How To Send A Legal Notice
What Is A Legal Notice?
A legal notice is a formal communication to a person or entity informing them that you intend to undertake legal proceedings against him/her. It is a step taken before filing a suit, and is meant to warn the other party that legal action may be taken against him/her, if they fail to comply with some specified condition.
In What Cases Can We Send A Legal Notice?
The most common cases where I have engaged with my clients in sending legal notices is in cases of property disputes, Dishonour of Cheques, family disputes pertaining to asset distributions, husband-wife conflicts (as a warning before taking legal action against the spouse), consumer complaints and cases where salary/wage commitments are not met.
How To Send A Legal Notice/What Is The Process For Sending A Legal Notice?
Many a time, we do not know the legal importance and meaning of the words we normally use in a casual manner. Engaging a qualified lawyer helps while drafting a legal notice.
Extreme care is taken regarding the choice of words and language used, and the measures of caution about not admitting any fact that may later be denied to you in a court of law. Once a legal notice is dispatched, you cannot make any changes in it. Neither can you make any statement contradictory to what you have already stated in the notice, at a later period. The notice is sent on a plain paper or on the letterhead of the lawyer.
Step 1
Connect with a lawyer who has good drafting skills. The notice can be sent in any Indian language, although usually, English is the preferred choice for my clients. The notice should be addressed to the person against whom you have the grievances.
Step 2
In your consulting session with the lawyer, please explain the information in detail – along with the names of parties involved, addresses, dates when commitments were made and not honoured, challenges and issues faced, any previous attempts at dialogue, etc.
Especially in cases of husband-wife disputes, I have observed that a legal notice often brings the spouse for negotiation. In many instances, disputes are resolved via counselling or mutual consent.
Step 3
The lawyer carefully studies the information you have shared, makes the relevant and required notes in the conversation with you, and seeks any additional information, if required.
Step 4
The lawyer then drafts the notice in a legal language – clearly mentioning the reason for sending the notice, all previous communications regarding the cause of notice and to offer the addressee a reasonable time (say 15 or 30 or 60 days to settle the matter through negotiation and by performing the desired action).
Depending on the grievance, usually, the lawyers, on behalf of the client sending the notice, stress on the need for an action to be taken in the stipulated period of time to either fulfill the demand or seek a reply.
Step 5
The notice is duly signed by both the client and the lawyer. It is either sent via registered post or courier, and the acknowledgement is retained. Usually, a copy of the notice is retained by the lawyer.
Step 6