Prepaid Legal: A Practical way to "Retain" Lawyers and Legal Help
Nearly everyone will need lawyers at some point in his or herlife. Whether it's to draft a will, draw up a contract, findlegal help and advice or obtain a divorce, lawyers provide theexpertise other citizens don't have. However, legal help can beexpensive, and most people can't afford to retain a lawyer or afirm for those instances when something just comes up. Anincreasingly popular solution to this problem is prepaid legal.Prepaid legal functions on much the same premise as insurance.When one buys auto insurance, the expectation is that aregularly paid premium assures the purchaser that the companywill cover the expenses necessary to fix an unexpected problem.Medical/health insurance carries with it the same expectation.When purchasing legal help through a prepaid legal plan, one is,in essence, receiving legal insurance. Lawyers are on hand toprovide advice and/or representation as needed. However, likeother forms of insurance, prepaid legal features differentlevels of covered services and different prices, depending uponwhich plan is chosen.Some employers offer prepaid legal help as a fringe benefit. Itis also possible to purchase through "group legal plans" throughcoops and other groups. Before choosing a plan, however, it isimportant to be sure the company offering the service isreputable. Checking with the Better Business Bureau can be a bighelp.Lawyers can be expensive. Hourly rates are high, and the cost oflegal help on retainer is often prohibitive for most peoplewithout large amounts of wealth. But at some point everyone willexperience a need for legal help, or at least access to lawyers.A prepaid legal plan can help alleviate the high cost of legalrepresentation, while ensuring that legal advice is readilyavailable.
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