Articles Posted in Employee Benefits

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Companies of every size have executives and upper-level managers. These people have special needs that reflect their status and these may include legal advice. The assistance may be a little bit out of the ordinary, including the need to do develop living trusts and other documents to protect estate and property alike. The legal proceedings will cost a fair amount of money and have the potential of distracting attention away from company business. Companies can seriously help their top decision makers if they are able to provide upper management with legal service in the form of a prepaid legal plans.

It’s all about time and how it is used. A top level executive has experience and expertise which a company needs to be profitable. This individual’s time should not be consumed with tracking down legal counsel for matters of a personal nature. Prepaid legal plans can help these people with matters of contract and of property law; things that are critically important to an executive’s peace of mind. In addition, prepaid legal plans permit a number of free services and discounts on others. The benefit to an executive is that expensive legal nightmares are not cropping up. Sensitive matters of family law or financial deliberations are handled not by impersonal web sites, but attorneys who are experts in the given fields. The calm that all of this provides for an executive means that his or her thoughts can be more concerned with corporate matters and not be consumed with worries about the law.

Prepaid legal plans can of course be just for upper management only, why stop there? It is a fantastic service for employees and has very serious value as a retention device. That can be especially helpful if a company has highly skilled technical people who are difficult to replace. These plans are a benefit that can persuade a special database administrator or skilled analyst that staying is a good idea.

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Due to economic restraints companies are losing valued employees at an alarming rate. The two main reasons seem to be the inability to increase salaries as well as employees either finding a better offer or they simply wish to go into business for themselves. While the rate of cutbacks has significantly dropped since 2010, studies have shown companies are now in a panic as they struggle to find experienced, well qualified individuals who are willing to work for salaries equal to or less than what they were making even a few years ago. As a result, the term employee poaching has become popular because larger companies are offering positions to people who currently have a job rather than to those who are looking for a job. The belief being that if someone was able to keep their job through the years of downsizing they must be a valued employee and therefore have more to offer than someone who was a victim of downsizing. Smaller companies are then forced to hire someone who is either inexperienced or not as qualified to handle the tasks of the former employee who has left them. The irony is that it actually is not about the money, in fact here are some of the main reasons why top employees leave their current job for another.

• Benefits packages: top ranked companies offer better benefits that include health insurance, prepaid legal services, dental care, and even financial assistance such as credit unions.

• Performance bonuses: Larger companies are not actually offering higher salaries but they do offer quarterly or annual bonuses as well as stock options to their employees based on performance. This gives an employee more incentive to go with a company where their hard work will pay off.

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The majority of us will never be involved in a high drama trial so why would we need prepaid legal services? You have a great job in Mountain View, CA and life is good. You make a good salary, you have money in savings, you pay your bills, and things are fine. Your human recourses department announces at work that there is a new addition to the employee benefits program, pre-paid legal services at Countrywide. Like your health coverage and everything else your company offers you as far as employee benefits you have the option to add this or decline it. You don’t even know a lawyer; you haven’t needed one your entire life, so why would you start paying for one now? You do a little research and find out that the payments are made through small payroll deduction which is nice. By signing up you have access to a huge network of attorneys that cover many legal issues that I may need. The best part is you do not have to worry about cost because I can call for advice, have face to face consultations, examination of my documents, and many more services are covered by those small payroll deductions.

It sounds great but you pass because again, you have never needed the services of an attorney in your entire life. So a few months go by and you want to buy a house, or you get a speeding ticket, or you need to refinance your mortgage, or you need to set up your will, or a family member died and you are inheriting money or something else happens and you need an attorney. So what do you do, you go straight for the phone book because that’s the only resource you have.

Studies have shown that over 81% of mistakes made in the legal field by the average person are actually related to paper work, either the person does not understand what they are reading/signing, or they do not know what needs to be filed. The fact is that unless you have knowledge of how to handle a legal situation the smartest thing you can do is to get an attorney to assist you. Now the average cost of an attorney, even for simple legal matters like helping you with documents, can be very expensive. However, if you have the benefit of prepaid legal services through your employer you do not have to worry about the cost and you can have immediate assistance from a qualified and experienced attorney.

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You have braved your local grocery store. Fought your way through the chaotic aisles and shoved your neighbor out of the bottled beverage section faster than you rushed to the store. Alas, no bottled water. There’s a storm coming, this time a hurricane, and you are not the only one thinking about stocking up on essentials. Back to the car to try another store. Eventually, you are settled in, canned foods and bottled water in the pantry, when the rain comes. And comes. The basement floods. Hail dents the siding. There is nothing you can do but watch as the damage ensues. Would you feel better if you knew prepaid legal services were bearing the storm with you?

You should. As this article from ABC News points out, the storm might just be the beginning of your problems. The damage done to your home can be devastating. If you think your home owner’s policy has got you covered, you might just want to think again. Ed Rogan, of the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance says that most general home owner’s policies do not contain flood insurance. Not only are you not covered, but you might not know it, says Rogan. Prepaid legal services can provide an additional safety net for you so you can rest assured with your bottled water as the storm beats upon your home.

With prepaid legal services through Countrywide, you can have an attorney take the time to review legal documents, like your home owner’s policy, without a hefty retainer. Sure, you are not a fool, but all that legal jargon and the plethora of stipulations might just catch you, and by the time you realize it, you and your home might just be six feet under water. It is best to have an attorney review all contracts you plan on entering before you sign on the dotted line. Further, in the event that you have an unhandled claim, you can rest comfortably, knowing you have the legal firepower behind you to fight your case.

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There is no secret that the best way for a company to run is to have all the wheels turning with as few clogs as possible and there is a way pre-paid legal services can help. Think of your business in Dallas, Texas as a football team. Now the most success you will have is to draft well, have the same solid structure at coach, management and even quarterback for years. Those are the teams that have the most success and the ones that often fail are the ones that draft poorly and have new coaches, new managers, and new players every few years. You need to build a consistent structure that will not fail. Of course there will always be new players and a few new coaches as people’s lives and goals change but the less you have to change, the better you off you are. The same can be said for any business, the stronger the structure, the better the company runs. That means it is very important to not only find the right players or employees but to make sure they stay with you for a long time. So how can you do that? Well salary is one thing but that’s not the only thing. A major factor in why people take one job over another is which company offers the best benefits such as health coverage, financial planning, and even legal service plans.

Since 1995, the top 100 companies in the United States (based on strength within industry as well as financial gains) are all listed within the top 150 corporations to work for.

The list of top 150 corporations to work for does not have anything to do with how much money you can make, it has to do with structure, benefits and the ability to move up in the company. Think about that for a moment, having the best employees, having the best company isn’t based on what you are actually paying people? That actually makes sense and it is a big reason why you need to offer a great employee benefits package which includes pre-paid legal services from Countrywide. These services are great because they offer your employees access to a network of qualified and experienced attorneys who cover nearly every legal field imaginable including; foreclosure, identity theft, bankruptcy, divorce, wills and other legal documents, and so much more. The added bonus is that you do not have to pay for these prepaid legal services, your employees do but that cost is covered with very small payroll deductions. The numbers don’t lie and if you want to have a company that is strong from the bottom up you need to build a structure that includes a strong benefits program.

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When we hear about foreclosure in Chicago, Illinois and legal service plans we always think that someone was laid off from work and cannot afford to cover the mortgage payments on their home. However, that is not always the case; in fact often times foreclosure issues hit people who have steady jobs. So what happened that forced people into a financial bind and could cost them their own homes? The problem is that companies that have stayed in business have struggled to increase salaries while the cost of living has still managed to go up every year. Believe it or not despite being in a recession the cost of living for today is much higher than it was a decade ago when the economy was considered to be thriving. Take a look at some of the increases we have had to deal with since a decade ago.

Fuel had an average cost of $1.50 in the year 2000

Water and sanitation was less than $30 a month in many areas in the year 2000

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Divorce makes you poor. Unless you aren’t in the top 1% of the country that have millions of dollars (and hopefully a good prenuptial agreement), divorce will be costly. It is very expensive to deal with a lawyer on a regular basis. Did you know, that usually every meeting, and even short phone calls to an attorney are things you are billed for? Surely, it is incredibly expensive to get the best overall legal treatment you can. Prepaid legal services can lessen the financial blow.

Imagine yourself in Alexis’ shoes. Alexis, a recently divorced Philadelphia mom in her early 50s with one child in college and one finishing up high school, has been left financially devastated after her divorce. Alexis worked, since high school, as a dental hygienist. While she made a decent middle class living, she certainly depended on her husband’s larger salary (he was a machinist at a local factory) to raise their two children.

After her husband decided to leave, Alexis was left saddled with the family bills while trying to work and raise the children. Though the bills belonged to both Alexis and her husband, his whereabouts were unknown. Alexis had to find a way to pay for all expenses, including bills her husband helped to create, by herself. With the family income split in half, Alexis was forced to work at night as a waitress. The only way to escape her enormous and mounting debt was to divorce her husband. Alas, every attorney Alexis spoke to required a retainer of $3,000 to $5,000. Alexis continues to struggle, and is still legally married. Prepaid legal services could help remove this enormous burden.

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Jill and her husband just split up. Her income has been cut in half. She now raises three kids, all under age 10, by herself. So far this morning, she has gotten up at 5:30 and made six meals -breakfast and lunch for her children. By 7:30, she has gotten the children and herself ready for school and work. When she finally gets on the expressway to work, she gets a phone call -the oldest needs her homework dropped off at school. Now, running 10 minutes behind schedule, Jill gets on the expressway for the second time, only to have a car rear-end her. The cops come. The car needs work. By the time Jill gets to work for a half-day, her productivity is questionable. Prepaid Legal Services can help ease employee woes by helping to provide a safety net for people like Jill.

Steffani Wilk and Nancy Rothbard, professors at Ohio State University and Penn’s Wharton School respectively, conducted a study that quantifies the correlation and causation between employee mood and office productivity. In an article released by Wharton summarizing the study, the writer states,
“They discovered, the mood you bring with you to work has a stronger effect on the day’s mood — and on work performance — than mood changes caused by events in the workplace. This finding, according to Rothbard, suggests that a business’s performance might be enhanced by efforts to help employees cope with mood-affecting influences in their private lives — including advising employees on how to best handle commuting hassles or offering counseling for family problems.”

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You are reading this online right now. You might check your email in a few minutes. Oh, and do not forget about adding money to your child’s college credit card. And somewhere, in between checking out funny videos on Youtube and posting in your favorite hobby forum, you will buy an expensive gift with your debit card and have it shipped directly to the recipient. You lead your life in a virtual, online world, but are you safe there? You lock your car and your house -are you locking your online activity to keep the virtual criminals at bay? Pre-paid legal services can help keep an eye on your online activity to ensure you are not being hacked.

By now you are thinking, “I don’t need extra online security. I have passwords and secure servers for that!” Think again. According to John Pozadzides in this article on computer passwords, 20% of internet users use the same passwords from a list of 10. That means that hackers can immediately access passwords for various accounts for 20% of online users.

The remaining 80%? Pozadzides writes, “One of the simplest ways to gain access to your information is through the use of a brute-force attack. This is accomplished when a hacker uses a specially written piece of software to attempt to log into a site using your credentials.” Chances are, you use one or two password for all your online accounts. Once a hacker implements their system, they can quickly gain access to your bank accounts and other personal information. Revisit our previous blog post on identity theft for a personal story on the effect of a hacker. Pre-paid legal services through Countrywide can protect individuals from a nightmare at the hands of a hacker.

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The real estate market in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and other parts of the country for that matter are very interesting right now and there’s a way prepaid legal services can have an impact. There are different points of view in the real estate market, some people are looking to take advantage of the low prices, desperate sellers, and buying either a home for themselves or an investment property. Other people are in over their heads and will soon be facing foreclosure or even bankruptcy. Whichever side you are on, you will benefit greatly from legal assistance whether you realize it or not. Need link and key word

Let’s use the example of someone who is in danger of foreclosure or even bankruptcy. Many lenders have grown tired of playing nice and trying to be patient with you while you try to get back on your feet. They send threats; even refuse payments so they can start the process of foreclosure early. You may think it’s a joke but some lenders actually have refused payments because they feel the homeowner will continue to struggle making them. If you had pre-paid legal services provided by your employer you would be able to get an experienced attorney who could help you fight the lender and their bullying tactics.

What if you are doing great financially and you are looking to buy a new home either for yourself or as an investment property? There will be little need for an attorney because everything will pretty much be cut and dry right? Chances are you are buying a property that is either in foreclosure or has desperate owners. But what if you agree to a price and then come to find out there are termites? What if you discover the house needs a new roof? What are your options then? That’s when having pre-paid legal services at Countrywide will come in handy because you have unlimited consultations with an experienced attorney to find out the answers to all your real estate questions.

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