This site contains information for general contractors, subcontractors, as well as material/equipment suppliers in the building and construction industry. For this reason, it is written from the prospective of the contractor and not the owner. The purpose of the site is to equip construction industry professionals with the information, skills, and forms to assert their legal rights successfully. Although other persons are free to view this site, they should seek their own competent legal advice to protect their respective interests.
This site contains information and forms for all 50 states. For this reason, the information and various forms have been researched for each specific state. Fortunately, or unfortunately, as you might view the case, there is yet to be a universal preliminary lien notice or mechanic’s lien that applies to all states. There are some books, internet businesses, and software providers that sell generic forms, but because many do not tailor themselves to the individual requirements of each state, they are invalid. And worse, every state strictly construes its requirements, and they are not met, you can literally be thrown out of court on a technicality. On the other hand, this site provides state-specific forms and information stemming from the individual requirements of each such state.
The creator and developer of this site is a California construction attorney who had worked with industry professionals for over 28 years, including generals, subs, design professionals, and material/equipment suppliers. He began preparing standard notices and mechanic’s liens in 1976, well before the onset of the Internet. These were provided clients, associations, visitors at trade shows, at workshops and seminars, through stationary stores, and the general public. At the suggestion of a client, it was decided to pool together construction forms and information used over the years into a web site. After researching the law as to each state, and tailoring the information and forms, this site came into being in 2001.
Drafting Legal Documents: Slow, time-consuming and expensive. Now imagine transporting this archaic system through the time tunnel provided by new information technology. Imagine drafting a legal document automatically, from start to finish, simply by answering some questions in electronic format. No longer having to take valuable time from your day, fighting traffic, waiting on the mail, meeting multiple times with your attorney, and paying expensive fees. The philosophy of NationalLienLaw.com is to change all of this and deliver thoroughly-professional and easily-prepared documents directly to the construction professional in the privacy of their home or office.
This means the user will no longer be subjected to worthless and sometimes legally-dangerous forms prepared by non-lawyers, outdated stationery store forms put on disc, or having to spend hours reading through “How To” books. This is because most of the contingencies and variables have already been built into these forms, allowing their automatic formatting by answering a short series of questions. We hope you enjoy, and benefit, by this novel concept.
Sue Malone, the owner of this website, purchased all forms, law summaries, time deadlines, and know-how from the construction attorney described above. Committed to providing only professional advice, Sue has a staff consisting solely of persons with the construction experience and a minimum of a law degree from an accredited law school. All forms and law summaries are researched periodically to be up to date as to new laws.
Many self-help and legal forms companies have products that are prepared with the idea you need not seek the advice of an attorney. The assumption is that an attorney is not required to give advice or interpretation in the use of such forms.
NationalLienLaw takes a different approach and does not necessarily agree with this assumption. It is true, in many cases, an attorney is not necessary in filling-out and serving/filing construction forms. But there are cases in which an attorney is vital in giving you individual advice to your specific situation and the use of such forms.
NationalLienLaw, since it does not practice law, actually encourages you to consult with an attorney. We are all too happy to give whatever advice we have available, but this is not the same as legal advice from a licensed attorney. Feel free to bring our forms to an attorney as he or she reviews your case. If the attorney wishes to make custom changes, we can e-mail the form in Word format.
Good Luck.