Articles Posted in Legal Advice

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It is a Sensible New Goal 

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The New Year is approaching and now is when many people create New Year’s resolutions. Some of these goals for 2018 include matters such as clearing up credit card debt, getting a better handle on student loan payments, and finding ways to work with medical debt. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services believe that financial wellness is one of the best New Year’s resolutions a person can have. We offer a benefit that organizations can provide for employees that address this.

Financial Wellness Varies

People have distinct needs. One person may want to have information about how to buy a house properly and another needs assistance with medical bills. Someone else might want to know more about what assets he or she might have, and another person may only need a personal budget analysis. Unfortunately, some people are in such financial despair that only a debt management plan will get them out of trouble. Countrywide offers all kinds of services. It could be as simple as a budget analysis or as complex as how to best deal with credit cards. It depends on the person. Continue reading

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Financial Welfare of Beneficiaries is Protectedstockfresh_2662466_last-will-and-testament-concept-of-estate-planning_sizeS_124228-300x196

 

Financial planning is not for the living alone. You should think about how you will disburse your assets during your life, but you also need to consider how money and property will be divided after you are gone. Too many people forget that and put off writing a will for some later day. The day finally arrives, however. Your estate may be forced into a situation where there is trouble for your survivors. A group legal plan can help prevent a financial tragedy.

The Court May Have to Decide

The state law is intended to protect the beneficiaries and survivors. The courts try to guarantee people get what they justifiably deserve. Regrettably, estate without a will is in the hands of the court and an appointed court administrator. Final disbursement could take months or even years. It creates a financial difficulty for survivors. A group legal plan must provide an option for drafting a simple will. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services has such a benefit as an integral part of its group legal plan format. Continue reading

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It Can End Employee Worry

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You may think of financial wellness is not important, but MetLife disagrees. A survey conducted a few months ago by this company indicates that employees are increasingly more concerned about financial wellness. It is a benefit trend that may be picking up speed in 2018. Employers must look at this as more than just a boutique benefit. Their employees certainly consider it essential.

Employees Will Worry About Finances

Financial anxiety peaks in January. The reasons are quite simple: 1. The six-month grace period on college loans is over for the new graduates, and they face having to pay back on the loans. 2. Credit card balances from Christmas holidays show up. It’s enough to drive anybody off the wall. A New Year’s resolution for fiscal austerity may go out the window rather quickly. Continue reading

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The Holiday Season is Full of Thievesindex

 

Holiday shopping brings out the best and the worst in people. In this season of giving there’s also some underhanded taking going on. It can be someone standing behind you in line at the point-of-sale. That person is looking over your shoulder and memorizing your credit card number or your debit card number. It doesn’t take much more for that person to hack into your accounts and start doing a little illegal shopping. Group legal plans often provide a base program and nothing else. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal services is different. We do offer group legal plan benefits, but we also have a means to protect your identity.

Time Helps the Thief

Christmas bills do not show up on credit cards until January. It gives an identity thief plenty of time to make some mischief. This individual can easily max out your credit card with purchases, selling the stuff on eBay or from a car trunk. You don’t know the damage until weeks later. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services offer protection using email alerts. These Internet sent warnings tell an individual that there’s been some unusual activity on the credit card, allowing the owner to take corrective action immediately. These alerts come from the three top credit reporting bureaus and are highly reliable. Continue reading

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Countrywide Offers Proactive Strategies

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College students often live in a ramen noodle atmosphere where money is scarce. It comes as a pleasant shock when the same people land their first real job and start getting paychecks. Flush with cash, they start spending, and the spending can get out-of-control. Reality hits when the six-month grace period ends, and it is time to start paying down the college debt.

Financial wellness can be stressed because spending habits have settled in just as the loan repayment cycles begin. Millennials who have used credit cards in the past to buy groceries are now using them for other purchases, and that simply drives the debt higher. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services wants to help a person get out of what is turning into a financial sinkhole. We have a financial wellness program that can do a lot to correct the situation. Countrywide has a nationwide network of certified financial counselors. These professionals work with plan members to sturdy the boat. A budget analysis is the first part of the service. The results might not be encouraging. Continue reading

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Our Assistance Makes Dealing with Government Easy

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The government can confuse people. Bureaucracies are both national, state, and local. You may have to deal with one and not the other two or, all three at the same time. The average employee is going to find all this frustrating. Many group legal plans do not bother with helping but Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services does. Our group legal plan benefits include assistance with government agencies.

Your tax dollars fund various services through public agencies. These organizations require certain types of information. What can get confusing is what is needed by a federal agency, may be entirely different than what is requested by a local municipality. On top of everything else, some deadlines need to be met. The wrong information will probably result in an application returned to the individual for corrections. It creates an administrative delay that might end up with a missed deadline. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services offer group legal plan benefits for organizations. Our attorneys provide help with those public agencies. Continue reading

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Expert Advice Makes It Easy

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College loans have a time trap. Certain loan programs allow for a fixed period of time to get a degree. If a student’s time in school is accidentally prolonged due to being closed out of a class, it doesn’t matter. Loan programs also have a short grace period of perhaps no more than six months. After that, payments are expected on a routine basis. It is a situation where the overall cost can grow, and a student has very little control over that.

Recent college graduates who are in their first full-time job feel the pressure and the mounting anxiety. Their college loans must be paid, but the same is true for the rent and utilities. Financial wellness is under serious threat, and the person may be looking at possible bankruptcy. Organizations can help fix the problem if they look at the Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services program.

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Knowledge Can Save a Buyer Thousands of Dollars

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It is possible that the new tax reforms will change the housing industry. Changes in tax deductions can cause more people to rent, causing the price of housing to drop. It means that the house is no longer a financial investment but a home. It can cause a change in attitude for a lot of people because they may have to hold onto a house longer than they originally thought. Purchase of a house, therefore, becomes a long-term investment.

The house is also the largest investment most people will make in a lifetime. It is more complicated than a retail transaction. There are mountains of paperwork and procedures involved in the purchase. Not everybody understands how to qualify for a loan, but it is a very important part of the financial wellness issue. It also is true that some of the actors in the home investment process are not committed to helping people. We provide education to help homebuyer be a smart shopper. Continue reading

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Plastic Creates Havoc credit-cards-300x200

 

Folks love it when things are easy. Convenience is desirable, and people take advantage of it whenever possible. Expediency is the reason why people use credit cards so often. No one has to worry about carrying large amounts of cash, and all it takes is a swipe of a card to get a purchase transacted. Credit cards, however, are dangerous to financial wellness. They can cause some serious problems.

Plastic Can Be Overused

Retailers will not openly admit it but they appreciate the use of credit cards because of potential over purchasing. It is a well-known fact that customers will buy more if they use the plastic. It does not take long before a cardholder has a large balance on the credit card. The balance carries with it an interest charge that is in double digits. The interest charge means that the balance can quietly grow to larger and larger figures. Continue reading

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01the-importance-of-a-comprehensive-legal-plan-article-4102-thumb-320x210-86253-thumb-320x210-86254-300x196Unique Legal Help Can be Used

 

Law in the United States is rich in its diversity. There are various kinds of legal specialties such as marine law, domestic and juvenile, Internet law, and various types of property law where an attorney can specialize. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services offers one of the best group legal plan benefits in the country. However, we admit that our attorneys do not know every single type of law. Sometimes, a pre-paid legal services plan member needs special service.

Countrywide has a nationwide network of attorneys ready to assist plan members. If there is a need for specific legal advice, Countrywide will make a referral to the right attorney. This is where many group legal plans stop, but we will go a little bit further for our members. Continue reading