Disclaimer: The information provided on this website is for general educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute formal legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed. Read the full disclaimer
Legal prep · Document checklists · Filing procedure
CaseFilePrep publishes plain-English procedural guides for people assembling their own documents - small claims evidence packets, LLC formation filings, insurance claim files. Every guide is a checklist you can work through in order, built by reading the official rules and instructions and citing every source, so you can check our work.
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: The information provided on this website is for general educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute formal legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed.
Disputes between a small business and its clients rarely turn on complicated law. They turn on scope that was never defined, payment terms nobody agreed, and ownership of work nobody discussed. The clauses that decide those questions, and why the boring ones matter most.
A shopfront name is rarely the legal entity behind it, and a claim against the wrong party can be dismissed however strong the underlying dispute. How to identify the correct defendant, why the entity type changes who is liable, and how service differs when the other side is a company.
When the driver at fault has no insurance, not enough of it, or cannot be identified, the claim is made against your own policy instead. How uninsured and underinsured cover differ, why the relationship with your insurer changes, and what documentation these claims turn on.
Storm damage claims turn on evidence gathered in the first days, much of which is invisible from ground level. What to record before any repair, why wind and hail often carry a separate percentage deductible, how roof settlements are depreciated, and how to handle contractors who arrive uninvited.
Worker classification is decided by the working relationship rather than by what the contract calls it - and by more than one test at once. What the IRS weighs, what the Department of Labor weighs, why state rules can differ again, and what documentation supports the position you have taken.
Filing fees stop a great many valid claims before they start, and the waiver that exists for exactly that situation is widely unknown. Who generally qualifies, which costs a waiver covers beyond the filing fee, how to apply, and why a court can revisit the decision later.
A small claims appeal is frequently a completely new hearing rather than a review of the first decision. Who is allowed to appeal, why the losing claimant often cannot, how an appeal differs from asking for a judgment to be set aside, and what changes when the case is heard again.
Being served with a small claims claim is alarming and time-limited. What the documents actually say, which deadlines matter, how to check whether service was valid, what to prepare, and why ignoring it produces the worst available outcome.
Totalling a car is an economic calculation, not a verdict that it cannot be repaired. How insurers set actual cash value, what the valuation report contains, how to challenge comparables, and why the settlement can fall short of what you still owe.
An LLC formed in one state that transacts business in another usually has to register there too. What generally counts as transacting business, what the registration involves, the penalties for skipping it, and how to withdraw when you stop.
If the party suing you also owes you something from the same dispute, a counterclaim puts both halves in front of the same judge on the same day. The deadlines, the fee, what happens if your claim exceeds the small claims limit, and how it changes the hearing.
Document preparation checklists, evidence organisation and filing logistics for small claims and low-value civil disputes.
18 guides
Entity formation paperwork, registered agent requirements, operating agreements and post-formation compliance filings.
17 guides
What to record after an incident, how to request official reports, and how to keep a claim file an adjuster can actually process.
17 guides
Procedural information is only useful if it is current and honest about its limits. Here is how CaseFilePrep handles both.
We are researchers and writers, not lawyers, and we say so on every guide. No qualification we do not hold is claimed anywhere on this site. Where a question needs a licensed professional, the guide says that plainly instead of guessing.
Every procedural claim is verified against court rules, clerk instructions, statutes and agency publications. Sources are listed at the foot of each guide so you can confirm them.
Each guide carries the date it was first published and the date it was last checked against its sources. Guides are re-checked at least every six months, and sooner when a rule or fee changes.
We explain what the paperwork is and the order it goes in. We do not tell you what to argue, whether to file, or how your case should turn out - that requires a licensed attorney.
Read the full editorial policy or meet the team.