Q: Is it legal to draw up your own forms for Garnishing wages and use the Missouri Seal like the original form?
Hi, I live in Missouri and have a rental business. Every month I have to go through 1-4 evictions. Most judgments I get are never paid. This is an ongoing issue. To make things easier, I have created a spreadsheet that fills out forms for Rent and Possession, Unlawful Detainers and Garnishment forms with a click of a button. The forms look just like the forms the court use. The question is, are these forms legal and if so, is it legal for me to use the Missouri Seal at the top left? I added it bc I wanted it to look just like the original forms.
A:
Rent and Possession petitions and Unlawful Detainer petitions need not be filed using the forms made available by the Missouri judiciary or your local circuit court. I am not certain but believe that the garnishment forms on the available at https://www.courts.mo.gov/page.jsp?id=103116 and your local court are likely required to be used as is and not tweaked by you. You could call the clerk's office at your court and ask.
As to the Missouri seal, as an attorney I certainly wouldn't use it in order to trick someone into believing the form was court-issued.
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