Are my documents worthless in Chile?

Hello all,

I will probably move to Chile at the end of the year so I´m doing a little research about the life in the country. I just came across the information that none of my documents (birthcertificate, school transfers etc.) will be accepted in Chile unless I legalize them somewhere. Is this really true? Do I really need to legalize everything with a lawyer? How much will it cost?

How come that Chile can decide that all my documents are worthless? :-/

Helena