Legal Information vs. Legal Advice — What I Can and Cannot Do
People often ask me questions involving insurance laws, contracts, HOA governing documents, taxes, medical care, appeals, and government rules.
I am a licensed California insurance agent. I can give insurance information and insurance advice within my licensed role. I am not acting as an attorney, tax professional, or medical professional.
I can:
- Explain insurance coverage, benefits, exclusions, enrollment rules, and administrative procedures.
- Help locate policy provisions, government publications, statutes, forms, and official instructions.
- Help organize insurance documents, correspondence, and a factual timeline.
- Explain where an insurance grievance, appeal, or request for review should be submitted.
- Identify questions that may require an attorney, tax professional, or medical professional.
I cannot:
- Interpret the law for your particular dispute.
- Decide who is legally responsible.
- Tell you whether a contract, lease, HOA rule, settlement, or government decision is legally enforceable.
- Recommend a legal, tax, or medical strategy.
- Predict what a court, government agency, or opposing party will decide.
California law states that no person may practice law in California unless the person is an active licensee of the State Bar. California court materials also distinguish between providing general legal information and advising someone what to do in a particular legal situation.
Sources and further reading:
California Business and Professions Code §6125 ·
Unlawful Practice of Law, §§6125–6133 ·
California Courts — Legal Advice vs. Legal Information ·
Steve Shorr Insurance Visitor Agreement and Disclaimer
Legal Information Is Not the Same as Legal Advice
General legal information explains what a law, publication, form, or procedure says without deciding how the law applies to one person’s dispute.
Examples include:
- Showing someone where a statute, regulation, court publication, or government instruction can be found.
- Providing a blank form or explaining where the form is filed.
- Explaining an agency’s published procedure.
- Pointing out what documents an insurance company or government office is requesting.
- Helping someone locate an attorney or government office.
For example:
“Here is the insurance company’s appeal form, and here is the section of your Evidence of Coverage that describes the appeal procedure.”
Individual legal advice applies legal judgment to a particular person’s facts and recommends a course of action.
Examples include:
- “Your HOA is legally responsible for this repair.”
- “The property manager violated the Davis-Stirling Act.”
- “This contract provision is unenforceable.”
- “You should withhold payment.”
- “You should use this particular legal claim, defense, form, or strategy.”
- “Accept—or reject—this settlement.”
- “You will probably win if the matter goes to court.”
The dividing line is not always obvious. California cases describe the practice of law broadly enough to include legal advice and legal services outside a courtroom. When a question requires applying law to specific facts, a qualified attorney should answer it.
Sources and further reading:
California Courts — “May I Help You?” PDF ·
Mickel v. Murphy ·
Birbrower v. Superior Court ·
FindLaw — What Is Legal Advice? ·
Shouse Law — Unauthorized Practice of Law
What I Can Do as Your Insurance Agent
A complicated insurance problem does not automatically mean that I must stop helping. I can continue helping with insurance information and insurance administration within my licensed role.
I can help you:
- Review the benefits and exclusions stated in a policy, Evidence of Coverage, Summary of Benefits, or insurance-company notice.
- Review an Explanation of Benefits, denial notice, cancellation notice, or request for additional information.
- Locate the plan’s grievance, appeal, prior-authorization, Independent Medical Review, or external-review procedures.
- Identify the insurer, regulator, government department, or appeal office named in the documents.
- Help assemble relevant insurance records and create a factual timeline.
- Ask the insurance company to explain its decision or identify the policy provision it relied upon.
- Explain which part of the problem concerns insurance administration and which part may require legal, tax, or medical advice.
I cannot give a legal opinion about breach of contract, insurance bad faith, damages, liability, litigation deadlines, or the likelihood of winning a lawsuit. I also cannot replace the medical judgment of the treating professional in a medical-necessity dispute.
Related Steve Shorr Insurance pages:
Appeals, Grievances, Cancellations and Insurance Denials ·
Independent Medical Review ·
Prior Authorization ·
Medi-Cal Contact Information ·
Visitor Agreement and Disclaimer
When I Have to Say, “You Need an Attorney”
An attorney may be needed when someone is asking me to:
- Decide what a statute, regulation, or court decision means for that person’s particular circumstances.
- Determine another person’s legal duties, liability, or responsibility.
- Interpret a lease, contract, HOA governing document, settlement, release, or waiver.
- Draft language that changes someone’s legal rights or obligations.
- Negotiate disputed legal rights on another person’s behalf.
- Recommend whether to sue, threaten legal action, withhold money, sign an agreement, or accept a settlement.
- Calculate a legal filing deadline or decide whether an exception applies.
- Select a legal claim, defense, remedy, form, or strategy.
- Predict what a judge, arbitrator, regulator, or opposing party will decide.
A useful response is:
“I can help you locate the applicable information and organize your insurance documents, but I cannot give you a legal opinion about what you should do.”
California Business and Professions Code §6125 is short and direct: no person may practice law in California unless the person is an active State Bar licensee. California decisions explain that the practice of law is not limited to appearing in court.
Sources and further reading:
California Business and Professions Code §6125 ·
California Business and Professions Code §§6125–6133 ·
Birbrower v. Superior Court ·
Mickel v. Murphy
HOA Boards, Property Managers, Contractors and Legal Opinions
Experience is valuable, but experience is not the same as legal authority.
A property manager may have substantial experience administering associations. A manager can report facts, obtain bids, coordinate repairs, communicate board decisions, and perform routine management duties.
A plumber, contractor, engineer, or other professional can inspect the property and report:
- What was observed.
- Where a blockage, leak, or failure appears to be located.
- What work may be necessary.
- Whether the condition appears to involve a common component or a component serving only one unit.
Those factual and technical conclusions are important. A different question is whether California law, the CC&Rs, another governing document, or a contract makes the owner or association legally responsible. That may require interpretation by the association’s attorney.
HOA attorneys Adams Stirling explain that managers can recognize legal problems and warn boards about risk, but managers should not interpret statutes or governing documents, give opinions about rights and liabilities, or advise boards on disputed repairs, contracts, and settlements as though they were legal counsel.
Useful wording for an HOA discussion:
“The contractor and property manager can report what they observed and what work may be necessary. Whether the governing documents or California law make an owner or the HOA legally responsible is a separate question. Before making that determination, the board should identify the applicable governing-document provision or obtain an opinion from HOA counsel.”
That wording does not accuse anyone of unlawfully practicing law. It separates the factual finding, the management recommendation, and the legal determination.
Sources and further reading:
Adams Stirling — Managers Practicing Law ·
Adams Stirling — HOA Managing Agents ·
Adams Stirling — Common Area Maintenance ·
Adams Stirling — Contract Formation, Inspection and Breach
HOA Boards and Reasonable Reliance on Professionals
California Corporations Code §7231 generally requires a director of a nonprofit mutual-benefit corporation to perform board duties:
- In good faith;
- In a manner the director believes is in the corporation’s best interests; and
- With the care, including reasonable inquiry, that an ordinarily prudent person in a similar position would use.
The statute also allows a director, when the statutory conditions are satisfied, to rely on information, opinions, reports, or statements from officers, employees, counsel, accountants, and other people whose professional or expert competence the director reasonably believes covers the subject involved.
The practical point is not that an HOA board must consult an attorney about every routine matter. The board should recognize when an ordinary management or maintenance question has become a disputed legal question.
Examples include:
- Conflicting interpretations of the CC&Rs.
- Disputed repair or reimbursement responsibility.
- Threatened litigation.
- Proposed settlement language.
- Contracts that materially affect legal rights and obligations.
- A disputed interpretation of the Davis-Stirling Act or another statute.
Sources and further reading:
California Corporations Code §7231 ·
Adams Stirling — Business Judgment Rule and Volunteer Protection ·
Adams Stirling — Fiduciary Duties of HOA Directors
Legal Document Assistants Cannot Give Legal Advice Either
A legal document assistant may provide certain authorized document-preparation services, but that does not make the person an attorney.
California Business and Professions Code §6411 prohibits a legal document assistant or unlawful-detainer assistant from engaging in unauthorized practice of law. The statute specifically addresses advice, explanations, opinions, or recommendations about possible legal rights, remedies, defenses, options, selection of forms, or strategies.
Therefore, permission to type, prepare, or file documents does not necessarily permit someone to:
- Choose a legal strategy for the customer.
- Interpret the customer’s legal rights.
- Recommend which claim or defense should be used.
- Select the form that best protects the customer’s legal position.
- Predict the outcome of a case.
Official source:
California Business and Professions Code §6411
Tax Information Is Not Individual Tax Advice
Insurance questions frequently overlap with taxes, including:
- Premium tax credits.
- Form 1095-A and Form 8962.
- Employer-paid health insurance.
- Health insurance deductions.
- Medicare premiums.
- Information reported by an insurer, employer, marketplace, or government agency.
I can explain the insurance-related information and provide links to IRS forms, publications, and instructions.
I cannot determine:
- Whether a particular expense is deductible.
- Which filing position you should take.
- How you should report a disputed item.
- Whether you qualify for a credit or deduction after considering your entire tax return.
- Your final tax liability.
- How to handle an audit, collection dispute, or tax appeal.
For individualized tax advice, consult a qualified tax professional. The IRS explains that tax preparers have different credentials and representation rights. The IRS also provides a directory of preparers with recognized credentials and select qualifications.
Official IRS sources:
IRS — Choosing a Tax Professional ·
IRS — Tax Preparer Credentials and Qualifications ·
IRS Topic 254 — How to Choose a Tax Return Preparer
Medical Coverage Information Is Not Medical Advice
I can help explain:
- Whether a service is listed as a covered benefit.
- Copayments, deductibles, coinsurance, and network rules.
- Prior-authorization requirements.
- How to submit a grievance, appeal, or Independent Medical Review request.
- What records or information the insurer is requesting from a treating professional.
- Where the policy discusses medical necessity.
I cannot:
- Diagnose symptoms or medical conditions.
- Recommend a medication, treatment, test, or procedure.
- Tell someone to begin or discontinue medical treatment.
- Replace the opinion of a treating medical professional.
- Personally determine whether a treatment is medically appropriate.
California law restricts unlicensed persons from diagnosing, treating, operating, or prescribing for physical or mental conditions. In a medical-necessity appeal, I can explain the insurance procedure and help identify what the insurer is requesting. The treating professional ordinarily supplies the medical reasoning and supporting clinical records.
A simple division is:
- What does my insurance policy cover?
- Ask the health plan or insurance agent.
- What medical care do I need?
- Ask a qualified medical professional.
- Were my legal rights violated?
- Ask an attorney.
Sources and related pages:
California Business and Professions Code §2052 ·
Steve Shorr Insurance — Appeals and Grievances ·
Independent Medical Review ·
Prior Authorization
Find an Attorney
Start with a State Bar-certified lawyer referral service.
The State Bar of California explains that a certified lawyer referral service can help determine whether a problem may be resolved without a lawyer. When a referral is made, the participating lawyer must be in good standing with the State Bar and carry professional-liability insurance. The initial consultation is offered for a reduced fee or no fee, and the person receiving the referral is not required to hire that lawyer.
- State Bar of California — Find a Lawyer Referral Service
- State Bar — Los Angeles Area Lawyer Referral Services
- Lawyer Referral Service of the South Bay Bar Association
- SmartLaw — Los Angeles County Bar Association
- State Bar — Check an Attorney’s License and Disciplinary History
Other directories and referral resources already listed on this page:
- LegalMatch
- FindLaw Lawyer Directory
- American Bar Association — Find Legal Help
- American Bar Association Lawyer Referral Directory
- Attorney Search Network
Directory vs. referral service: A directory generally provides listings. A California lawyer referral service must be certified by the State Bar and meet standards intended to protect the public. Whichever method is used, check the attorney’s current license status, disciplinary history, relevant experience, and fees before hiring the attorney.
These resources are provided as starting points. Listing an attorney, law firm, directory, or referral service does not mean that Steve Shorr Insurance has investigated or endorsed that professional.
Official explanation:
What a Certified Lawyer Referral Service Can Do for You
Social Security Disability and Estate-Planning Resources
Social Security disability resources already listed on this page:
- West Coast Disability
- Sellers Law — Disabled Adult Child Benefits
- Hill & Ponton — Adult Child and Disability Benefits
- Premier Disability
- Cantrell & Green
Estate-planning resources already listed on this page:
- Raymond Green, Esq. — San Pedro listing
- Barbara Craig, Esq.
- Steve Shorr Insurance — Estate Planning Resources
These links are informational and are not personal endorsements. Steve Shorr Insurance has not independently evaluated every attorney or firm listed. Verify licensing, qualifications, experience, fees, and disciplinary history directly before retaining any professional.
The following editorial can remain in the detailed-resources section rather than among the referrals:
Los Angeles Times Editorial — Lawyers and More Affordable Legal Assistance
Reporting Suspected Unauthorized Practice of Law
Disagreeing with someone’s legal opinion does not, by itself, prove that the person unlawfully practiced law. The circumstances, the services offered, the person’s representations, and what the person actually did all matter.
A person who believes an unlicensed individual has offered or provided unauthorized legal services can review the State Bar’s information and decide whether to submit a complaint.
- State Bar — Unauthorized Practice of Law
- State Bar — Unauthorized Practice of Law Complaint
- Online Nonattorney UPL Complaint Form
- State Bar — Recent UPL Violations and Nonattorney Actions
The State Bar reviews complaints alleging unauthorized practice of law and may investigate them. Filing a complaint does not mean that the State Bar has already concluded that a violation occurred.
Official sources:
State Bar — File Complaints and Claims ·
UPL Complaint Information and Forms
Detailed Legal Sources and Background
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California statutes and court materials
- California Business and Professions Code §§6125–6133
- California Business and Professions Code §6411
- California Corporations Code §7231
- California Business and Professions Code §2052
- California Courts — Legal Advice vs. Legal Information Publication Page
- California Courts — “May I Help You?” PDF
- Mickel v. Murphy
- Birbrower v. Superior Court
HOA and management resources
- Adams Stirling — Managers Practicing Law
- Adams Stirling — HOA Managers
- Adams Stirling — Common Area Maintenance
- Adams Stirling — Business Judgment Rule and Volunteer Protection
- Adams Stirling — Contract Formation, Inspection and Breach
- Florida Supreme Court Opinion — Comparative Background
The Florida decision is included as comparative background. It is not California authority. California questions should be evaluated under California statutes and decisions.
Other explanations and historical material already on the page
- FindLaw — What Is Legal Advice?
- Shouse Law — Unauthorized Practice of Law
- Los Angeles County Prosecutors’ Manual — Archived Copy
The prosecutors’ manual is retained as historical background. For current California requirements and complaint procedures, rely first on the California Legislature, California Courts, and State Bar links above.
Dictionary Definitions of “Advise”
This material is best placed in a separate closed Divi Accordion or Toggle module.
The ordinary dictionary meaning of “advise” can include recommending, warning, informing, or consulting. The legal boundary does not depend only upon the everyday word someone uses. It also depends upon the substance of what the person is doing.
General Information and Professional-Advice Disclaimer
This page provides general educational information. It does not create an attorney-client, accountant-client, tax-professional-client, doctor-patient, or other professional relationship.
Steve Shorr Insurance can assist with insurance information, insurance recommendations within the licensed insurance role, enrollment, coverage questions, insurance-company communications, and administrative procedures. Legal questions should be directed to a qualified attorney, individualized tax questions to a qualified tax professional, and medical questions to an appropriately licensed healthcare professional.
Laws, regulations, insurance policies, government procedures, and external webpages may change. Readers should review the linked source, verify that it is current, and obtain individualized professional advice when appropriate.
Links to outside organizations, professionals, directories, articles, or government agencies are provided for informational purposes. Their inclusion does not constitute an endorsement or guarantee of their services or information.
Steve Shorr Insurance policies and related pages:
Visitor Agreement and Disclaimer ·
Privacy Statement ·
Meeting Expectations and Terms of Service ·
Insurance Appeals and Grievances
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