One of the things that differentiate our document preparation services from online companies is the fact that our customers deal with professionals who has been working in the legal field for years. That’s what prompted us to start a series of blogs about the people behind the locations of The Document People.
We start the series with The Document People in Santa Monica and its proud owner Petra Castillo.
The store was opened back in 1996 as part of the old We The People Santa Monica franchise. Bob Cotto was the original owner, and Petra, after a brief stint in the Woodland Hills location, started working there in early 2006 as an employee.
When Bob retired, she offered to purchase the store from him, and started operating the location in 2007. Those were the days when, after filling out our questionnaires, documents were prepared by the We the People processing center. As convenient as the process was for the staff of We the People Santa Monica, Petra started realizing that in today’s world, efficiency and speed are a fact of life, and waiting 48 hours for a simple power of attorney was no longer feasible.
Along with Paolo Rubino from We the People Woodland Hills, Petra founded The Document People in March of 2009, allowing both stores to modernize the preparation and delivery of legal documents. More services became available that were no longer offered by the franchise (evictions, homesteads, irrevocable trust, etc.), others were offered at the same price but through an attorney (living trusts, amendments), allowing The Document People to truly take it up a notch or two when it comes to estate planning in Santa Monica.
Petra has a knack for helping elderly citizens with their estate planning and distribution of their estate; she has successfully completed out of State probates, she is bilingual (Spanish), and a graduate of Northridge College.
In her spare time she cherishes the company of her mom, in the family restaurant, and enjoys her newest toy, her electric bicycle.
The Document People is a network of legal document assistants who share a common purpose: helping customers with legal documents. Whether opening a business in Los Angeles, drafting a Living Trust in Santa Monica, or starting an uncontested divorce on the Westside, Petra and The Document People-We the People Santa Monica is the go to place.
The information contained in this blog – including information of a legal nature – is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter.
