Pre-paid legal services
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pre-paid legal services refers to individual or group employee benefit legal plans in which members pay a monthly fee in exchange for access to a range of legal services on-call. Pre-paid legal plans typically offer certain services for a fixed monthly charge such as legal advice and consultation, review of contracts, having a lawyer write a letter on a client's behalf or the drafting of wills and other legal documents. Legal service plans may also cover legal representation in court and the filing of motions but most plans require a client to pay extra for such services or cover a limited number of hours in court time.
The pre-paid legal service industry has existed in Europe since 1907[1], but is a recent phenomenon in the United States. While some market services via Independent Associates, most "legal-care" companies offer their services through insurance agents (as part of their portfolio of services), through salaried staff or through independent agents working on commission.
In some states, pre-paid legal service plans are considered to be insurance, and are regulated by the state's insurance commission; in these states an individual must obtain an insurance license from the state before they are able to market memberships.