GranatWills.com | About Us

I started the SmarterWill On-Line Network of Estate Planning Firms, and GranatWills.com in the State of Maryland, where I practice law, to offer basic estate planning documents online at a fee that people can afford.

Everyone should have a basic set of estate planning documents, particularly couples with children. We all lead busy lives, so I wanted to make our service convenient and easy to use. Our goal is to make the process as painless as possible, while making sure your wishes are protected through an attorney-review process. Thus we deliver our legal services online over the Internet.

I created the first virtual law firm in Maryland (2003) to offer affordable legal services in the area of uncontested divorce, and now I am applying my experience to the area of estate planning practice.

LegalZoom claims they have delivered more than a million Wills over the Internet. But LegalZoom is not a law firm, and you get no legal advice when you buy from LegalZoom and other Internet-based legal form providers.

I want to prove that consumers can get a better deal from an online law firm like ours, than they can get from LegalZoom, by offering forms bundled with legal advice for a price which is only slightly more, and sometimes less, than what LegalZoom charges.

Every one of your documents is carefully reviewed by myself, or a member of our attorney legal team.

Each member of our attorney team has:

At least three (3) years of experience as a licensed, practicing lawyer in estate planning.
Never had their license to practice law in Maryland or any other professional certification revoked or suspended in any way.
No pending or impending grievance.
Never been denied professional liability insurance due to claims within the past fifteen (15) years.
Never been a party to any malpractice lawsuits that have reached final disposition and resulted in any payment to a plaintiff during the past ten (10) years.
Is insured under the firm’s malpractice liability insurance policy.

More About Richard S. Granat

I am presently Co-Chair of the ELawyering Task Force of the Law Practice Management Section of the American Bar Association, whose mission is to help lawyers deliver legal affordable legal services over the Internet to clients of moderate income. I am also a liaison member of the Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services of the ABA., which is concerned with developing new methods of delivering legal services to people of moderate means. I am Co-Author of the Best Practice Guidelines for Legal Information Web Site Providers which were adopted by the ABA House of Delegates in February 2003.

Winner: ABA Meritorious Recognition:

2005 Louis M. Brown Award for Legal Access
2009, Lifetime Achievement Award Innovation in the Delivery of Legal Services
Named a “Legal Rebel” by the American Bar Association Journal.

In addition, I have been:

the Coordinator of a pro se project on self-help representation in family law matters.
the Founder of the People’s Law Library of Maryland. This project taught me about the power of the Web to change peoples lives through the provision of legal information.
a member of the American Bar Association, the Maryland Bar Association, (and a member of the Family and Elder Law Section for both), and the District of Columbia Bar Association.
I am a graduate of Columbia University School of Law, (J.D.); the University of Pennsylvania, (M.S.); and Lehigh University, (B.A.).
a member of the core group that started the Civil Justice Network in Maryland.