Ready to join a legal plan now? Below are the fundamental elements of legal plans and I hope you will find this differentiation helpful. If you need more detailed information Please Contact Us Below.
1.What is a Legal Plan?
2.Why are Legal Plans Needed?
3.Types of Legal Plans
4.How are Lawyers Involved?
What is a Legal Plan? - Legal plans come in many aspects and degrees. A "prepayable legal plan" is any type of provision in which a participator prepays or the employer pays on behalf of employees for legal services members may demand in the future. In many respects, a prepaid legal plan is similar to a medical benefit plan,Life Insurance plan,Auto Insurance Plan, or Home Owners plan but unlike these plans you want to utilize your legal plan as much as possible : A customer pays certain amount each year or month in return for certain service benefits to be used as needed.
A "group legal plan" may have a prefunded feature, such as those offered by employers as an enrollment choice and funded via a payroll deduction, but may also be similar to a group reduce cost procure attorney services. Group legal plan benefits - usually available without charge to participants of an association, union, coop, or other group - feature free telephone legal advice plus fee reduce costs from a collegial lawyer for other services.
Almost every legal plan provides legal advice and consultation by telephone as a basic service and may also include brief office advice, review of simple legal documents, preparation of a simple will, and short letters written or phone calls made by a lawyer. Other plans offer more comprehensive coverage for trials, marital problems, bankruptcy, real estate matters and the like. In addition to the member, most plans include or offer coverage for his or her spouse and dependent children.
Why are legal Plans Needed? - Many people could use legal help but do not seek lawyer advices. According to a survey conducted , seven in ten U.S. households (71%) report experiencing some situation in a twelve month period that might have led them to hire an attorney. The study indicated that for the consumer, legal services are among the most complicated services to buy. When it comes to hiring an attorney, users feel unsure about how to tell a skilled lawyer from a bad one. It is often unclear exactly what the lawyer will do for them and how much the attorney will charge. So, over half of those who might need a lawyer say they do not plan on hiring one.
A legal plan lets a client talk to a lawyer whenever the member thinks he or she might have a problem, without fear of the cost. With the proper legal advice most problems can be avoided or quickly resolved. And if further services, such as representation in court, are needed, a legal plan may help a member find the right lawyer, pay all or part of the legal bills or actually provide an attorney to handle the case at no cost to the member. By putting legal advice as near as the telephone, legal plans enable their participants to prevent legal questions from becoming legal problems. Sixty-five to eighty-five percent of all problems brought to attorneys through plans can be resolved through nothing more than advice and a small amount of follow-up.
In addition, having an attorney readily available gives people peace of mind. legal plans can also save participants money in complex legal matters. Even where a plan doesn't pay an attorney's entire bill, the member usually benefits from discount rates that plans can negotiate with panel lawyers. Finally, sponsoring a legal plan can benefit employers since employees with legal problems are more reliable and productive when legal help is available and a plan may help the employer attract and keep quality employees.
In summary, legal plans:
(1) Provide easy access to a lawyer, especially for preventive services, with no worry about high hourly fees;
(2) Make payment of attorney's fees easier, if not painless, depending on the plan benefits;
(3) Make the cost more certain because of published fee schedules;
(4) Provide customer service so that plan members can have their questions answered about the plan, its coverage, or their relationship with plan attorneys.
Types of Legal Plans - The Group Legal Plan - In its simplest form, a group plan is an agreement whereby members of a group are referred to an attorney or law firm collegial in the plan. The plan lawyer may provide free or low-cost advice and council, by telephone or in the office, to the group member. If service above advice is needed, the plan attorney is contracted to provide additional services according to a special plan fee schedule. The plan is usually announced in specialized mailings to group members,issued at meetings or written up in the group newsletter. There is no cost to the group itself or to the individual member for establishing or having the "plan" available. The member may pay fees according to the fee schedule directly to the attorney later if services beyond basic advice are needed.
The Prepaid Legal Plan - In a prepaid legal plan, moneys are funded in advance to pay the cost of legal services furnished in the future to persons enrolled in the plan. Although a prepaid plan is usually selected to participants of a group, a few large plans are also be available to the general public. Prefunded plans vary widely in cost, benefits and the way in which legal services are furnished.
The prepaid access plan is designed to require easy access to a lawyer for legal advice and other non-complex preventive services at low cost. An access plan provides an enrolled member with specified basic legal services at no additional cost, plus other services at reduce costed legal fee rates. The basic service may include telephone consultation (via a toll free number), brief office consultations, a simple legal document, a letters written by the lawyer, or other service that is not overly time-consuming. If the plan member wants or needs services beyond the limited items that are prepaid by the subscription fee, he or she and the attorney arrive at a mutually satisfactory fee for service based on the plan's fee schedule or hourly rate. For these additional services the member-client pays the attorney directly.
The overall prefunded plan goes remarkably beyond the access plan in the amount and type of legal services provided. Generally, all plan benefits are available to the plan member at no extra cost once the prefunded premium or subscription fee has been funded. Typical employer funded benefits include unlimited legal advice on any subject, negotiations with adverse parties, drafting legal documents such as contracts, wills and deeds, and representation in court. Although even the most extensive plans limit or exclude coverage on certain items, most comprehensive plans are designed to meet 80 to 90 percent of the personal legal service needs of middle-income families.
How are Lawyers Involved? - attorneys are often the 'front line' for legal plan participants. In order to provide appropriate help and ensure client peace of mind, it is critical that these service providers fully understand what legal services are covered and how the legal plan operates. Most legal plans have a contractual arrangement with attorneys in private practice who provide the legal services to serve their participants' needs.
Many plans use a broad panel of attorneys located throughout the area where plan participants live and work to provide covered services. Other plans use one law firm or a small group of law firms in each state to skillfully provide some basic benefits, such as legal advice by telephone, this is how LegalShield provides legal services to it's clients.
Independent Associate
1-800-DO-A-WILL
www.800-DO-A-WILL.com
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