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Frequently, patrons ask us if we have official court forms to file for their specific situations. The courts have their own official forms (People’s Law Library lists some of the most frequently used), but more often, people ask for official forms that do not exist.
Fortunately, the library has a wide variety of sample procedure and legal forms that are free to be copied and modified. Procedure forms are for court filings, while those commonly called “legal forms,” most of which are not standardized, are used for all other legal affairs, such as wills, leases, and contracts.
Non-standardized procedure forms can include very general templates, such as blank petitions and blank motions; they can also be more specific (but still general enough to copy), such as motions for summary judgments and counterclaims for bringing in a new party.
Form books and form sets are good sources for all kinds of sample forms and templates. Some are available online through Westlaw or Lexis, others are exclusively in print, available here inside the library. When there is no sample form specific enough to cover a situation, they can be modified.
Form Books and Individual Samples
In addition to forms from Westlaw and Lexis, the Library has a variety of form books in print and has made available additional sample procedure forms for Maryland courts. Below, I have listed them by jurisdiction and subject area, and have also included the Library’s recommended form sets from Lexis and Westlaw.
Maryland
Practice and Procedure Sample Forms
- Maryland practice forms (MSBA)
Call Number: KFM1738.A65 M3 2009
Also on Lexis and Westlaw - Maryland civil procedure forms: Maryland practice series (George W. Liebmann)
Call Number: KFM1730.A65 L5
Also on Westlaw - Forms from Maryland civil procedure forms (Robert Dale Klein)
Call Number: KFM1730.A65 K64 2000
Also on Lexis - Practice manual for the Maryland lawyer
Call Number: KFM1730.A65 P7 2019
Also on Lexis and Westlaw - Maryland litigation forms and analysis /by Gary I. Strausberg, general editor
Call Number: KFM1730.A65 M372 1998
Also on Westlaw
Family Law Sample Forms
- Maryland family law form finder
On Westlaw - Maryland divorce and separation law / editors, John J. Condliffe, Esq. & Debra B. Cruz, Esq.
See “Marital Settlement Agreements” chapter for sample agreement.
Call Number: RES KFM1300.M37 2019
Also on Lexis and Westlaw - Maryland domestic relations forms: with practice commentary / Ann M. Turnbull, Joseph J. Wase
Call Number: RES KFM1294.A65 T8
Also on Lexis - Forms from Maryland domestic relations forms
On Lexis - Premarital and domestic partnership agreements (MSBA)
On Lexis and Westlaw - Maryland family and juvenile law : practice manual and forms
Call Number: RES KFM1294.R44 2001 - Marital settlement agreement – form / Thomas C. Ries, Richard B. Jacobs
Call Number: KFM1300.M34 2009 - Maryland family law forms / [Constance K. Putzel, Shelley L. Rothschild … et al.]
Call Number: KFM1294.M37 2011 - A practice guide to family law
Call Number: RES KFM1294.P88 1999 - Collection of family law forms. Sample forms on this page include several types of answer templates, consent forms, interrogatories, and motions. There are also links to official court forms.
Real Estate
- Forms from Maryland real estate forms
On Lexis - Maryland real estate forms: practice / Russell R. Reno, Jr., Wilbur E. (Pete) Simmons, Jr., Kevin L. Shepherd ; contributing editor, Michael S. Kosmas
Call Number: RES KFM1326.A65 R46 2005
Also on Lexis - Maryland real estate leasing forms: practice.
Call Number: KFM1317.A65 A37 1988
Estates, Wills, and Trusts
- Maryland estate planning, will drafting, and estate administration forms: practice
Call Number: KFM1340.A65 B37 1995
Also on Lexis - Probate forms in Maryland : annotated, including pleading, guardian and ward, actions at law and in equity relating to administration and forms of wills / by Philip L. Sykes
Call Number: KFM1344.A65 S9 - Contest of wills in Maryland with complete forms / by Philip L. Sykes
Call Number: KFM1344.5 .C6 S9 - Maryland estate planning, wills and trusts library : forms and practice manual
Call Number: KFM1340.A65 G88 1998 - Maryland estate planning form finder
On Westlaw
Business and Commercial
- Maryland corporation law and practice : with forms / by Herbert M. Brune
Call Number: KFM1413.B7 1953 - Maryland limited liability company forms and practice manual
Call Number: KFM1407.5 .A65 M37 1999 - Maryland secured transactions under revised article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code : forms and practice manual
Call Number: KFM1375.W58 2000
Criminal
- Maryland criminal procedure forms and analysis
Call Number: KFM1775.A65 S653
Employment
- Maryland employment law : forms and practice manual / Carla N. Murphy, editor ; Sharon A. Snyder, editor
Call Number: KFM1534.M87
Intellectual Property
- Maryland intellectual property and technology transactions : forms and practice manual / William S. Galkin
Call Number: KFM1530.G35 2008
Technology
- Maryland technology transactions: the Venable practice and forms manual
Call Number: KFM1530.M37 2002
Practice of Law
- Legal representation and fee agreements for the Maryland Lawyer: forms and comments Call Number: KFM1277.5 .F4 B36 2009 Also on Lexis and Westlaw
Federal Titles
On Lexis and Westlaw
- Nichols cyclopedia of federal procedure forms
On Westlaw - Federal procedural forms
On Westlaw - Bender’s federal practice forms
On Lexis
Non-Jurisdictional
Print Titles
- Family law arbitration : practice, procedure, and forms / Carolyn Moran Zack
Call Number: KF505.5 .Z33 2020 - Forms, checklists, and procedures for the family lawyer / Mark A. Chinn
Call Number: KF505.C478 2021 - The law of crimes and criminal procedure, including forms and precedents
Call Number: KF9219.H6 1904
On Westlaw
- American jurisprudence pleading & practice forms annotated
- American jurisprudence legal forms 2d
- Lane’s Goldstein litigation forms
- Fletcher corporation forms annotated
- McGaffey legal forms with tax analysis / Jere D. McGaffey
- Handbook of Personal Injury Forms and Litigation Materials
On Lexis
- Rabkin & Johnson current legal forms with tax analysis / Jacob Rabkin and Mark H. Johnson ; revision author, Volume 1, Stephen E. Pigott
- Murphy’s will clauses : annotations and forms with tax effects / Joseph H. Murphy, assisted by Beverly Massy Stowell Rounds, updates by John H. Skarbnik
- Page on the law of wills : including probate, will contests, evidence, taxation, conflicts, estate planning, forms, and statutes relating to wills
- Bender’s forms of discovery interrogatories
Finding forms using Westlaw
Westlaw’s Form Finder is a convenient way to search for samples. To get there from the main screen, click on “Forms” in the “All Content” tab (Figure 1).
Once you are on the “Form Finder” screen, you can choose to search for forms by state, by topic (Figure 2), or by publication name.
Once in the search screen, fill in the search fields and press enter.
Some forms, like those in American Jurisprudence Pleading & Practice Forms Annotated, link to captions (Figure 3). A caption is a header in which you would fill in information about the court, the plaintiff, and the defendant if applicable (Figure 4).
Finding forms using Lexis
From Lexis’s main screen, click “Sample Forms” under the “Content” tab (Figure 5), which will send you to the Sample Forms page. There, you can choose to search by state or practice area (Figure 6). On the next screen, you can search all forms under the heading you chose or add the second state or practice area filter to make your search more precise. More precise is not always better, however, because you could filter out relevant results.
Unfortunately, there is no federal option listed with all the state options on the sample forms page.
To search for sample forms for federal courts, on the home screen click on “Federal” under “Explore Content,” then click on “All Federal” in the second section (Figure 7) (Be careful not to click “All Federal Cases”).
On the “All Federal” page, you can then scroll down to “Forms” and click “All Federal Forms” (Figure 8)
There you can choose to search all the federal form books or search an individual title (Figure 9).
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