What are the basics of pre-paid legal services?

Before rushing to call an attorney to get tax advice, adopting a child, or writing a will, keep in mind that the attorney's fees can end up costing you a lot of money. Some of the sting in paying for a lawyer can be eased by some pre-paid legal services.

These are some common services covered by pre-paid legal plans:

• Creating trust
• Mediation in neighbor disputes
• Divorce
• Review of contracts
• Representation in real estate transactions
• Court representation on charges (such as DUI)
• Writing a will for you and perhaps your spouse

Pre-paid legal plans will probably be offered to you in two ways: "comprehensive' and "access'. Keep in mind that access plans will probably cost a lot less than comprehensive because they provide coverage for about $150 per year for a family.

An access plan will provide quick access to an attorney for advice and simple legal services. Without a pre-paid legal plan, you might end up paying anywhere from $145 to $210 per hour for advice. Sounds like a lot to ask, right? Yeah, it is a lot to ask. Without a pre-paid legal plan, you might end up paying a lot more than your wallet can handle.

Even though comprehensive coverage is much more expensive than access, it provides much broader coverage. It will provide coverage for services that require much more effort and time on the part of attorneys, such as contracts, deeds, trusts and wills.

Legal transportation in negotiations will be provided in comprehensive pre-paid plans as well. In some cases, all costs involving litigation will be covered. However, these plans can cost people an average of $300 a year or more.

Both of these plans have their positives and negatives. The major plus in access plans is that they cost a lot less than comprehensive plans. The comprehensive plans provide much more coverage and usually give people the safety that they need. Both plans are really good to have and will provide consumers excellent coverage.