Prepaid Legal Services offer access to attorneys for consultations, document review, preparation, and legal representation in court. Members pay a monthly fee and can access services through direct sales, independent representatives, or employers. Attorneys operate independently and members can select from a list of participating attorneys. Court representation is available at a discounted rate or for a set number of hours. Caution is advised when dealing with sales representatives.
Prepaid Legal Services are subscription plans that provide members with access to attorneys for consultations, statutory document review, document preparation, legal representation in court, and access to legal forms. Members pay a monthly fee to receive plan benefits. Companies sell the plans directly, through independent sales representatives, and through certain employers. Attorneys enter into agreements with companies that sell prepaid legal services plans in various jurisdictions. Plan members can select an attorney from a list provided by the plan.
Firms offering prepaid legal services promise numerous benefits such as consultations with lawyers regarding labor or insurance disputes, personal injury, criminal matters, and various other matters. Prepaid legal services typically include statutory review of contracts, deeds, and other types of legal documents. Services may also include the preparation of documents such as wills, powers of attorney and contracts. Plan members can also access a database of forms and legal documents through the company that sells the plan.
A prepaid legal services plan can also provide members with legal representation in court. Court representation may be available for a variety of matters such as criminal defense, landlord, divorce, or employment-related disputes. This service, however, can only be at a discounted rate or for a set number of hours. In other words, the attorney agrees to represent a plan member for a reduced hourly rate or for a specified number of hours. This means that the monthly membership fee does not cover the full cost of legal representation in court.
Firms offer prepaid legal services through direct sales and through independent sales representatives. These companies typically pay independent representatives through commissions and are not necessarily obligated to deliver on promises made by independent representatives; as a result, consumer advocates encourage caution when dealing with a sales rep. The contract or prepaid legal services plan, rather than what a sales rep says, controls the scope of services. Firms also provide prepaid legal services through employers who want to make the plans available to employees as part of a benefit plan. Employees typically pay a monthly or semi-annual rate through a paycheck deduction to receive plan benefits for themselves and family members.
Attorneys who provide legal services operate independently of companies that sell prepaid legal services. Typically, plan members are able to select an attorney from a reference list of participating attorneys, which may be a limited number depending on the area. These attorneys provide some type of services to schedule members based on the plan they belong to. If a member requires legal services beyond the scope of the plan, you must pay those costs out of pocket.
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