Sometimes our office may ask that you write an “open check” payable to the court or other agency to whom you are paying a filing fee. The reason we ask for an “open check” is that we are not sure of the exact amount the court will want to process your paperwork. In lieu of wasting time having it rejected for the check being a wrong amount, we ask the client to write an “open check” leaving the amount of the check unspecified up to a specific amount.
How to write an Open Check: Since the cost of processing certain legal documents varies depending on number of pages, etc. we ask clients to issue an “open check” to the appropriate agency.
Fill in the Pay to the Order to the court or agency that will be processing the paperwork.
DO NOT fill in the amount on the check.
DO NOT write out the amount on the check.
In the MEMO line of the check put the words “not to exceed $(amount specified by our office)”.
When we send the documents for processing, the agency will then issue the check for the correct amount.
After your documents have been processed, our office will give you a receipt from the court or agency which will show the amount your check was processed for.