By: LMS
Are prepaid legal services all they are cracked up to be?
It's pretty much common knowledge that legal consultation or legal advice fees can be one of the most expensive and destructive assaults on an individual's assets. There are many stories of people pledging their life savings, or their homes in order to support devastating legal fees. The thought of such a possibility has alarmed many citizens for years, and consequently has created a stand alone market known as prepaid legal insurance.
The Prepaid legal advice concept is simple: for a fixed monthly amount, you receive telephone legal consultation from an attorney for legal advice. With prepaid legal services of this nature, You invest a fee, usually on a monthly basis, to mitigate the cost of legal services that might be provided at some point in the future. Prepaid legal services vary depending on the programs offered, but typically cover various areas of the law, anywhere from reviews of cases to simple legal documents and will writings. Some have been known to cover more comprehensive trial issues, including criminal complaints, divorce proceedings and cases in controversies in civil trial matters, such as divorce.
It is highly likely that every person in the United States, in every State will become embroiled in a legal controversy at some point in their lives. The American Bar Association have stated that “Americans have come to view legal assistance as a necessity”. In spite of this, the majority of Americans have not used the services of a lawyer more than once in their lives because of out of reach attorney fees. Furthermore, people are filled with apprehension when seeking legal services.
Prepaid legal service coverage is a very attractive alternative for people who don’t have the economic wherewithal to enlist a lawyer whenever they need legal advice or assistance. Oftentimes, the legal issues may be specialized, requiring you to rely on expertise of various attorney who specialize in a specific field of law. With prepaid legal services, you can often get a variety of legal advice on a plethora of issues which clearly reduces the cost of legal assistance. Even if legal service are not covered by the plan, there will invariably be specialist lawyers available to members for a discount on regular hourly rates or flat fees.
Often, many members do not require any legal assistance during their first year, making them relax and forget the ramifications should legal services be needed. Data indicates that roughly half of those who have purchased prepaid legal service plans opt out after their first year. The major reason for this is the type of services offered, which are sometimes very basic and limited in nature. It is important to perform due diligence and ask for a precise reckoning of what legal services are covered. Most plans have certain limits to the benefits provided and offer a discounted rate on standard attorney fees if needed. Many people seeking prepaid legal advice locate these firms by calling around and then negotiate an agreement that is more tapered to their needs.
While calling around and getting a feel for the various firms offering prepaid legal advice, make sure you ask about the experience of the attorneys involved in the assistance process. Because of cost considerations, some companies offering prepaid legal services assign novices or inexperienced attorneys for phone legal consultation and simpler cases and the drafting of legal documents. This isn't always a bad thing, as there can often be seasoned attorneys that handle the more serious matters that oversee general operations. The best thing to do when seeking prepaid legal services is to simply, ask.
