Benefits

As a Legal Services Plan member, you get many Prepaid Benefits and Additional Benefits for reduced rates.

Prepaid Benefits

Prepaid Benefits are available to you at no additional cost with your membership*. All covered matters will initially be handled as Prepaid Benefits. If the Plan Attorney determines that the matter is complex, it will be handled as an Additional Benefit and billed as indicated below.

Prepaid Benefits include:

1. Telephone advice and consultations
2. Face-to-face consultations
3. Review of legal documents
4. Letters and phone calls on your behalf
5. Warranty problems
6. Simple wills
7. Small claims court
8. Government programs
9. After Hour Emergency Telephone Access

* Benefits vary by state

Additional Benefits

As a Legal Services Plan member, you'll enjoy reduced rates for matters that your Plan Attorney determines to be complex. You can find these services and the associated fees listed in the Additional Benefits section.

Here are the Prepaid Benefits available to you with your membership*

Telephone advice and consultations

You can place phone calls to your Plan Attorney when you need help or have questions about covered new personal or family matters.** Your Plan Attorney is there to help you through your legal issues.*** He or she is there to answer your questions, advise you of your legal rights, and help you to reach a solution to your legal issue.

*Varies by state
**Virginia residents, please note: You are limited to three phone calls with your Plan Attorney per month on each of no more than four legal matters.
***Plan attorneys are available during normal business hours. Extended consultations may be charged at the Maximum Hourly Fee rate.  Back to Top

Face-to-face consultations

You can meet with your Plan Attorney in person for no additional charge* about new personal or family legal matters that your Plan Attorney determines to be best discussed in person.

*Virginia residents, please note: Initial office consultations, at no charge, are limited to four legal matters per month.  Back to Top

Review of legal documents

Review legal documents such as a simple will, lease, or loan document with your Plan Attorney. Your Plan Attorney will review covered personal legal documents totaling up to six (6) pages in length per document at no additional cost.*

*If any document exceeds six(6) pages, the Plan Attorney may review the entire document at the Plan's Maximum Hourly Fee rate. If you want the document rewritten or a written opinion, the Plan Attorney will do so at the Maximum Hourly Fee rate.  Back to Top

Letters and phone calls on your behalf

Need your Plan Attorney to write or make calls on your behalf? Your benefits include calls or letters on your behalf from your Plan Attorney which you both agree are necessary at no additional charge.*

*Please note: Letters that call for extended negotiation between a Plan Attorney and a third party will be billed at the Maximum Hourly Fee rate. The Plan Attorney will charge for collection letters regarding debts owed to a Plan Member. In Arkansas, Indiana, Virginia and Nebraska, the Plan Attorney will charge you $5 for each letter or phone call. New York residents are limited to three letters or phone calls a year, no more than two of which may be related to one matter.  Back to Top

Warranty problems

Your Plan Attorney can also help you out with warranty problems with products that you purchase. If necessary, he or she will even write letters and make phone calls on your behalf. If the matter has to go to court, you can have the Plan Attorney represent you at the Plan's Maximum Hourly Fee rate.  Back to Top

Simple Wills

Be prepared for the unexpected. Your Plan Attorney will help you prepare a simple will.* If you need to update your simple will, your Plan Attorney can help you with that, too. If a simple will doesn't meet your needs, the Plan will provide up to two hours of your Plan Attorney's time toward the development of a more comprehensive estate plan.

* In New York, members and their spouses are each entitled to one free Simple Will and annual updates of that will. In Arkansas, Virginia and Nebraska, residents are required to pay $15 to the Plan Attorney for this benefit; there is no additional charge for updates.  Back to Top

Small Claims Court

Be prepared to fight your claim in small claims court. While attorneys are often not permitted to represent you in small claims court, they can discuss the legal matter with you over the phone to help you prepare for your day in court. They can even go over the procedures of the small claims court in your area so that you are familiar with the process.*

*If you need additional representation, it will be covered at the Plan's Maximum Hourly Fee rate.  Back to Top

Government Programs

Government programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Unemployment Compensation are often very confusing. Your Plan Attorney can help you identify which agency you need and understand how the programs operate.*

* If you need assistance in formally filing or pursuing a claim, your Plan Attorney may be able to handle your matter at the Plan's Maximum Hourly Fee rate.  Back to Top

After Hour Emergency Telephone Access

When an emergency happens, you will have a toll-free number to call. The Plan will put you in touch with a Plan Attorney. (The Plan cannot guarantee that a Plan Attorney will be immediately available.) Back to Top

Here are the reduced rates for Additional Benefits

Once you have met with a Plan Attorney, he or she will determine if your matter is to be treated as a Prepaid Benefit or Additional Benefit. After the initial discussion, your Plan Attorney may determine that the matter has become too complex to qualify as a Prepaid Benefit and your matter will be handled as an Additional Benefit. You may be required to pay a retainer in advance for any attorney fees, filing fees or other costs, and you may be billed for postage, telephone, photocopying, travel and other out-of-pocket expenses. These matters may be billed under one of three categories:

• Maximum Flat Fee
• Maximum Rate for Contingent Fee
• Maximum Hourly Fee

Be certain you understand the fee agreement you have reached with your Plan Attorney at the beginning of a discussion or as soon thereafter as a decision can be reached on which of the three categories of Additional Benefits (Maximum Flat Fee, Maximum Rate for Contingent Fee, or Maximum Hourly Fee) will be applicable for the work that the Plan Attorney is doing for you. This will avoid any misunderstanding.  Back to Top

Maximum Flat Fee

For two (2) common legal matters, the Plan has established flat fees that your Plan Attorney will charge you.*

Uncontested Divorce: $350
Non-commercial Real Estate Closing: $300

Once you enroll, it is important to understand the definitions for each of these matters to see whether your legal matter will qualify for the Maximum Flat Fee and to determine what is included in these fees. If you have a question, discuss it with your Plan Attorney. If your matter does not qualify for this Maximum Flat Fee, your Plan Attorney can give you an estimate of how much time such a matter ordinarily takes and how much he or she will likely charge you at the Plan's maximum hourly rate.

*The maximum legal services fees listed are only for the legal services provided and do not include additional court, administrative or filing fees. In some instances, where extraordinary travel is required, the attorney may charge an hourly fee in addition to the flat fee. Clarify this in advance with your Plan Attorney.  Back to Top

Maximum Rate for Contingent Fees

Your Plan Attorney may charge you a contingent fee in cases where you are suing someone for damages. Such cases include automobile and other accidents resulting in injury. In such a fee arrangement, the Plan Attorney receives a percentage of the recovery. As a Plan Member, your Plan Attorney's percentage of the recovery will not exceed 29% if settled before trial, 36% if settled or awarded during or after trial, or 40% if settled or awarded after an appellate brief is filed on your behalf.

The remainder of the recovery is yours after reduction for unpaid costs, if any. Your Plan Attorney may charge his or her standard contingent fee if it is less than the Plan's. Confirm with your Plan Attorney what percent you will be charged on any contingency matter. This should be stated in an agreement the Plan Attorney will ask you to sign. Please be sure you understand.

In matters in which state statutes set a maximum contingent fee, the Plan Attorney's fee will be the Plan Attorney's usual fee or 10% less than the statutory rate, whichever is less. For instance, in Michigan and New Jersey, personal injury contingent fee rates are limited to 33.3%. If your Plan Attorney typically charges 33.3%, he or she will change the Plan rate of 29.9% - a 10% reduction.  Back to Top

Maximum Hourly Fees

You and your Plan Attorney can agree to handle your matter on a Maximum Hourly Fee basis. The Maximum Hourly Fee is no more than $95 per hour, including court time.

It is possible that once you and your Plan Attorney have agreed to treat your matter under the Maximum Flat Fee category, the matter may thereafter become more involved than was originally anticipated. At that time, it no longer qualifies as a Maximum Flat Fee matter and you will pay for the services at an hourly rate of not more than $95 per hour. For services already provided, the Plan Attorney will charge you at a rate of no more than $95 per hour, not to exceed the Maximum Flat Fee on that matter.

Except for matters that qualify for Maximum Flat Fee or Maximum Contingency Fee, it is normal and appropriate for your Plan Attorney to charge you for the services of other attorneys and of paralegals who work on your matter. This amount may not exceed the $95 hourly rate and may be less. Please clarify these charges with your Plan Attorney.  Back to Top

* Benefits vary by state