How to Join a Prepaid Legal Fees Group

Take advantage of prepaid legal fees plans.

If you find yourself in the courtroom more than you’d like or you run a business and need reliable legal advice quickly, a prepaid legal fees plan might work for you. Prepaid legal fees allow you to pay a monthly fee in return for receiving timely legal advice for a fraction of the cost of hiring an attorney.

Instructions

1. Determine your need for a legal plan. According to a survey conducted for the American Bar Association, fully 70 percent of households encounter an issue at least once a year where they could benefit from legal advice.

2. Ask about the monthly or yearly cost to belong to a prepaid legal fees plan. Some plans are very affordable, only a few dollars a month, for which you receive preliminary advice by phone when an issue arises. Although these plans do not provide free legal representation, they will refer you to a local attorney that specializes in your area of need.

3. Pay a little more for an extensive prepaid legal services plan that deals in one area of law. You can call certified legal attorneys who specialize in one industry, such as real estate law, pharmaceutical law, finance law or the laws concerning equal opportunity employment. You will speak directly legal attorneys who will recommend a course of action.

4. Find out if the plan you are interested in provides unlimited phone consultation or if you are restricted to certain areas of legal questions. A common citizen benefits from a plan that allows general legal advice on a wide range of topics, from personal injury to family law.

5. Look in your own community for a prepaid legal fees plan or recruit enough interest to start one. Many prepaid legal services operate locally and provide immediate one-on-one representation for their members. Usually two or three attorneys (or more) will agree to take turns fielding calls and offering advice.

6. Start a plan for any large group to which you belong. Churches sometimes provide their congregations with a membership plan and they split the costs. Other groups and fraternities are popular places to find prepaid legal services offered on a group basis.

7. Get it in writing before you sign up. Read the fine print to determine the extent of the services you will receive and if there are any additional costs.