Family Protection Plan Planmember Guidebook

Index | Section 1 | Section 2 | Section 3 | Section 4

Part One - Section 2
Family Protection Plan Benefits

Legal Services

You and your family will have access to a nationwide network of plan attorneys that have contracted with Legal Club to provide free and discounted legal services. Upon contacting our MSD, you will be referred to a plan attorney based on language, area of law, and location.

Benefit Features

Free Legal Services
The following nine (9) services are available at no charge from your plan attorney.

• Unlimited phone consultations for each new legal matter (no time limit)
• Unlimited face-to-face consultations for each new legal matter (no time limit)
• Review of independent legal documents (6 page maximum per document, no limit to the number of new independent documents)
• Plan attorneys will prepare a free Simple Will for you and your family, as well as update the Will annually for free. (see definition of Simple Will in Section 3)
• A state specific, web based, free Living Will form is available to Members. This form can be taken to a plan attorney and completed by the attorney for free
• Plan attorneys will help Members represent themselves in small claims court
• Assistance in solving problems with government programs, such as INS and welfare
• When deemed appropriate by your plan attorney, he or she will write letters on your behalf (one letter per legal matter, with no limit on the number of new legal matters)
• When deemed appropriate by your plan attorney, he or she will make phone calls on your behalf (one phone call per legal matter, with no limit on the number of new legal matters)

Deeply Discounted Legal Services*:
The following are eight (8) commonly used legal services for which plan attorneys have agreed to charge a one-time, deeply discounted fee.

Legal Services	Member Rate	Non-Member Rate
Traffic Ticket Defense	89.00	199.00
Name Change	155.00	1,100.00
Simple Will with Minors Trust	250.00	530.00
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy	750.00	1,500.00
Non-Support (Spouse/Child)	275.00	1,500.00
Simple Divorce	275.00	1,100.00
Regular Incorporation	295.00	585.00
Personal Real Estate Closing	250.00	675.00

*Court costs and filing fees additional. Detailed Legal Services definitions can be found in Section three (3) of this guidebook.

Guaranteed Low Hourly Rate:
Plan attorneys have contracted to never charge more than $75.00 per hour for legal care that goes beyond the free and discounted services described above. After the free letters, calls and consultations take place, you and your attorney will decide what course of action to take next. In many cases, you will have no choice and litigation may ensue. This is the point in time that plan attorneys charge the $75.00 hourly rate for legal care.

Retainers:
In the case of extended legal care, plan attorneys may ask you for a retainer. Any retainer sought will be computed by multiplying the number of hours a plan attorney believes a case will take, by the plan’s discounted hourly rate. For instance; 10 hours x $75.00 = a retainer of $750.00. Any unused portion of the retainer will be returned to you.

Contingency Fee Discounts:
The contingency fee discount will be a 10% reduction of the state maximum rate or the attorney's usual rate, whichever is lower.

Identity Theft Restoration & Insurance Services

You will have 24/7, 365 days per year access to Identity Theft Restoration Advocates who will provide you with comprehensive, personalized recovery services.

Our unique identity theft solution provides you with all the components necessary to restore your identity, and prevent future incidences of identity theft. All work done on your behalf is performed by qualified paralegals. Our program takes a completely hands on approach to identity theft restoration.

Identity Theft Restoration:
Upon notification of an identity theft incident, paralegals will:

• Consult with you to determine the severity of the theft
• Prepare and overnight a customized, pre-completed, state specific “ID Recovery Kit™”
• Contact all three credit reporting agencies and obtain a free credit report
• Place fraud alerts on your credit records, and obtain a list of creditors involved with the fraud
• Notify the appropriate bank or agency if other forms of identification (such as an ATM card, driver’s license, social security card, or passport) were stolen or are missing, so that appropriate action can be taken and new forms issued
• Notify local authorities of the incident and help you obtain necessary reports

Lost or Stolen Credit Card Assistance:
Paralegals will assist you in the event your credit cards are misplaced or stolen.

Paralegals will:

• Consult with you to determine the severity of the event
• Contact each credit card company while you are on the phone
• Cancel your affected credit cards
• Request new replacement cards
• Place fraud alerts with all three major credit bureaus
• Assist you with interpreting your credit reports
• Provide daily credit monitoring from all three bureaus for six months to help prevent any further fraud

Identity Theft Insurance**:
You will also receive up to $25,000 worth of identity theft insurance coverage underwritten by a nationally recognized Insurance Carrier with an “A” or better AM Best Rating. This coverage will help offset some of the cost of restoring your identity to its original status including:

• Lost wages: $500.00 per week, for 4 weeks maximum
• Re-filing of loans
• Defense cost for certain civil & criminal law suits
• Reimbursement of fees: Reasonable and necessary costs incurred in the United States by the insured for:
  (a) Re-filing applications for loans, grants or other credit instruments that are rejected solely as a result of a stolen identity incident
  (b) Notarizing affidavits or other similar documents, long distance telephone calls and postage solely as a result of the insured's efforts to report a stolen identity incident and/or amend or rectify records as to the insured's true name or identity as a result of a stolen identity event
  (c) Up to six credit reports from established credit bureaus (with no more than two reports from any one credit bureau) dated within 12 months after the insured's discovery of a stolen identity incident.

*Identity Theft Insurance is not available in NY. Insurance covers enrolled member only.

Unlimited Legal Care at Discounted Rates:
As an Identity theft victim, you will have access to a proprietary attorney network that will represent you at the low hourly rate of $75.00 for all extended legal care.

You may use our program to prosecute identity theft thieves. This identity theft program provides unlimited discounted legal care, at capped hourly rates, enabling you to both defend yourself and prosecute thieves.

Tax Preparation & Advice Services

The Family Protection Plan provides comprehensive personal tax benefits including free tax return preparation and unlimited, toll-free, tax related advice during normal business hours. Additionally, you will have access to most commonly used tax related schedules free of charge or at a significantly discounted rate.

Tax Related Benefits:

• Unlimited advice for personal and business matters on federal taxation via toll-free phone call/fax/e-mail (no time or frequency limitations)
• Free mail-in tax return preparation (includes 1040EZ, 1040A, and 1040)
• $25.00 off of tax returns prepared by Jackson Hewitt
• Deep discounts on numerous tax schedules that accompany the form 1040
• IRS audit assistance
• Tax professionals will review any notice or letter issued by the IRS and provide advice on how to understand and solve the matter.
• Access to a web-based IRS audit tutorial, as well as an IRS notification tutorial.
• IRS notification assistance
• Tax planning
• Review of prior year's tax return
• Member portal with tax tips, tax law changes, tax organization area, IRS audit area, IRS notification area and member advice on-line

All tax and financial assistance is provided by tax attorneys, financial analysts, CPA's, former auditors and/or Enrolled Agents certified by the IRS. Additionally, all tax and financial advice is backed by a $1 million liability policy.

Financial Education & Credit Counseling

This component of the Family Protection Plan provides you and your family with personalized financial and credit counseling services 24/7, 365 days per year. We provide access to counseling and financial education through a variety of delivery methods including telephone, online tools and live chat sessions.

Whether you are renting or buying a home, having problems with debt, or setting up a trust, this financial education program is designed to provide you and your family with the tools necessary to make better financial decisions. Personal financial guidance and education is provided by over 1,000 experienced financial counselors.

The following is an outline of the free services included with this program:

Free Financial Education & Credit Counseling Services:

• Free Consultations
  A complete financial assessment will include a review and analysis of your household income, expenses, assets and liabilities.
• Credit & Debt Counseling by Certified Credit Counselors
  A credit counselor takes the time to thoroughly understand and assess current credit and debt issues. They will:
  • Assist in creating a livable budget to balance income and expenses
  • Provide specific advice on how to deal with creditors
  • Offer money management and budgeting techniques to help gain control of finances
  • Develop a comprehensive spending plan
  • Create an action plan to become debt free
• “Ask Susan” Online Counseling Sessions
  A unique opportunity to receive a personalized response to questions on subjects such as loans, budgeting, credit reporting, collections, dealing with debt, and much more. Email your questions to receive a personal response on these and other financial subjects.
• Housing Advisory Services
  • Advice covering first time homeownership, affordable mortgages and refinancing
  • Post purchase counseling
  • Reverse mortgages – what are they and how do they work
• Online Tools & Articles
  Access online articles designed to inform, assist, educate and alert you in all areas of credit, money management and how to get help.
  • Online tools for budgeting
  • Articles designed to help make smart financial decisions
  • Articles designed to help with family financial and purchasing decisions
  • Hotlinks to a wide variety of consumer resources on topics such as lending, credit reports, credit cards and vehicle purchasing and financing
  • Easy-to-use online calculators to help get finances back on track. Calculators are available to help with budgeting, and vehicle and home financing
  • Tests and quizzes to gain a better understanding of how to improve money management skills
• Money Choices
  Five private self-paced courses, presented by Visa, that teach the skills needed for smart money management.

Financial Services Requiring a Small Fee:
In the event you make the decision to file for bankruptcy, our counselors are trained to take you through mandated education courses, at a minimal fee, so that you can obtain your required certificate of completion prior to the courts granting the bankruptcy.

• Pre-Filing Bankruptcy Counseling Sessions:
  • Cover budgeting, wise money management and the advantages and consequences of filing bankruptcy
  • Familiarize you with the bankruptcy process and discuss financial options
  • Issue certificate of completion allowing you to proceed with the bankruptcy filing process
    This is a formal course that you would be “required” to take if you were going to file bankruptcy. The service provider is approved to issue certificates of compliance with the new bankruptcy codes, which certify that you have completed the pre-bankruptcy education course. It is available in person, over the phone or online. The cost for this course is $50.
• Pre-Discharge Bankruptcy Education:
  • Education courses discuss budgeting, credit, predatory lending, available community resources and the Credit & Debt Education Package workbooks.
  • The cost for this is $50-individual, $75-joint.

LifeEvents™ Telephonic Counseling

You and your family will have toll free access to behavioral health experts 24/7, 365 days a year. All calls are answered directly by licensed, degreed clinical staff, and all services are handled with complete confidentiality.

LifeEvents™ provides you and your family with telephonic counseling for marital, parent-child, substance abuse, emotional, legal/financial, childcare, and eldercare problems, as well as many other personal challenges or stresses. You and your family are entitled to unlimited telephonic counseling per episode.

The Process from Start to Finish

Employee/Family Member Initiates Contact:
To ensure that you get the assistance you need, licensed counselors are readily accessible 24/7, 365 days a year via a dedicated toll free number. Non-English speaking members also have 24/7, 365 days per year assistance via bi-lingual staff and affiliates, as well as through an online translation service with capabilities in over 140 languages.
The LifeEvents™ counselor will:

• Explain the role of a LifeEvents™ counselor
• Ensure confidentiality
• Conduct an initial assessment
• Determine your needs and related resources

LifeEvents™ Counselor Aligns Appropriate Resource:
Counselors work with you every step of the way, from assessment, through recommendation and follow-up.
The LifeEvents™ Counselor will:

• Schedule an appointment for in-person assessment with a local Provider
• Involve, where needed, a dependent care coordinator or legal or financial professional to assist in securing resources and arranging all referrals
• Directly refer you to a community agency or local hospital if an emergent situation is evident

Counselor Assesses Progress & Takes Next Steps:
After the initial assessment, the counselor follows-up with the local provider to coordinate recommendations.

• Recommendations may include referrals to local mental health providers, detoxification facilities, hospitals, physicians, or short-term counseling
• For work/life issues, the Counselor oversees the resource search and ensures that the consultation and resources provided have addressed the issues presented
• Coordinates with your benefit plan to ensure a seamless service progress

Satisfaction & Closure:
Counselors will follow-up with you in a timely fashion to ensure quality and satisfaction of services. Counselors close the case only after determining, with you and the provider, that you have successfully resolved your issue and have completed all treatment recommended.

< Previous | Next >