Guideway Legal Document & Mediation Services - Oakland, California

Juniper Moon

We needed help with probate matters, so I suggested to my family that we use Ian. I had used Ian before for basic document preparation for my work, so I thought he would be perfect.

PROS
-extremely professional, helpful, patient, nice and knowledgeable
-Ian and his staff were easy to work with and resourceful
-we felt comfortable and less stress with Ian's help
-he's him HONEST & trustworthy

Can't recommend Ian enough. Will definitely go back here when we need any other document prep assistance.

Rebecca W.

Needed to get a document notarized. I was in and out in less than 15 minutes. Price very reasonable.The young man I worked with was professional, kind, and detail-oriented. He even noticed something about my document that was a bit off, so he was able to make a suggestion to add an addendum to stay in compliance with CA rules. The office is also super nice, more beautiful, modern and welcoming than the previous location.

J P

I used Ian and his services years ago to set up our initial indiv trusts and wills for a domestic partnership. After several years it was time to make some updates. I was pleased to discover that Ian is still around though under a different business name. Once again, professional, thorough, efficient, and affordable. Thank You!

Sarah Sayles

I had been struggling to file my divorce papers for many years. evey time I tried to file something it would get rejected. Kyrie and Ian did an amazing job maintaining communication and always addressing my questions so promptly. The years it took me to try and do this only took them a few months. I'm so grateful and recommend that you seek their help with your legal matter.

guillermo jimenez

Great Company!
Protecr your Family Assets with an easy and inexpensive (when compared to RE Lawyer) LIVING TRUST.

Very professional and punctual communication.

I'm an Insurance Agent and highly recommend GIDEWAY to my clients.

Nicholas Bylsma

I am very happy with the document preparation and with Ian's service. I had a difficult divorce with a lot of questions and we had the best service from Ian. This was a long hard slog but Ian helped at every corner to handle the paperwork and questions we had until we finally made it through and got everything filed.

Jeffrey Silverman

Super easy to work with, very clear communication, and super efficient for getting the paperwork done, getting a notary signing appointment booked, and getting things signed. Would definitely recommend them for any official document prep and signing!!

Lloyd Lewis

I had a terrible experience today with my mom at California Document Preparers in Oakland and felt it important to let the public know about their inappropriate and racist business practices and behavior. We were referred to them by our realtor who did a refinance on my moms house last year. The realtor suggested during the refinance that I be added onto the deed of the house and my mom agreed. She explained in detail the pros and cons of adding me onto the deed. Most importantly, to protect her asset and legacy. Also since I am my moms only heir. She recommended we wait a few months after the refinance to add my name onto the deed as an owner to save a substantial amount of money. So we did just that. Last week, I contacted California Document Preparers and spoke to someone who seemed knowledgeable over the phone and explained in detail what service we were looking for and that we were referred to them. They assured me we had found the correct place and were capable of helping us. We set up an appointment time for today and I picked my mom up who is retired and disabled from her home in Berkeley and we drove to Oakland. Upon arrival, the first person we see who turned out to be the person we had the appointment with greeted us with a nice smile. I believe his name is Francis. He was very nice and was a person of color. Not that his race mattered at all. My adopted mom who is white and myself being a half Native American and half black man proceeded to sit down. I informed the person we met with why we were there. Most importantly, I wanted my mom to feel confident she was making the right decision. As our conversation continued on a positive path we were rudely interrupted by Ian. A white middle aged man. Ian not only violated our privacy as we spoke with the representative helping us but proceeded to inject himself into our conversation in the most unprofessional way. As we sat at one desk, he yelled over from his desk to talk to us. He never introduced himself to us, or said can I also be of assistance, none of that. His behavior and unprofessionalism caused my mom and I to be immediately taken back. He began to twist my words around as if the information my mom had received from the realtor was incorrect. He then proceeded to try to sell us on my mom getting a living trust which my mom and I both agree that is something she wants to do down the line. But for today, our goal was just to add my name onto the deed to protect her asset. That's it. Pretty simple right. Ian not only violated our privacy, he tried to upsell us on other services and tried to embarrass me in front of my mom after I had done my homework to make sure I was advising my mom with correct and proper information. Where I feel Ian is a racist is because I saw him look at my mom who is a white woman and myself...a bi-racial black man and I believe he racially profiled us from the time we walked into the office. His aggressiveness towards us became clear right away and his goal was to shut down the transaction we were there to do. We all know seniors get taken advantage of but I am not that person. I could understand if he felt the need to protect my mom but this is not the case. He is a racist. When I asked to speak to the manager because I wanted to report his inappropriate and racist behavior he informed me he was the owner. At that point I knew it was time for us to leave immediately as any business with Ian as it's leader is a business we did not want to work with at all. In conclusion, Ian who is the founder of the Oakland office for California Document Preparers is not making a positive impact on our community, he's unprofessional, not knowledgeable and displayed an evident lack of respect for us as customers. He failed to introduce himself, belittled his employee who was doing a great job and totally turned off good people who would have supported his business. PLEASE DO NOT SUPPORT THIS BUSINESS IN OAKLAND.