March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Prepaid coverage for legal services gains favor in Maine

PORTLAND — A Biddeford man who signed up last year for prepaid legal coverage says it has saved him time, money and aggravation while making him more aware of his legal rights.

“It’s just like having auto insurance,” electronics technician Ken Cooley said. “You hope you never need it, but if you do, it’s nice to have it there.”

Cooley, who pays $16 a month for coverage, is one of a growing number of Mainers who are signing up for prepaid legal plans. He has used the service to settle a dispute with a tenant in his three-unit apartment house in Biddeford and to contest a speeding ticket.

First introduced in the United States in the 1960s, legal service plans have grown in popularity in recent years. The National Resource Center for Consumers of Legal Services, a trade group in Virginia, estimates that more than 110 million Americans now have some sort of legal coverage plan.

In Maine, no one is sure how many people are covered, but attorneys and the companies that provide the services say the numbers are growing.

One company, Pre-Paid Legal Services Inc. of Oklahoma, began selling prepaid legal services in Maine four years ago and says it now has more than 1,000 customers in the state, nearly all of whom have purchased individual plans.

Other companies sell group legal coverage plans to companies that have employees in Maine.

Under typical plans, people pay a flat rate — usually $10 to $20 a month — for the services of a network of lawyers to handle legal matters ranging from drafting a will to arranging an adoption or handling a divorce.

Serious criminal charges or complicated legal issues are usually not covered.

For lawyers, the plans provide a small stream of new business. They can also help establish relationships with clients who might need legal services not covered by the plans.

Alec Schwartz, executive director of the American Prepaid Legal Services Institute in Chicago, said the plans provide an inexpensive and relatively painless way to gain access to legal help.

“The biggest problem is people tend to let these things go,” Schwartz said. “If they get a traffic ticket, they just pay it. If they get into a dispute with a landlord or have a problem buying a house, they try to settle it themselves or ask a family member. I think a lot of people forgo their rights because it’s inconvenient.”


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