Should I break up with my enployer's group legal plan?
April 1, 2015 10:06 PM Subscribe
Thinking about ditching the group legal plan I have through my employer even though I expect needing some legal help in the near future. Is this a stupid move?
My employer's group legal plan (Through MetLife, if it matters) is about $15/month and I'm coming up on benefits reelection season and thinking about ditching it after carrying it for 2 years and not using it once.
This would normally be a no brainier except I'm very likely going to be needing the services of an attorney to handle a (hopefully) fairly straightforward divorce in the coming year. I haven't a clue how much an attorney runs and whether I'm missing the whole point by ditching the group legal plan a few months before I know I'll have an excuse to finally use it.
What do you think? Please don't tell me to pick up the phone or google and to service/price compare; I'm looking for your thoughts on the general costs/benefits of legal plan services vs comparable (are they comparable?) services purchased independently.
My employer's group legal plan (Through MetLife, if it matters) is about $15/month and I'm coming up on benefits reelection season and thinking about ditching it after carrying it for 2 years and not using it once.
This would normally be a no brainier except I'm very likely going to be needing the services of an attorney to handle a (hopefully) fairly straightforward divorce in the coming year. I haven't a clue how much an attorney runs and whether I'm missing the whole point by ditching the group legal plan a few months before I know I'll have an excuse to finally use it.
What do you think? Please don't tell me to pick up the phone or google and to service/price compare; I'm looking for your thoughts on the general costs/benefits of legal plan services vs comparable (are they comparable?) services purchased independently.
Best answer: Group legal is good for stuff like wills and estates. Also they can be handy for real estate transactions. You may need those services during or after your divorce proceedings.
If you are not planning legal transactions then yes ditch the plan. Get your will done first though.
posted by crazycanuck at 10:35 PM on April 1, 2015
If you are not planning legal transactions then yes ditch the plan. Get your will done first though.
posted by crazycanuck at 10:35 PM on April 1, 2015
I've looked briefly at a description of MetLife legal services coverage and it looks pretty basic, and possibly limited to document review, and maybe advice and a consultation. I haven't been able to figure out what is actually covered by a plan like this, and it looks like there is variation depending on the plan that you have.
It is difficult to predict what your costs will be for an attorney, because it can vary by attorney and depend on whether your case is contested or not. However, your local courthouse may have services to help people with divorce paperwork for a low cost, even though they cannot provide legal advice, and can only help with filling out the forms. More information about finding an attorney and free and low-cost legal resources is available at the MeFi Wiki Get A Lawyer page.
One thing to consider is that it may be possible to settle a divorce fairly quickly and inexpensively through mediation - if you hire an attorney to be with you during the mediation session, your legal interests can be protected and you can have the benefit of a discussion forum that is designed to be private and give both parties an opportunity to be heard. Mediation can be a cost effective option that also helps reduce conflict and the amount of time required for your divorce, especially if you have your own attorney participate in the session with you.
posted by Little Dawn at 10:45 PM on April 1, 2015
It is difficult to predict what your costs will be for an attorney, because it can vary by attorney and depend on whether your case is contested or not. However, your local courthouse may have services to help people with divorce paperwork for a low cost, even though they cannot provide legal advice, and can only help with filling out the forms. More information about finding an attorney and free and low-cost legal resources is available at the MeFi Wiki Get A Lawyer page.
One thing to consider is that it may be possible to settle a divorce fairly quickly and inexpensively through mediation - if you hire an attorney to be with you during the mediation session, your legal interests can be protected and you can have the benefit of a discussion forum that is designed to be private and give both parties an opportunity to be heard. Mediation can be a cost effective option that also helps reduce conflict and the amount of time required for your divorce, especially if you have your own attorney participate in the session with you.
posted by Little Dawn at 10:45 PM on April 1, 2015
Response by poster: You're all right. I logged in and checked the member benefits details: divorce (contested and uncontested) is only available as free consultation services but not representation or document preparation.
On the bright side, sounds like they do a nice job covering tax audits, adoptions, and all kinds of basic real estate stuff that's of no immediate use to me.
Thanks for the answers!
posted by ttyn at 11:06 PM on April 1, 2015
On the bright side, sounds like they do a nice job covering tax audits, adoptions, and all kinds of basic real estate stuff that's of no immediate use to me.
Thanks for the answers!
posted by ttyn at 11:06 PM on April 1, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
Your immediate choice is whether to pay for the plan for the next year (or, conceivably, until after your divorce, which is a life event that may allow you to redo your benefits and cancel the legal plan). In other words, the question is, "is paying $180 for group legal services through Metlife a good idea given a pending divorce?"
I would answer that with "no", primarily because it looks like Metlife doesn't cover divorce (there's no mention on their website). Further, many prepaid legal plans do not cover any contested case - even a mild disagreement between you and your spouse may trigger a large bill not covered by insurance. Finally, as an entirely intuitive argument without an attempt at numerical justification, I'm suspicious of any plan that is basically gambling that you will use less than 1 hour of a lawyer's time per year (even valuing a lawyer's time at a rather low $180/hour). Lawyer time is expensive, and the plan can't make money if you use very much of it, so the plan will have to either make it hard for you to get time from a lawyer or greatly decrease the quality of the work you get from the lawyer. Either of those outcomes does not make for a good divorce case, even one that's not contested.
posted by saeculorum at 10:30 PM on April 1, 2015 [3 favorites]