The comprehensive plan

It is in the realm of more complex legal matters that require more time and effort from your attorney, that the comprehensive plan is more beneficial than a basic access plan. You can have your trust set up, instead of a simple will, and a more complicated business sale contract drawn up as opposed to a simple contract. Legal representation can equally be provided in court for some cases, such as child custody.

Comprehensive prepaid plans are most suitable for people who need business advice, have family trusts, or own real estate properties. It is not uncommon to see the terms “legal plans” and “pre-paid legal services” used interchangeably. While they share a lot of characteristics in common, there are a few differences you should be aware of.

Both terms refer to an arrangement whereby you pay a fixed monthly or yearly fee in exchange for legal services. The idea behind them is to save consumers on high legal fees whilst offering a valuable service. The differences lie in what kind of service is offered and what is covered.

Pre-paid services cover for specific legal services such as free phone consultation and advice, drafting of simple wills and trusts, review of sample contracts and writing of letters on your behalf. Legal services not provided will get charged at regular attorney fees, but you may be eligible for discounts. Legal insurance, by contrast, works much like other insurance plans, like health or car insurance.

Although specific legal services are offered at times, your insurance provider will typically offer a policy that covers for all legal services. The policy will pay on behalf of you, the policy holder, or reimburse all expenses, costs, or fees that you pay for legal services up to the policy limit. For instance, your policy might reimburse any fees incurred in your court judgments or pay your bail money, a service not provided by most pre-paid legal plans.

Your legal insurance is also pegged to other insurance policies you may already have. If you run into legal problems involving your other insurance, then your legal insurance policy will protect you against loss or liability. For instance, if you are involved in a car accident when your auto insurance has already run out and you are subsequently sued for recovery of damages, you will be protected by a legal plan insurance.

The other difference between the two schemes is related to your choice of attorney. In a pre-paid legal service, you get to choose from a restricted number of the attorneys in the network. By contrast, a legal insurance plan provides legal coverage regardless of attorney.

You are free to set up interviews with any number of attorneys and choose the ones you think will provide the best service for your personal legal needs. Finally, pre-paid legal plans are much more accessible to the public. Legal plans are harder to come by as only a limited number of insurance companies offer such arrangements.

A properly developed group legal insurance plan can be the perfect complement to any employer’s work life initiative. Considering that many employees are nowadays increasingly swayed by benefit options when making career decisions, legal insurance is a viable product for many employers. However, there is no single fit-for-all group legal plan for all organizations.

For a start, each organization has a distinct list of requirements when contracting for legal insurance. A requirement built on the premise of reduced administrative costs will require a different set of legal services than requirements built on enhancing a benefits package or protect against liability. Legal plans also vary in what they offer: the quality of their customer service, flexibility of plan design, and finally the experience and professional track record of their panel of attorneys.