What are legal benefits
Legal benefits are services offered by legal insurance providers to help individuals and businesses find and receive legal assistance at a reduced cost. Typically offered as a membership service, these programs allow individuals and businesses to receive advice, consultations and representation for a range of legal matters at no extra cost or low cost, significantly reducing the costs associated with hiring an attorney. For businesses, legal benefits enhance peace of mind with security in knowing that comprehensive legal services are available through a quick and easy process should the need arise. A small business can face numerous day-to-day legal matters such as vendor relations, contract disputes and employee issues. Legal benefits provides a small business the ability to speak with and secure representation from an experienced, fully-vetted attorney quickly and efficiently, reducing the time and stress involved in managing the issue at hand . Legal benefits provide added comfort, security and reassurance for what is often one of the most important aspects of running a business — the legal side. For individuals, having legal benefits in place allows families and individuals from all walks of life to set up a safety net to cover common legal matters in life such as estate planning, housing rules and regulations and wills and trusts. Individuals can get in touch with an attorney at any time through a series of phone calls, and establish a real partnership with an attorney in your local area who is based on trust, familiarity and credibility. Having this powerful resource at one’s disposal, and at little to no cost, can be invaluable for individuals and families looking to develop a real, trusted legal relationship.
Legal benefits for workers
Beyond these fundamental rights and protections, employees are often eligible for an array of benefits designed to enhance their security, stability, and overall quality of life while employed. Most commonly, employers provide comprehensive health insurance packages that include medical, dental, and vision coverage. For example, a comprehensive health plan may cover routine check-ups, prescriptions, or outpatient procedures and surgeries. In the United States, more than 177 million people are insured through employer-sponsored plans. Expanding access to affordable quality health care is one of the most significant benefits of employment packages. Indeed, in recent years, options have expanded beyond traditional fee for service programs towards less expensive and more preventative options such as telemedicine.
Retirement benefits are another widespread feature of employment packages. Although the 1974 Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) requires defined pension plans to be fully funded, there were originally no such requirements for defined contribution plans such as 401(k) plans. Nonetheless, most private sector employees have defined contribution plans. Under the plans, employee contributions are directed to a long-term investment account while employers are typically required to make some sort of matching contributions, subject to certain caps. If managed properly, these funds may be significant. A typical starting salary of $50,000 a year and 3% contribution with a 3% match results in a $29,872 nest egg after five years, assuming a 6% rate of return, tax-deferred growth, and continued contributions at the same rate. Additionally, depending on the plan, these funds may or may not be accessible. Some plans allow participants to withdraw certain amounts as loans. However, the plans are generally designed for investment and fund withdrawal restrictions do exist.
Paid leave is another benefit that is either required or customary for employees. Under ERISA, employers cannot require employees to take unpaid leave. These leaves may be "paid leave" plans under which the employee receives normal pay for working time they do not work such as sick pay and regular vacation pay. However, unlike employer-sponsored health and retirement plans, ERISA does not apply to these plans, although many such plans are still subject to Internal Revenue Code provisions.
Legal benefits for companies and employers
Employers can also benefit from legal coverage. They may offer their employees liability protection to avoid costly legal disputes. This can be done via an employer group policy or by offering employees membership in an Employee Association.
Tax breaks are one way employers save money through legal plans. Premium contributions are exempt from taxation. Since a large portion of the plans costs are tax deductible for employers, employers may pass on these tax savings to employees. This can allow employers to make plans available to employees who may not otherwise be able to afford legal services.
Consistent and reliable legal benefits can reduce employee turnover and provide an advantage in the competitive labor market. Enhanced recruitment packages can help attract top talent. Employees who have legal coverage are three times more likely to stay with their employer than those that do not. This can result in lower recruiting, training, and other expenses associated with turnover. Employers with existing benefit plans can easily add legal benefits with minimal disruption.
Legal benefits for small businesses
When it comes to legal benefits, small business owners must understand that their asset protection starts before they engage in any sort of relationship or negotiation. Asset protection can save millions of dollars for any business by ensuring that appropriate contracts, licenses, and protections are in place prior to negotiations. Intellectual property (IP) protection should be one of your first steps. IP protection secures your brand, otherwise your IP could fall to the lowest bidder. Proper IP protections will enable your company to avoid most IP litigation. The cost of litigation can become very expensive and may force a business to close down, even if its intentions were not bad. If your business will have an online component, make sure you have drafted agreements with your vendors or partners before your business goes live.
Limited liability is another important legal benefit for small business owners. If your business is not incorporated or formed as some other type of legal entity, creditors can go after your personal assets. Business creditors can even go after your paychecks leaving you with no means of support. Only after all corporate and legal formalities have been observed will a creditor be unable to touch your personal assets. It’s also important that you have appropriate insurance.
Business continuity planning is essential for any company of any size. BC plans come into play when there is a natural disaster, which takes away your ability to do business. Will your business survive if there is an earthquake in California? For smaller companies, it is essential that you have business interruption insurance. It is equally important that businesses have data back-up and restoration plans and test those plans on a regular basis. No business is guaranteed tomorrow, but it can protect itself for the business today.
Legal benefits and government programs
Government programs are another significant avenue through which individuals and businesses can receive legal benefits. For example, the state and federal government offers grants to qualifying entities and individuals to pay for legal services, the amount of which depends on the party applying for the government grant, while the tax code gives an income tax deduction to qualifying parties for payments made in satisfaction of a judgment (as well as amounts paid in settlement of legal cases).
The most significant way the government provides legal benefits is through the granting of monetary relief to injured individuals. Whether it is state or federal prosecution of defendants, entities such as the United States Department of Justice seek to financially penal wrongdoers for unlawful conduct by imposing fines. In essence, the wrongdoer is being required to pay money to the government as punishment, which often helps financially benefit those injured by the wrongdoer.
For those that suffer personal injuries or property damage as a result of someone else’s unlawful conduct, government-provided monetary remedy also comes in the form of restitution. There are many instance where a wrongdoer who commits criminal acts against you is ordered to repay you, when such act involves financial or physical harm. The circumstances triggering such restitution range from violent offenses resulting in physical injuries, sexual assault and abuse , vehicular crimes resulting in damages, to theft of any type of property, including money, goods, etc. Generally, the court may order restitution as part of a sentence to a defendant following a conviction (i.e., the court orders the defendant to repay you for your injuries/damages as part of the defendant’s sentence). Additionally, in some instances, you are not required to request restitution, the court is required to make sure it orders restitution. In other instances, even if a court is not required to order restitution to a defendant, you must ask for it.
Thirdly, one direct way the government provides legal benefits to individuals and businesses is through its provision of financial benefits. Such benefits come in the way of grants, loans, debt forgiveness, promises to repay loans, tax credits, tax deductions, etc. These monetary legal benefits are a way the government incentivizes certain behavior or actions for individuals and businesses. For example, the government offers tax credits and other benefits to qualifying individuals, such as low-income and unemployed individuals and businesses for providing free legal services to low-income people, etc.
The above is only an overview of the types of legal benefits you may be entitled to receive from the government. Therefore, it is important you consult with an attorney regarding the potential for, and feasibility of, pursuing any type of legal benefit afforded to you by the government.
How to get legal benefits
Legal benefits can be accessed through a variety of methods, although the most common is by contact with a legal plan administrator. These administrators typically maintain call centers and online resources that direct individuals to the proper firm, attorney, or agency in their geographical or jurisdictional area, depending on the nature of the legal benefit requested.
For most areas of the law, individuals generally will be required to provide some, if not most, of the following documentation when attempting to access benefits:
Two exceptions to the documentation requirements are immigration law benefits and bankruptcy law benefits. When an individual accesses immigration benefits, no documentation is required up front because the legal plan will retain in-house immigration attorneys who possess the necessary skill set to assist in these matters. Similarly, for bankruptcy, an individual is often required to pay a nominal fee for the credit counseling session that is mandatory under the bankruptcy code and is not generally reimbursable. The legal plan typically does not require an individual to pay a deductible or copayment to retain the services of the actual attorney who will file the bankruptcy petition. As a result, no documentation is required for accessing the credit counseling session for bankruptcy benefits. For other types of legal benefits, including those areas mentioned above, documentation, or at least a portion thereof, is required from both the individual and the legal plan.
Provided all required documentation is submitted, a legal plan administrator will review the information and process it for their client based on which documents were provided as well as the types of benefits a member is seeking. The legal plan provider relies on its staff and outside counsel to determine the specific benefits proper in each instance and to perform the appropriate services. As a result, in some cases, an individual may be referred to an outside firm, where a member of that firm completes the legal benefits. In other cases, the person may be assigned to an in-house attorney of the legal plan provider.
How to maximize legal benefits
To make the most of legal benefits, it’s essential to remain actively informed about your coverage and options. From checking in with your legal provider on a regular basis to seeking advice on the best new ways to take advantage of available benefits, developing an ongoing relationship with the organization providing access to legal benefits is critical to maximizing value.
Take the time to identify new developments in legal benefits, including recently added services and expanded subject matter coverage. Regularly review the following in order to identify new potential sources of value: In addition , make sure that you are fully aware of all aspects of your coverage. For example, Aflac legal benefits include 31 areas of individual and family legal coverage, including: For those who are not fully aware of these benefits, regular reviews and updates with a legal benefits provider can yield increased value. Individuals and families should take a similar approach; making sure that you are up to date with the latest developments will not only ensure you are receiving the maximum benefit for your investment, you will be able to fully harness the value of the package.