Legal Cover Plans
A legal plan service or membership program, is a concept that has been around for a number of years and as legal plans became commonplace in Europe in the 1930’s, they remain popular and well-known there today. The popularity of legal plans is growing and legal firms are increasing the number of types and levels of membership to individuals and other companies. Legal plans work by providing basic coverage and attorney services for a membership, or a prepaid fee that is usually paid monthly or yearly; by paying the membership fee, you have access to an attorney and their services, which without the plan you would have to pay, in some cases, a substantial fee.
The concept is quite simple; by providing legal help on issues as they arise, it is hoped that many situations will not progress into full scale law suits and the additional costs involved with them. However, other facilities are included with the plans that are used by individuals and businesses regularly as consultation with your attorney is included. There generally isn’t any restriction on the number of times you can contact your attorney and this enables people to obtain what is in essence very low cost legal advice on a wide range of topics.
To add to the already good value, most legal plans also offer a Last Will and Testament service which can be updated yearly; a number of plans also provide letters from the lawyer to be written on your behalf and phone calls as well. If you consider how often a dispute can be cleared up when a lawyer intervenes you can see one of the obvious benefits to this service. It is quite normal for many sales agreements to go unread as the cost of hiring an attorney to look over them can be prohibitive but with a prepaid legal plan, this is just part of the service.
Additional services like an appearance in court or other matters not covered by the plan will have a fee attached based on an hourly rate but normally this is a discounted amount. As time progresses, new plans become available to suit the growing need especially in specialized areas including business as well as the private individual. However there are even more specialized legal plans available, such as one designed just for truck drivers; a great way to join is to see if you workplace offers a plan as an employee benefit package because many do and in some cases, you can join for free or reduced cost.
There are some limitations and prepaid legal services are not designed to solve pre-existing or ongoing legal issues because the focus is on preventative care and access to an attorney for a consultation. If you have a major legal issue, such as a law suit, a divorce, or bankruptcy, a legal plan will be of limited assistance, although you will probably get a discount of the hourly rate you would normally pay an attorney. Legal plans are a great way for ‘middle Americans’ to be able to use legal representation at a fraction of the normal cost they would be expected to pay; this is a way for them to deal with everyday issues that they would not normally be able to afford to pursue.