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When you subscribe to a pre-paid legal service, you are likely to deal with an attorney and a number of other individuals and organisations who are involved in one way or another with the service. It's important to understand the role of each participating party in a legal service plan, particularly when you're unhappy with the service or when fee disputes or any other litigation with your provider arises.
So, who is involved in your pre-paid legal arrangement?
Your Lawyer
You get to choose your attorney from a pool of attorneys in the network. Your lawyer is your point of contact for any phone advice or office consultation. He is the one who furnishes other legal services specified in your written agreement with your provider: he drafts your will, reviews simple contracts for you, writes letters on your behalf and makes phone calls to adverse third parties. If you are unsatisfied with the quality of work you are getting from your current attorney in the network then you have the choice of choosing alternate attorneys. You can also make a complaint to your provider's in-house charge of complaints.
If you benefit from legal services under a group plan scheme then there are a number of parties who are involved in this scheme. First the contracted firm, just as is the case with an individual plan, is the one which provides all the legal help through its network of attorneys. There are also two parties involved in the deal: a plan administrator and a plan sponsor.
A plan sponsor is the organisation you are member of, which sponsors your legal plan. Your sponsor can either choose to provide the legal services as a fringe-benefit, as is the case with most employers, pre-charge for the service - universities usually charge for any legal service as part of tuition fees - or charge low-costs, as do trade unions under a group-bargaining scheme.
Your plan administrator is the person appointed by your sponsor to arrange for the panel of lawyers from the contracted firm to provide services, collects all the fees paid into a pre-paid plan, publicizes the plan and handles enrolment and marketing. The administrator may be a an employee of the sponsor, an insurance company or an outside firm.
Regulating Authority
Authorities that regulate pre-paid plans provide you with an outline of how pre-paid legal services are managed and also an outlet in case there are any complaints. Individual pre-paid legal plans are generally regulated by your state department of consumer affairs. If you are an employee participating in a group plan funded by your employer, then the legal services are covered and regulated under the deferral Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Who Regulates Pre-Paid Legal Plans?
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Pre-paid legal service providers are required to provide either a written agreement of the services provided in their plans, or at least a written communication concerning the services covered, together with the fees to be charged for services not covered in the written agreement of membership.
However, most people gloss over "terms and conditions" and just sign the agreement assuming they are covered for most legal services. This usually gives rise to frequent complaints about the service, fee disputes and complaints about attorneys.
Generally, if you have any complaint with your service, you should first address any such complaint with your service provider. Contact them to get information regarding their in-house complaint process and settlement of disputes. If you are unsatisfied, then it helps to know who regulates your kind of legal insurance.
Your state's Department of consumer affairs licenses and regulates all pre-paid legal plans. Prepaid legal service companies are required to register with the department prior to commencing business and appoint a sales representative. Further regulation can be provided by your local bar association.
Pre-paid legal service providers are required to provide either a written agreement of the services provided in their plans, or at least a written communication concerning the services covered, together with the fees to be charged for services not covered in the written agreement of membership.
However, most people gloss over "terms and conditions" and just sign the agreement assuming they are covered for most legal services. This usually gives rise to frequent complaints about the service, fee disputes and complaints about attorneys.
Generally, if you have any complaint with your service, you should first address any such complaint with your service provider. Contact them to get information regarding their in-house complaint process and settlement of disputes. If you are unsatisfied, then it helps to know who regulates your kind of legal insurance.
Your state's Department of consumer affairs licenses and regulates all pre-paid legal plans. Prepaid legal service companies are required to register with the department prior to commencing business and appoint a sales representative. Further regulation can be provided by your local bar association.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Types Of Prepaid Legal Services
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Over 100 million Americans are signed up for pre-paid legal services. Also called legal insurance, these plans are similar to those provided by Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) and cover the legal needs of the member, spouse and any dependent children.
In a prepaid legal service plan, the customer pays a fixed monthly subscription fee of up to $25 for the services of pre-selected lawyers. The most basic plans provide advice and consultation by telephone. Plan members receive a few hours of free office consultation with their assigned attorney. They may also include review and advice on simple legal documents, preparation, drafting or an update of a simple will. Phone calls and letters can be written on behalf of members, a service helpful for credit problems and consumer protection. More comprehensive plans cover clients' personal legal needs ranging from services that require more time and effort on the part of your attorney, such as contracts, wills and deeds, to legal representation in negotiations and courts cases related to family matters, bankruptcy and real estate issues.
Over 100 million Americans are signed up for pre-paid legal services. Also called legal insurance, these plans are similar to those provided by Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) and cover the legal needs of the member, spouse and any dependent children.
In a prepaid legal service plan, the customer pays a fixed monthly subscription fee of up to $25 for the services of pre-selected lawyers. The most basic plans provide advice and consultation by telephone. Plan members receive a few hours of free office consultation with their assigned attorney. They may also include review and advice on simple legal documents, preparation, drafting or an update of a simple will. Phone calls and letters can be written on behalf of members, a service helpful for credit problems and consumer protection. More comprehensive plans cover clients' personal legal needs ranging from services that require more time and effort on the part of your attorney, such as contracts, wills and deeds, to legal representation in negotiations and courts cases related to family matters, bankruptcy and real estate issues.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Types of Legal Plans
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A prepaid legal plan is a scheme based on the payment in advance of a set fee to defray the cost of providing future legal services to the members enrolled in the scheme. They vary in cost, scope of legal coverage provided and how the legal services are provided. We will look at the different types of pre-paid legal plans available in the United States and how to enrol into them
An individual pre-paid legal plan is readily accessible to the general public. There are two types of individual plans: access and comprehensive. An access pre-paid legal plan is the most basic plan. It is designed to give easy access to lawyer and a set of simple legal services for a low cost. Basic services furnished include unlimited toll-free phone access to your attorney for consultation and advice, letters written by the lawyer on your behalf, brief office consultation and the drafting or review of simple legal documents.
Complex legal issues not covered will be subject to an hourly or flat rate negotiatable with your provider
The comprehensive plan goes beyond basic legal services, to offer more complex and comprehensive coverage for a premium in cost. Generally, all the benefits of an access plan are provided at no cost to you, plus a broader range of services like drafting complicated legal documents, negotiations with adverse parties, legal representation in court cases such as divorce and child custody. They also cover all the costs involved in a legal litigation. Comprehensive plans typically start at $300 per year and are most beneficial to middle-class families.
A group legal plan is typically sponsored by an organization as a fringe benefit to its members. The lawyer or law firm contracted provides free or low-cost legal coverage to all members of the sponsoring organization. Employers, labour unions and even universities are now increasingly offering group legal plans to enhance the value of their benefits package and reduce the cost of administrative burden. Law firms are contracted to provide participating members telephone and office consultation for their most frequently needed legal matters. These typically include: Preparation of wills and trusts, document preparation and review, debt and real estate matters and family law.
Additional legal coverage can be contracted according to a fee schedule negotiable between the plan sponsor and provider, and publicised to participating members.
A prepaid legal plan is a scheme based on the payment in advance of a set fee to defray the cost of providing future legal services to the members enrolled in the scheme. They vary in cost, scope of legal coverage provided and how the legal services are provided. We will look at the different types of pre-paid legal plans available in the United States and how to enrol into them
An individual pre-paid legal plan is readily accessible to the general public. There are two types of individual plans: access and comprehensive. An access pre-paid legal plan is the most basic plan. It is designed to give easy access to lawyer and a set of simple legal services for a low cost. Basic services furnished include unlimited toll-free phone access to your attorney for consultation and advice, letters written by the lawyer on your behalf, brief office consultation and the drafting or review of simple legal documents.
Complex legal issues not covered will be subject to an hourly or flat rate negotiatable with your provider
The comprehensive plan goes beyond basic legal services, to offer more complex and comprehensive coverage for a premium in cost. Generally, all the benefits of an access plan are provided at no cost to you, plus a broader range of services like drafting complicated legal documents, negotiations with adverse parties, legal representation in court cases such as divorce and child custody. They also cover all the costs involved in a legal litigation. Comprehensive plans typically start at $300 per year and are most beneficial to middle-class families.
A group legal plan is typically sponsored by an organization as a fringe benefit to its members. The lawyer or law firm contracted provides free or low-cost legal coverage to all members of the sponsoring organization. Employers, labour unions and even universities are now increasingly offering group legal plans to enhance the value of their benefits package and reduce the cost of administrative burden. Law firms are contracted to provide participating members telephone and office consultation for their most frequently needed legal matters. These typically include: Preparation of wills and trusts, document preparation and review, debt and real estate matters and family law.
Additional legal coverage can be contracted according to a fee schedule negotiable between the plan sponsor and provider, and publicised to participating members.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
The Access Legal Plan
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Pre-paid legal plans come in a variety of types depending on the scope of legal coverage they provide.
The most basic pre-paid plan is designed to make the simple legal services readily available to the general public at low cost. These plans typically cost between $10 and $30 per month, billed in advance. You get unrestricted toll-free number telephone access to a lawyer for legal advice and consultation. You can also make brief office consultations to talk to your lawyer about any legal problems you may be encountering. Your lawyer can also write to letters or make phone calls on your behalf. This can help resolve many problems before they escalate further. Other services provided are not overly time-consuming: the drafting of your will to distribute your property after your death, review of your trust and any other simple legal document.
If you require any other service beyond the scope of a basic plan, then you can either pay discounts on regular lawyer fees or pay a premium to upgrade to a more comprehensive plan.
Pre-paid legal plans come in a variety of types depending on the scope of legal coverage they provide.
The most basic pre-paid plan is designed to make the simple legal services readily available to the general public at low cost. These plans typically cost between $10 and $30 per month, billed in advance. You get unrestricted toll-free number telephone access to a lawyer for legal advice and consultation. You can also make brief office consultations to talk to your lawyer about any legal problems you may be encountering. Your lawyer can also write to letters or make phone calls on your behalf. This can help resolve many problems before they escalate further. Other services provided are not overly time-consuming: the drafting of your will to distribute your property after your death, review of your trust and any other simple legal document.
If you require any other service beyond the scope of a basic plan, then you can either pay discounts on regular lawyer fees or pay a premium to upgrade to a more comprehensive plan.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Pre-Paid Legal Plans Promote Preventive Law
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Many people believe they need the services of a lawyer, under a pre-paid legal service scheme, to solve a legal problem or resolve an intricate situation. Often, your lawyer's most valuable help could be before you get involved in legal trouble.
When you sign up for a pre-paid legal plan, you have the right to unlimited toll-free telephone access to your attorney. The sound advice and consultation given to you by your lawyer will help you take the necessary steps to detect and resolve any potential legal problems before they take more dangerous proportions. This is called in legal jargon "therapeutic jurisprudence" or "preventive law". Just as preventive medicine helps prevent disease by detecting their symptoms, preventive law helps prevent serious legal consequences by detecting early problems. In an increasingly litigious society, there is real concern that assets you have worked long and hard to accumulate may be attacked by creditors and litigants, through no fault of your own. By the time a potential claim or liability is identified, it is too late to act.
A competent attorney's advice is your best option to minimize your exposure to potential risks and protect yourself from legal problems getting out of hand.
Many people believe they need the services of a lawyer, under a pre-paid legal service scheme, to solve a legal problem or resolve an intricate situation. Often, your lawyer's most valuable help could be before you get involved in legal trouble.
When you sign up for a pre-paid legal plan, you have the right to unlimited toll-free telephone access to your attorney. The sound advice and consultation given to you by your lawyer will help you take the necessary steps to detect and resolve any potential legal problems before they take more dangerous proportions. This is called in legal jargon "therapeutic jurisprudence" or "preventive law". Just as preventive medicine helps prevent disease by detecting their symptoms, preventive law helps prevent serious legal consequences by detecting early problems. In an increasingly litigious society, there is real concern that assets you have worked long and hard to accumulate may be attacked by creditors and litigants, through no fault of your own. By the time a potential claim or liability is identified, it is too late to act.
A competent attorney's advice is your best option to minimize your exposure to potential risks and protect yourself from legal problems getting out of hand.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Prepaid and Small Business
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Legal advice for small businesses does not have to be expensive. With pre-paid legal plans, a wide array of legal services designed specifically to cater for the needs of small businesses is available for a set yearly fee ranging from $125 to $300.
Although coverage differs across the board, most pre-paid plans offer unlimited telephone consultation with a lawyer, a valuable service that is enough to solve many small-business matters. This encourages "preventive law": the process whereby you identify legal problems that affect your business, contact your lawyer and get advice on taking steps to minimize them.
Basic plans provide coverage for simple contracts and the drafting of simple legal documents, like a power of attorney or a bill of sale. More comprehensive plans will deal with more elaborate matters like equipment lease and accounts-receivable collection work.
If you are a member of a local chamber of commerce, trade or professional group than you can get a plan at a reduced group rate. Otherwise, buy directly from a commercial vendor.
Legal advice for small businesses does not have to be expensive. With pre-paid legal plans, a wide array of legal services designed specifically to cater for the needs of small businesses is available for a set yearly fee ranging from $125 to $300.
Although coverage differs across the board, most pre-paid plans offer unlimited telephone consultation with a lawyer, a valuable service that is enough to solve many small-business matters. This encourages "preventive law": the process whereby you identify legal problems that affect your business, contact your lawyer and get advice on taking steps to minimize them.
Basic plans provide coverage for simple contracts and the drafting of simple legal documents, like a power of attorney or a bill of sale. More comprehensive plans will deal with more elaborate matters like equipment lease and accounts-receivable collection work.
If you are a member of a local chamber of commerce, trade or professional group than you can get a plan at a reduced group rate. Otherwise, buy directly from a commercial vendor.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Pre-Paid Legal Services For Small Business
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If you are operating your own business, you cannot afford to go it alone when it comes to legal matters. The ever increasing complexities of law, spiralling costs of lawsuits and the proliferation of government red tape can land you in a lot of trouble.
The flip of the coin is hardly attractive either! Hiring a lawyer can constitute a substantial financial investment many cash-strapped small businesses and entrepreneurs cannot sustain. Lawyers charge a minimum of $200 per hour when it comes to "business law" and it can get very costly if you are involved in lengthy legal procedures, complicated contracts or business transactions.
There may just be a glitter of hope in pre-paid legal plans. For a set monthly price, some legal providers are now bundling a whole suite of legal services especially tailored to the needs of small-businesses. Whether you need phone consultation on the legal complexities of a lease contract, or require legal representation during tax audits, a pre-paid plan can help you manage legal costs. An array of services is included as "standard coverage" at no cost to you in the plan, and any legal matters not covered can be provided with a discount on fees.
Before you take the leap, you need to keep some caveats in mind.
You need to know more about the quality of service you are likely to get. While lower fees do not necessarily infer lower quality of work, it is always necessary to bear in mind that legal specialization plays a crucial part and lawyers are not interchangeable. Ask for references from previous clients or ask entrepreneurs who've used the services of the provider about the quality of work they have received from them. Use your state bar association, service organizations in your locale and your local Better Business Bureau to research law firms and the background of the attorneys in the network before selecting them.
Things to look for are the number of years they have been operating, complaints from previous customers, the education background of attorneys, professional track record and so forth. With the increasing amount of small businesses involved in litigation and fee disputes with their legal providers, I iss important to give some thought to alternative courses of actions when dealing with disputes. Ask your prospective provider about the way in which they settle disputes or complaints. Do they have an in-house procedure to deal with complaints, appoint a senior attorney to deal with such things or do you simply have to settle out of court?
If you are operating your own business, you cannot afford to go it alone when it comes to legal matters. The ever increasing complexities of law, spiralling costs of lawsuits and the proliferation of government red tape can land you in a lot of trouble.
The flip of the coin is hardly attractive either! Hiring a lawyer can constitute a substantial financial investment many cash-strapped small businesses and entrepreneurs cannot sustain. Lawyers charge a minimum of $200 per hour when it comes to "business law" and it can get very costly if you are involved in lengthy legal procedures, complicated contracts or business transactions.
There may just be a glitter of hope in pre-paid legal plans. For a set monthly price, some legal providers are now bundling a whole suite of legal services especially tailored to the needs of small-businesses. Whether you need phone consultation on the legal complexities of a lease contract, or require legal representation during tax audits, a pre-paid plan can help you manage legal costs. An array of services is included as "standard coverage" at no cost to you in the plan, and any legal matters not covered can be provided with a discount on fees.
Before you take the leap, you need to keep some caveats in mind.
You need to know more about the quality of service you are likely to get. While lower fees do not necessarily infer lower quality of work, it is always necessary to bear in mind that legal specialization plays a crucial part and lawyers are not interchangeable. Ask for references from previous clients or ask entrepreneurs who've used the services of the provider about the quality of work they have received from them. Use your state bar association, service organizations in your locale and your local Better Business Bureau to research law firms and the background of the attorneys in the network before selecting them.
Things to look for are the number of years they have been operating, complaints from previous customers, the education background of attorneys, professional track record and so forth. With the increasing amount of small businesses involved in litigation and fee disputes with their legal providers, I iss important to give some thought to alternative courses of actions when dealing with disputes. Ask your prospective provider about the way in which they settle disputes or complaints. Do they have an in-house procedure to deal with complaints, appoint a senior attorney to deal with such things or do you simply have to settle out of court?
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Pre-Paid Legal Plans - You Can Get Them For Free!
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They say the best things in life are free. In the case of pre-paid legal plans, this may just hold true.
Pre-paid legal plans offer a range of legal services on-call for a fixed monthly charge of up to $25 per month. With such a low monthly payment, most people are only too happy to get a legal coverage they wouldn't have otherwise dreamt of in the stultifying, money-grabbing world of lawyers... But did you know, you could get all of that coverage free of charge?
In a bid to cut on administration costs, employers, labor unions and universities are now providing legal services at discounted or no cost altogether to their members. Employers are increasingly sponsoring legal plans to their employees as a fringe benefit, as part of their Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Labor unions fund plans offered as member benefit, or under a collective bargaining scheme, in which case new members are eligible to huge discounts. Universities are equally as involved with legal plans offered to students and staff.
They say the best things in life are free. In the case of pre-paid legal plans, this may just hold true.
Pre-paid legal plans offer a range of legal services on-call for a fixed monthly charge of up to $25 per month. With such a low monthly payment, most people are only too happy to get a legal coverage they wouldn't have otherwise dreamt of in the stultifying, money-grabbing world of lawyers... But did you know, you could get all of that coverage free of charge?
In a bid to cut on administration costs, employers, labor unions and universities are now providing legal services at discounted or no cost altogether to their members. Employers are increasingly sponsoring legal plans to their employees as a fringe benefit, as part of their Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Labor unions fund plans offered as member benefit, or under a collective bargaining scheme, in which case new members are eligible to huge discounts. Universities are equally as involved with legal plans offered to students and staff.
Using Free Autoresponders
If you've looked at the prices of autoresponders that are available online, you may have decided to search for and use a free autoresponder for your marketing needs. Using free autoresponders is acceptable in certain situations, and in the world of Internet marketing, any autoresponder is better than not using an autoresponder at all!
Your first option for a free autoresponder should be the one that comes with your webhosting account - if you have a webhosting account. These autoresponders can easily be set up through the control panel of your website, and they do not contain advertisements from the autoresponder company or webhosting service. If you do not have a hosting account, or your hosting account does not include autoresponders, there are other options that you can pursue.
There are many free autoresponder services to choose from. These services are free, because the company makes their money by placing a small advertisement in each message that your autoresponder sends out. These advertisements may appear at the top of your auto responses, or at the bottom, depending on which company you use.
Many paid autoresponder services offer a free version as well. These free versions may or may not include advertisements in the outgoing messages. These lighter versions of the paid autoresponders typically do not include many of the powerful features of the paid versions. But if you don't need the more advanced features, this is a great choice.
Most free autoresponders have a limit on the number of subscribers you can have. Many people start out with the limited free versions, and then upgrade to the paid versions once their lists are large enough to exceed those limits. Many marketers don't feel that the expense of the autoresponder is warranted until the list that they are building is turning a profit. From a business standpoint, this makes sense.
As the owner of a business, you are the only one who can decide whether you need a paid autoresponder service, or if a free one will do the job. If your list is small, a free autoresponder should do everything that you need it to do, but as your list grows, you should definitely consider upgrading. However, having the small advertisements that the free services place in the outgoing messages may present a problem if the ads compete with what you are trying to sell. They may even pose a problem if they do not directly compete with your product or business. Again, this depends on what you are trying to accomplish with your autoresponder.
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Your first option for a free autoresponder should be the one that comes with your webhosting account - if you have a webhosting account. These autoresponders can easily be set up through the control panel of your website, and they do not contain advertisements from the autoresponder company or webhosting service. If you do not have a hosting account, or your hosting account does not include autoresponders, there are other options that you can pursue.
There are many free autoresponder services to choose from. These services are free, because the company makes their money by placing a small advertisement in each message that your autoresponder sends out. These advertisements may appear at the top of your auto responses, or at the bottom, depending on which company you use.
Many paid autoresponder services offer a free version as well. These free versions may or may not include advertisements in the outgoing messages. These lighter versions of the paid autoresponders typically do not include many of the powerful features of the paid versions. But if you don't need the more advanced features, this is a great choice.
Most free autoresponders have a limit on the number of subscribers you can have. Many people start out with the limited free versions, and then upgrade to the paid versions once their lists are large enough to exceed those limits. Many marketers don't feel that the expense of the autoresponder is warranted until the list that they are building is turning a profit. From a business standpoint, this makes sense.
As the owner of a business, you are the only one who can decide whether you need a paid autoresponder service, or if a free one will do the job. If your list is small, a free autoresponder should do everything that you need it to do, but as your list grows, you should definitely consider upgrading. However, having the small advertisements that the free services place in the outgoing messages may present a problem if the ads compete with what you are trying to sell. They may even pose a problem if they do not directly compete with your product or business. Again, this depends on what you are trying to accomplish with your autoresponder.
TheWeblogZone.com - Online Marketing and Blogging uses and recommends Thesis Wordpress Theme.
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