letter size or A4 paper.

Before typing the document

·        Change the paper size of your document to Legal.

·        Set the margins to 1.5" left, 0.5" right and 1" top and bottom.

·        Set line spacing to double or one and half for final copy and use treble spacing for first drafts.
        

When typing the document

· Use NO punctuation marks.

· Where lines do not reach the right margin, fill the spaces with hyphens or full stops. (This will avoid additional words from being added without authority).

· DO NOT divide words at the ends of lines.

· Amounts must be typed in words first then in figures and enclosed in brackets.

· Use the specific terminology associated with the type of document.

After typing the document

·Ensure that all Witnesses and Signatories have signed correctly.

·Fold the document correctly

If your students are like ours, they probably will not have textbooks to view specimens. Here are some examples of legal documents.

Will

Lease

Legal Documents are important and should be kept secured at all times.