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Editorial Advertising General Information |
| Prepaid Legal Services, Inc. protects individuals, families By Ofelia Saenz, Signal Tribune Staff Writer
The rise in identity theft is just one reason people are considering protection by companies that provide prepaid legal plans. Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. is a publicly traded, NYSE company that has been providing life-event legal plans to its members for over thirty years. "What we're trying to do is make the legal system affordable," said Connie Brown, a local, independent associate and small-group benefits specialist with Pre-Paid Legal. "If they get into a legal situation, most people ignore the problem [because] they're intimidated by lawyers, or because they simply can't afford [the attorney fees]." The service works much like health insurance or car insurance. For a modest monthly fee, cardholding members and their immediate families can access legal counsel and advice from qualified lawyers across the country. Last year alone, the company fielded over 2.8 million calls from members seeking legal advice or counsel. Pre-Paid Legal provides members preventive legal services through consultation and advice on everyday issues as well as important decisions; they write letters and make phone calls on behalf of the client; they review contracts and documents; and will provide members with a standard will. Cardholders can also receive a living will and durable power of attorney, at no additional cost, if they have them prepared at the same time as their will. Pre-Paid Legal also has plans for business owners that wish to offer the coverage as a benefit to their employees. Because the price of health insurance has gone up and the cost has had to be passed on to workers, human-resources departments are looking for other types of incentives to make their benefits package attractive to prospective employees. The timesaving factor of Pre-Paid Legal also translates to a more productive workforce, according to the company's informational literature, because, rather than have to take time off work to visit a law office, an employee's peace of mind is a simple phone call away. For more information about Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc., contact Connie Brown at (310) 714-1408, or (888) 770-3210, Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., or visit the www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/cbrown45. The website includes information on plan rates and a brief video that outlines the concept of their services. |
Although credit-monitoring services can offer valuable protection, it's not enough, according to Harland Stonecipher, chairman and CEO of Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. Credit-related identity theft is only one type of identity fraud; more than 70 percent of occurrences are actually non-credit-related according to Stonecipher.