How To Send a Legal Notice Without a Lawyer – [Explained]

A person or an entity might need to pursue legal action against some other person or group on numerous occasions. Check bounces, Consumer complaints, property disputes, divorce, foreclosure, and other situations are only a few examples. It is critical, however, that you notify the other party that formal action will be taken against them. You serve a legal notice to an individual or an entity for this purpose.

What is a legal notice? 

A legal notice is an officially written statement sent by an individual or entity in response to a complaint. It is issued as a reminder to the recipient that the person who is issuing the notice has specific issues that are not being appropriately addressed by the recipient, despite the fact that the recipient has been given ample time to rectify the matter. it is like a formal warning to the recipient that the sender is ready to take civil action, and it is the recipient’s last chance to appropriately handle the matter at hand.

You may find yourself in a scenario where you are unsure how to proceed with legal proceedings to settle your issue. The filing of a legal notice signals the beginning of a new step in your court fight. As a consequence, it has a range of implications:

• By serving legal notice, the sender might indicate that he or she expects to file lawsuits to settle the dispute, to which the other party might respond immediately to prevent judicial action.
• An individual can possibly express his issue in a formal notice with the assistance of a lawyer.
• The recipient of the formal notice, that is, the opposing party, is provided the chance to settle a dispute amicably.
• It acts as a reminder to the receiver of the formal notice of the acts that have brought the sender problems, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

In most civil proceedings, a Formal Notice is issued. In criminal instances, there is no need to file a legal notice since the state takes proper action against the person who committed the crime because the state is the highest authority. If you want to launch a civil complaint against the government, you must first issue a legal notice on the govt, and only then can you bring a civil lawsuit against the govt.

Section 80 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, allows one to file a formal notice to a public officer or the govt.  if they decide to take court action against them for whatever act alleged to have been committed by the public officer while on work for a period of 2 months. The notice’s goal is to provide the public officer or the Secretary of State an opportunity to reconsider his legal situation and provide some reimbursement without going through the courts.

When should a legal notice be sent?

A Legal Notice is submitted in Civil Cases, as previously indicated. In criminal matters, warrants are issued by the state in the event of a criminal offense. Legal Notice can be filed in the following circumstances:

Consumer complaint issues: Notices in Consumer Claims are issued in situations where consumers are giving complaints about defective items, services, or advertisements that are misleading or false to the public at large.

Property disputes: Property disputes account for the majority of lawsuits.  The most frequent sort of litigations in courts is land disputes. Land disputes account for 25% of all cases handled by the Federal Courts, with 30% of those involving a purchase; and polling suggests that 66 percent of all civil lawsuits in India are related to land or property conflicts. The following are some of the most typical property issues for which complaints can be sent: 

• Issues of separation of family members 
• The builder’s failure to provide ownership of the property.
• Eviction of the tenants

Complaint against the Employer: Employees of a company have the power to put notice to their managers in cases like: 

• Unfair dismissal.
• Sexual assault
• Misuse of power
• Non-Payment of Salary

Employee Complaints: Employers, as employees, have the ability to render notice to employees in situations such as these: 

• Any infringement of the company’s strategies
• Violation of the terms of service of the employment contract
• Sexual assault complaint

Personal Conflicts: Personal conflicts can also be brought to the attention of the court by filing a legal notice. Disputes between couples are common including: 

• Divorce
• Maintaining of the Child’s Custody
• Procreative Rights Restitution
• Prenup Arrangement Violations

Check bounces: When a check bounces, a notice can be submitted to the originator of the check. Court action against the originator of the check might be pursued according to Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.

Sending legal notice without a lawyer 

It is not crucial to appoint a lawyer to create a legal notice. There are a few legal technicalities that only a legal specialist can comprehend and apply. To correctly explain the defendant’s complaints to the opposing party, drafting a formal notice necessitates the precise formulation of words and precision in legal principles. Once the claimant has sent the formal notice, they are unable to retract their claim or make any claim that is in any way opposed to the formal notice. As a result, one ought to seek a lawyer to guarantee that the documentation is free of errors.

To put it another way, after a legal notice has been issued, you cannot change the substance of the formal notice in court. And, since you’re not a lawyer, you are unaware of the legal strategies your lawyer intends to employ in crafting your notifications in order to improve your argument. So, if you want to start legal processes or if you think a legal case will be needed in the future, it is advisable to employ a legal specialist because ignorance often can harm your argument.

There have been numerous instances where clients have written letters in the form of notifications and petitions and stated facts that harmed the argument; even some law school students who perceive themselves to be knowledgeable about law commit errors that damage the lawsuit. Such blunders are sometimes unavoidable. Legal notice can sometimes be required by law, such as the Negotiable Instruments Act or even other banks’ recovery-related legislation, but in most criminal matters, legal notice is not required.

The following steps are followed of filing legal notice without the assistance of a lawyer:

• You should write the notice yourself. It necessitates excellent drafting abilities. The notice can be sent in any language, though English is frequently the preferred option for clients.
• Another key aspect is drafting the notice– Several more times, we are unaware of the legal significance and meaning of ordinary words that we use in a casual way — So, when attempting to write down the legal notice, you must be incredibly cautious about every word that you use, and be conscious about not confessing any fact that you might later want to refuse in a criminal court, as once the legal notice is sent out, you are unable to make any changes, and you also can’t give any information that contradicts what you have already expressed in that legal notice.
• The notice should be sent to the person with whom you have a dispute.
• Give the reason for your decision to submit the notice. Include the names of the parties involved, their residences, and the dates when promises were made but never kept. Describe the difficulties and issues that have arisen, as well as any previous attempts at discussion. Mention any earlier communications about the reason for the notice.
• The notice is officially signed by the Sender and is often sent via Certified A.D. or couriers, with the acknowledgment receipt kept securely. There is no set process for delivering a legal notification. The notification can also be sent to the opposing party in person if the opposing party agrees to accept it and sign a receipt confirmation.
• Using the complaint as a basis, legal experts representing the client frequently emphasize the importance of filing suit within the timespan allotted to either satisfy the request or seek a response. Allow the recipient a fair amount of time, such as 30 or 60 days, to resolve the issue by discussing and taking specific actions.

Though it is not always required to serve legal notice prior to the filing of a lawsuit, it is nevertheless a significant document in the process of any legal procedure since in most situations, actual disagreements or difficulties can be handled without having to go to court by simply providing the legal notice.

The effectiveness of a legal notice is also determined by a sender’s drafting qualities, namely how he or she presents the entire issues and statements to the recipient. It would be hard for most of the claimants to ensure the effectiveness of the legal notice without the assistance of a specialist or an expert lawyer.