Articles Posted in Group Legal plans

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A living will sounds like a contradiction. Wills are supposed to convey the wishes of dead people so why bother with one? A living will, and the accompanying medical powers of attorney, are more important than many people can appreciate. Both safeguard the emotions of survivors and loved ones.

The Cold Reality behind Living Wills

A medical crisis is nondiscriminatory: it will strike a person regardless of race, sex, color, or creed. An automobile accident or a cardiac seizure can render a person unconscious and unable to communicate. Healthcare providers are ethically mandated to comply with a patient’s wishes. A comatose victim cannot communicate instructions and the hospitals only course of action is a life support system. Life support puts a person in vegetative limbo; living but not responsive.

The patient’s family goes through the pain of watching a loved one lying in bed with minimal recovery chances. No one knows what medical care the patient wants. Death may be months or even years away. Group legal plans must address the living will issue and Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services does that. We have a living will option in our group legal plan benefits. Continue reading

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Employees have a right to government services. Their tax dollars support public agencies but getting the benefits they need might be frustrating.

Property tax assessments can be appealed but there are forms to be completed and accurate evidence must be submitted. Deadlines are very strict, and appeals are rejected for being too late.

Getting government services is not easy for foreign-born employees. They are new immigrants or here on work visas. The American legal system is a mystery and they are not sure of what to do. It can result in disabled children not getting the help they need in school, or elderly parents not getting the additional attention they need. Group legal plans must guide their plan members through the bureaucracy jungle and cut red tape. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services will do both. Continue reading

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Foreign-born employees are hard workers. They know the opportunity America presents and they want to make the most of it. Coming to a new country does have challenges for them and group legal plans should be able to respond.

The Will Must Be Correct

Immigrants are from foreign countries that have unique judicial codes. It might be the Napoleonic Code, Sharia law, or some other form of jurisprudence. A last will must reflect American law. An inadequate will, or no will at all, guarantees the survivors’ benefits will be tied up in probate court.

A simple will can prevent serious problems. This document is just a few pages but spells out how the estate will be divided. Drafting a will is something any group legal plan ought to be able to do. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services offers this plan benefit. Continue reading

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If hacking were a company, it would be a high-level Fortune 500 corporation. Cyber theft is a multi-billion-dollar industry with international reach. Finance, retail, and hospitality were once the primary hunting ground for hackers. Social media has now becoming increasingly more vulnerable.

The Leaks Are Damaging

Security walls are built to shelter data, but social media has leaking issues. Giants such as Google are now forced to admit that large quantities of personal information were exposed to theft. Corporate apologies are nice, but they don’t do a lot to minimize the danger.

Hackers will do more than open a bogus credit card account. These felons will sell bundles of data to criminal groups who will invade bank accounts and personal privacy. Group legal plan vendors can offer separate services to help people protect themselves from the consequences of a privacy raid. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services can furnish a group identity theft and credit monitoring plan benefit in addition to a group legal plan. Continue reading

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Pre-paid legal services include creating documents. There are many forms of legal paper an individual might use and some that are essential. In fact there can be serious consequences for not having the latter. Effective group legal plans offer a variety of document drafting service.

Protecting Your Survivors

Everyone should have at least a simple will. This protects survivors of loved ones if an untimely death occurs. An estate without a will is considered intestate and the beneficiaries are at the mercy of the probate court. It could take years before the estate is finally distributed to the heirs.

Accidents or a medical crisis may leave a person comatose and living only because of life support systems. Families have the heartache of watching a victim lie in a vegetative state, with no chance of final closure. Decisions about a victim’s care could be delayed if there is no living will or medical powers of attorney. Continue reading

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Legal documents can be a mystery. The text is very precise, and the words are not commonly used. Agreements and obligations are hidden in plain sight and the average consumer is unaware of that. The confusion or uncertainty may compel an individual to stay away from what could be a beneficial agreement. Group legal plans ought to have pre-paid legal services to help folks better understand legal documents.

What to Look for in Legal Papers

Every legal document has its own features which may be slightly different from another. It helps to have an expert review the paperwork. Contracts have agreement clauses that can include what each party must do and the consequences for noncompliance. This is especially true with rental leases which are a form of contract. Warranties might only cover specific services or the use of only certain parts. Individuals may receive letters that serve formal notice of various actions. The intent might not be clear to the average person.

Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services wants to assist people in understanding legal documents. We believe this should be more than just an information page on the website. Our group legal plan benefit provides the services of a national network of attorneys. These people can review legal documents for a plan member. Continue reading

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Employees are concerned about Artificial Intelligence (AI). They understand automation will be a part of the future workplace, but they worry about how it will affect their jobs. Anything that uses AI might add to the employment anxiety and group legal plans must be careful not to overuse automation.

AI makes things efficient at the cost of human interactions. A group legal plan should remember that pre-paid legal services are personal. Each plan member has a unique situation requiring attention. That same person might not understand the language of a legal document or what a public agency needs. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services knows the importance of the human touch. We encourage interaction.

Conferences Are Necessary

Countrywide has a nationwide network of attorneys who provide the services. They are not distant voices but local people who practice law in a client organizations’ community. Countrywide group legal plan members have a priority status and arranging a meeting is easy. Continue reading

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Legal documents are frustrating. There appears to be a need to report almost everything in a person’s life. Information is needed for many things in the document process to help people get what they need. However, it all seems to be a mountain of mysterious pages. Group legal plans must be able to help people with all the documents.

Those Documents Can Protect a Family

Drafting simple wills is a pre-paid legal services option the average group legal plan provides. The same is true for living wills. Family beneficiaries can easily get their portion of an estate if a simple will has been filed. A living will takes the burden of decision-making off the shoulders of a loved one and the same is true about medical powers of attorney. These legal documents allow a group legal plan member to prevent their death from becoming emotional theater.

Understanding the Words Help

Consumers will purchase warranties on appliances, automobile parts, and computer equipment. These contracts will make repair work less expensive. The language can be confusing, and an individual might need someone to interpret the sentences. Continue reading

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Group legal plans proactively market their pre-paid legal services. Consumer protection advice and help with government agencies are services consumers want. The same is true for identity theft protection and credit monitoring. It is essential for any vendor to remember that the quality of service is as important as the benefit itself.

Good Service Is Personal

Vendors will use automation to cut costs. The price quoted to a prospective client is low, but you get what you pay for. Waiting 30 minutes or more for a call center associate is poor service. Q and A pages do not always resolve problems.

Legal issues are sources of high anxiety. Warranty problems are not easy to understand, and legal documents are confusing. A group legal plan member expects more for the premium dollars paid. That individual wants the plan to go one step further to find solutions to unexpected issues or legal emergencies. Continue reading

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Everyone is relieved the tax season is over. The Internal Revenue Service got its fair share and we are done with the 1040 tax form for this year. However, this does not mean everybody is finished with tax paperwork.

Property taxes can be a quarterly, bi-annual, or annual event. It all depends on the jurisdiction or the property. People may dispute the property taxes assessed. There are procedures for appealing the tax amount. Not everyone understands the appeals process and how important certain information is for a successful appeal. Their case is consequently rejected because of this ignorance. There are also other matters that deal with public agencies. Parents may need special services for a disabled child or an elderly parent. Foreign born employees are not always familiar with the process and cannot get needed assistance. Group legal plans should offer help with public agencies. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services provides such assistance to our plan members.

Assistance with Public Agencies

Government entities have regulations and guidelines which direct activity. Public employees must follow these procedures and Countrywide knows this. Our nationwide network of attorneys is familiar with the rules because the lawyers interact with public agencies. Continue reading