Opinions on Prepaid Legal Services
 

I've done a little research but it's inconclusive.

If you have any thoughts at all, feel free to share!

If its the same thing some "friends" of mine tried to rope me into, then its a scam. Nothing more than a pyramid scheme where the folks who claim its possible to get rich already have done so, and those coming into it now on the bottom rung will do nothing but get screwed.

As for the actual legal services, that may be legit, but it seems like an unnecessary thing to me.

Anything prepaid doesn't sound like a good deal to me. I mean, what if it doesn't perform as promised? Now you've already paid and you're stuck with what you have. There's nothing wrong with paying a deposit but I never pay the last invoice on anything until I'm happy.

That's exactly what my philosophy was. I also asked the person pitching this stuff to me: "If prepaid legal doesn't live up to expectations, how do I defend myself?"

How did they respond to your question?

They said they didn't know, but that I could ask a higher-up.

(tongue-in-cheek) You could always ask god! ...or keep your money in your pocket until you need it.

This is not a scam/pyramid scheme. The idea is similar to insurance. Pay a little quite often and they'll "take care of ya" when the big emergency hits.

At one point in my life I felt like I couldn't afford proper legal counsel if I needed, yet I was in college and the places I lived and the stuff happening all around me led me to believe I could be involved in a lawsuit (on either end, but most likely the plaintiff). This service was piece of mind for me.

The nasty part (or good, depending on your definition) is that your benefits grow every year you're a member. So now... well maybe I don't need them anymore. Not for piece of mind at least, but I have all this time "saved up" and it's hard to dump.

Popular advice I've seen in other places is: subscribe, get your will done and cancel. My advice is, if you'd like it for piece of mind, go for it but remember you're subscribed ($15 both is and isn't significant!). Otherwise I wouldn't recommend it.

There are very few people in this country that would actually need this service. That said, the few that do really need it. Less than 10% of the population is involved in a lawsuit as a defendant or a plaintiff (large-scale class actions don't count) outside of work. That means that there are a lot of folks that do need the assistance.

Really, the liability charge for your homeowners coverage is very small. Generally speaking, it should be less than 10% of the total, maybe less depending on where you are and the amount of property coverage.

Wills and such don't cost much. Unless you're buying and selling a lot of property, I really don't see much of a need, but your results may vary.

If you've got specific liability questions, let me know. Its something I do all day, every day.

There really is no best answer on if they are worth it or not. It really depends on your situation and how much it costs.

It can be handy if you ever need legal advice and you don't know a lawyer but how often does that happen?

Like doubleaught said I used it for to set up a will and a trust fund after my son was born. It was $10 a month and it would have been $300 for a will and such. I would have has to keep it for a year so it was a good deal (ended up leaving the job 2 months later so it was a reaaallly good deal for me)

Did you have any questions on the Pre-paid Legal service or as a career choice?

Because I have the service, and I know someone whose done it as a career who I work with.

Thanks for all of the info guys. I really have no interest in making a business out of it nor do I really have one for buying the service itself, but it might come in handy.

My understanding is that you are restricted to the use of participating attorneys. Those that have already used the service should be able to speak to that.

Think of it as the HMO of legal plans. To keep the cost low, your options are low as well. I'd recommend the service to small business owners, who have more at risk than most people.

*Thread Resurrection*

So, I've decided to try out Pre-Paid Legal as a business opportunity. A friend of mine at work has done mildly well with it, and while it is obviously built as a pyramid scheme, I think it would work better simply because it offers a service people could actually find valuable, as opposed to some others like videophones (Liberty International). Also, it doesn't cost much, so I figure it's a good investment for an experiment.

Thoughts?

If you know you'll have the need for legal advice or service, the wise thing would be to enroll for that year and drop it the following.

Many government employers offer this which can save lots of money if you need real estate or tax advice.

But if you're thinking anything more complicated, i.e. divorce, civil suit, I'd highly recommend not doing this through a prepaid legal plan. You won't get the kind of time and service you need for these types of cases. The top-notch attorneys would never allow themselves to be included in these services.

I knew a DDA in Oregon who quit his job to join up with "Pre-Paid Legal" After nine months he was back at his position with the DA's office. He did not have nice or good things to say about this service. I think he called it Amway without all the customer service and run by monkeys.

Edit:

Just did a google search for prepaid legal. The third return was from Rip-off Reports-

http://www.ripoffreport.com/searchre...=Prepaid+Legal

Not a good sign. I'd stay away myself.

meh, check scam.com for the ongoing useless banter back and forth.
If you're going to join a MLM program - make for damn sure that the product is something that you'll actually use.
Me? I own a business, so it'd actually make sense for me - yet I just keep using up my other contact's hours that they'll never put to good use anyway. These other guys try to make a business out of it, however the target demographic is pretty low unless you like to read legalese or just have fun suing and getting sued all day long.

For most people - the answer is no. The business model is flawed because people will just quit after getting their wills and other legal paperwork done. There's no long lasting residual income on a service that people just don't use on a day to day.