Articles Posted in Group Legal Services

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Organizations should pay close attention to living wills and powers of attorney. These are standard pre-paid legal services offered by group legal plans and both documents are important to any employer. Each can influence the claims experience of the group health plan.

The Basic Details

Living wills center on catastrophic and major medical care. An employee might be rendered unconscious. The victim’s wishes for medical care such as whether to use life support might not be not known. A living will spells out what is to be done in the event a person is unable to communicate. Medical powers of attorney assign decision-making responsibility. The person holding the authority will make decisions based on the victim’s express wishes and make final decisions about life support systems.

The Importance

Healthcare providers may not arbitrarily turn off life support or end treatment. A victim of a massive cardiac seizure might be on life support for months before dying. The claims experience continues to increase as the insurance policies are billed by the care providers and the employees group healthcare plan must absorb sizable costs. Continue reading

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Group legal plans will obviously promote their pre-paid legal services to prospective clients. The ability to write wills or review legal documents are stressed but that is insufficient. There are member services to consider as Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services well knows. Communication is important

Relationships Are Essential

Amazon’s Alexa appears to be the latest trend in customer service. Help chat rooms also are frequently used. These will not cover all the bases in a group legal plan. Plan members want a relationship with the service provider.

It can be brief but having a face identified with the voice means a lot. A person wants a face-to-face meeting with an attorney to discuss consumer protection among other matters. Drafting a living will and medical powers of attorney are emotional issues. It helps to deal directly with an attorney who has excellent people skills. Continue reading

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Group legal plans will advertise their ability to write wills. It is an excellent idea to have one and a last will should be on everyone’s bucket list. It isn’t. Too many people put off one until later. They believe they are too young to need one. It is a mistake to think that way and survivors pay for the error.

Time and Trouble

An excuse for not drafting a will might be state law. More states are eliminating estate taxes (by the way, you still need to report estate information to determine if you must pay other taxes). It’s only an excuse and not a real justification for ignoring something very important.

The will directs how an estate is to be managed and how assets are dispersed. No will means the probate court gets involved. It results in every estate decision requiring court approval. Delays are expensive. Survivors with large bills or college tuitions must wait months or even years for the final disbursement. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services knows how frustrating all of this is for family survivors. We provide a will writing option as a group legal plan benefit. Continue reading

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Employees who transfer into town are looking for place to live and not just stay. They want an apartment as soon as possible and are delighted when they find a place that is just right. The individual wants to move in as soon as possible and is anxious to sign a lease. That can be a problem.

The new tenant forgets to read the lease. That document is more than an agreement; it is a legal document. A tenant is bound to the terms and might accidentally sign away certain rights. Group legal plans should offer some protection against deceptive documents. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services provides for a review of legal documents that includes parental leases.

Experts Will Check the Clauses

The Countrywide national network of attorneys has legal professionals to review legalese for group legal plan members. Those lawyers know what should and should not be in a lease. Continue reading

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Good service is important today. People insist on it and expect group legal plans to provide exemplary pre-paid legal services. Not all of them do that.

The Internet world is becoming impersonal. FAQ pages and blog postings appear to be the preferred ways of helping plan members. Call centers, if used, are staffed with people who are not legal professionals. Group legal plan members deserve more than scripted answers. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services goes the distance to give the very best member services.

Efficient Member Services

Legal problems are not cut and dried. Difficulties with public agencies or warranties can be complicated and simple answers are not enough. Countrywide believes that face-to-face conferences matter. We encourage direct meetings with our attorneys. It is easy to do, and our nationwide network of attorneys can quickly respond to meeting requests. Continue reading

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A will is something everyone needs, but not everyone drafts one properly. There are those who will write their own on a piece of paper and others who use an online template. Such methods have the potential of creating drastic consequences. Wills composed this way can leave behind a great deal of confusion and trouble for survivors.

Doing Things on the Cheap

An individual may want to avoid legal fees and use an online website to draft a will. Such templates are not as good as a pre-paid legal services benefit. These DIY wills may not contain all the right words or be updated to include new language. The average person doesn’t know all the right phrases and will make composition errors. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services wants to help people avoid serious legal accidents. We have drafting wills as a group legal plan option.

Professionals Draft Simple Wills

Countrywide allows for wills of up to six pages to be written. We believe that is enough for the average group legal plan member. Our nationwide network of attorneys has considerable experience in drafting wills. They write a document which will have no issues with probate court. Continue reading

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No one can ignore legal documents. Like it or not, these papers are a part of everyone’s daily life. Legal documents are not just contracts. They can be apartment leases, product warranties, fishing licenses, and powers of attorney. These all carry levels of authority and have consequences for noncompliance.

The difficulty for an average person is in the text. Legal script is not ordinary composition. The phrases are unfamiliar and some of the words are not commonly used (e.g. sine die= without delay). Anyone can get flustered and feel nervous about signing legal papers. Group legal plans should have document review as a benefit option. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services has this benefit as a group legal plan option.

Reviewed by a Professional

A customer service representative should not give pre-paid legal services. Countrywide has a nationwide network of experienced attorneys. They are the ones who will give direct service to a plan member. It is easy to contact a Countrywide attorney; at least one practices in the local community. A meeting with an attorney can easily be arranged. Continue reading

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Employees will be sitting down with their financial advisors in the coming weeks to look at money affairs. It is a time when some serious financial decisions are going to be made, which will affect the clients saving and spending in the future. Something that every financial professional is going to recommend to his or her clients is the importance of a will. It is a cornerstone of sensible money management.

Keeping Things in Order

A will is a legal document that prevents estate chaos. Beneficiaries and loved ones will receive what the will specifies, and an executor will be tasked with making all disbursements and presenting required reports to tax officials. Those who die without a will leave behind considerable legal trouble.

The lack of a last will means that probate court takes charge. A court-appointed administrator assumes the management of the estate, but this person has limited authority. He or she must report back to the court on various decisions and this can delay disbursement. This is going to harm beneficiaries. Group legal plans will draft last wills and testaments. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services does this and adds a little bit more. Continue reading

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It is not always easy to deal with government agencies. It appears as if a bureau or commission is asking for all your information, including DNA samples. It gets frustrating and you need to be careful. Providing the wrong information can lead to accusations of fraud.

Benefits Require Evidence

Government benefits are more than cash payments. They can include licenses and other documents allowing you to have certain privileges. There are rules and regulations which govern the benefits and you must be able to provide the right information. It is unfortunate, but some people try to cheat, and agencies are on the alert for fraud. It can happen in the crush of supplying information that you give the wrong data, and that leads to trouble. You can be accused of fraud and the penalties are severe. Group legal plans should help people deal with public agencies and situations where suspected deception arise. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services will help plan members as they work with government.

Avoiding Careless Mistakes

Mistakes can happen, but they need to be avoided. Countrywide has a nationwide network of lawyers who can assist in providing the right information. These legal experts can look at applications and advise legal plan members about what is required. The lawyers can caution a person about making the right statements and how to comply with mandated requirements. Continue reading

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There is a little bit of a letdown after the holiday season. There are emotions and expectations that surround the gift giving and people want to be able to enjoy the presents they received. Big-ticket items such as widescreen TVs, personal computers, smartphones, and other electronics should work. Unfortunately, some of these expensive toys are going to break down due to overuse or faulty merchandise. Many shoppers are going to buy a warranty to cover any problems that may arise. However, not everybody knows what their warranty covers. Group legal plans don’t always help with warranties, but Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services does help.

Knowledge Is Power!

People don’t fully appreciate the cost of those little electronic gadgets until one breaks down. It is possible that a repair bill of over one hundred dollars is going to be required to fix things. Consumers will buy warranties as a hedge against the debt but might not know what the warranty covers.

The warranty may only cover labor or certain parts. There may also be a time limit during which the warranty can be exercised. People don’t always understand the wording of the warranty and get frustrated. Countrywide group legal plan members, however, have an opportunity to use the pre-paid legal services of a competent attorney. Continue reading