Information on Pre-Paid Legal
When you are faced with legal issues, hiring a lawyer can help you navigate the process of the judicial system. With costs rising in this industry, many turn to prepaid legal services to help. Prepaid legal services are marketed by a number of companies as a way to save money on legal expenses.
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Prepaid Legal
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The basic idea behind this type of service is that you can pay an annual fee to a company and then receive access to legal services. Some plans give you a certain number of legal consultations every year and access to basic procedures like will creation. In some cases, you may also receive discounts from a network of lawyers when you need more involved service than what is offered through the prepaid legal plan. These plans are often available from your employer, a credit union or a credit card company.
Saving Money
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While some of these plans could potentially save you money, many people do not end up saving money by using them. For example, you may have to pay an annual fee of somewhere around $100 to keep the plan. Then if you need some legal assistance for a serious legal issue, you may get a discount from the retail price of a lawyer. The problem is that you could probably negotiate a lower price with a lawyer on your own, without the aid of the prepaid legal plan.
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What Is Covered
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Prepaid legal plans come in many varieties and cover different things. With the more expensive plans, you might have certain types of legal defenses included. For example, you could receive defense from an attorney if you have to get a divorce or go to court over a traffic violation. In other cases, you may only get a consultation with an attorney over the phone. Before choosing a plan, it is important to look at exactly what is covered.
Lack of Options
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One of the potential drawbacks of using a prepaid legal plan is that you may have a lack of options when choosing an attorney. Since so many different prepaid legal plans exist, a lawyer cannot participate in all of them. This means that you might have few options to choose from in your area when you need legal services. If you are assigned a lawyer from the plan, you might not like him and then be unable to switch.
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