Methodist Hospitals

Welcome

Benefits Proudly Offered to Methodist Hospitals Employees

Be fully prepared and confident

with LegalGUARD^sm

Learn about legal insurance, a smart option for your protection.

Product Administered By: LegalEASE

Protect your family’s future, with LegalGUARD.

You work hard to make the right choices for your loved ones, especially when it comes to legal and financial matters. Get the peace of mind you want and the protection you need with a LegalGUARD Plan. LegalGUARD offers valuable benefits to shield your family and savings from unexpected legal issues.

According to the American Bar Association,

More than 70 percent of U.S. households will have the need for a lawyer in the next 12 months. And the same study found most consumers feel uncertain about how to tell a good lawyer from a bad one.

Be fully prepared and confident with LegalGUARD.

Nobody likes to be caught off guard, especially when it comes to legal matters. So how can you affordably protect you and your family from those unforeseen events? By becoming a LegalGUARD member for less than a cup of coffee a day, your family and your wallet have the protection of the LegalGUARD Plan.

Life can be complicated. Finding a good attorney doesn’t have to be.

With LegalGUARD, it’s easy to choose the best attorney, because you get assistance from highly trained and qualified personal specialists who review the details of local attorneys and help you find your best source for legal advice.

The value of being a LegalGUARD member.

Being a LegalGUARD member saves you time and costly legal fees. But most importantly, it gives you peace of mind because it supplies fully paid services for: financial issues, home and residential, auto and traffic, estate planning and wills, consumer and civil law and consultation.

With a LegalGUARD plan, you get:

• An attorney with expertise specific to your legal matter

• Access to a national network of attorneys with exceptional experience that are matched to meet your needs

• Coverage for in and out-of-network

• Online articles, tools and tips

• Concierge help finding a better attorney and navigating common individual or family legal issues

• Up to 10 hours of financial counseling per year

Coverage

The value of a LegalGUARD Plan.

Being a LegalGUARD member saves you time and costly legal fees. But most importantly, it gives you confidence and provides coverage for:

Home and Residential
Financial and Money Matters
Consumer
Auto and Driving
Family and Personal
Civil Lawsuits
Estate planning and wills
Elder Law

LegalGUARD Plan Coverage

Benefits are designed to meet the typical needs of an employee and their family. There are no deductibles to worry about for covered services. Benefits cover the attorney’s time. Other costs such as filing fees or court costs are not covered. Listed below are the types of matters that are covered by the LegalGUARD Plan. This plan offers the convenience of in-network and out-of-network benefits. Many of the below areas are fully covered in-network.

Plan Cost

The LegalGUARD Plan is only $13.66 per month, via payroll deduction.

Who's Covered?

The Member’s lawful spouse and children, and for whom a premium is paid. Eligible Family Members are the Member’s spouse or same sex partner and Member’s unmarried dependent children, including stepchild, legally adopted child, child placed in the home for adoption and foster child, up to age 19, and from age 19 up to 25 years if they are enrolled in an accredited school or college as full-time student(s) and are primarily dependent upon the Member for support

PLAN COVERAGE COMPARED TO COSTS WITHOUT PLAN
Advice and Consultation	LegalGUARD Plan Coverage	Typical Costs Without Plan
Law Office Consultation¹	Covered	$0 to $400
Telephone Consultation	Covered	$0 to $400
Review of Simple Documents up to 10 Pages	Covered	$50 to $400
Consumer	LegalGUARD Plan Coverage	Typical Costs Without Plan
Document Preparation Simple Deed Promissory Note Consumer Dispute Correspondence Installment Sales Agreement Simple Affidavit General Power of Attorney: Member & Family Member Lease Agreement – Tenant Only Time Share Agreement	Covered Covered Covered Covered Covered Covered Covered Covered	$75 to $250 $75 to $250 $75 to $250 $75 to $250 $75 to $250 $75 to $250 $75 to $250 $75 to $250
Consumer Dispute	Covered	$200 to $1,000
Small Claims Court Representation	Covered	$300 to $800
Life Insurance Claims	Covered	$2,000
Identity Theft Defense	Covered	$2,000
Wills and Estate	LegalGUARD Plan Coverage	Typical Costs Without Plan
Simple Will or Codicil for: Member, Spouse & Family Member¹	Covered	$150 to $500
Living Will or Health Care Power of Attorney	Covered	$75 to $250 $75 to $250
Living Trust Document	Covered	$1,200 to $2,000
Probate of Small Estate	Covered	$300 to $1200
Home	LegalGUARD Plan Coverage	Typical Costs Without Plan
Purchase of Primary Residence	Covered	$350 to $900
Sale of Primary Residence	Covered	$350 to $900
Refinancing of Primary Residence	Covered	$350 to $900
Landlord/Tenant disputes¹	Covered	$500 to $2,000
Financial	LegalGUARD Plan Coverage	Typical Costs Without Plan
Debt Collection Defense: Pre-litigation defense	Covered	$500
Debt Collection Defense: Trial defense	Covered	$2,000
Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 or 13	Covered	$1,200 to $3,000
Foreclosure	Covered	$1,500
Tax Audits¹	Covered	$2,000 and above
Civil	LegalGUARD Plan Coverage	Typical Costs Without Plan
Civil Litigation Defense	Covered	$1,500 and above
Traffic Tickets	Covered	$500 to $1,500
Incompetency Defense	Covered	$1,500 and above
Family	LegalGUARD Plan Coverage	Typical Costs Without Plan
Uncontested Separation	Covered	$800
Consent/Default Divorce	Covered	$500 to $1,500
Uncontested Divorce	Covered	$800 to $1,500
Contested Divorce	Covered	$1,500 and above
Name Change	Covered	$150 to $400
Guardianship/Conservatorship¹	Covered	$500 to $1,500
Governmental Agency Adoptions¹	Covered	$500 to $1,500
Stepparent Adoptions¹	Covered	$500 to $1,500
Juvenile Court Proceedings	Covered	$1,000 to $2,500
Immigration Assistance	Covered	$1,000 to $2,500
Criminal	LegalGUARD Plan Coverage	Typical Costs Without Plan
Serious Traffic Matters (resulting in suspension or revocation of license)	Covered	$500 to $1,500
Administrative proceeding (regarding suspension or revocation of license)	Covered	$500 to $1,500
Misdemeanor Defense	Covered	$1,500 to $5,000
Additional Benefits	LegalGUARD Plan Coverage	Typical Costs Without Plan
Identity Theft Recovery Coaching*	Covered	not applicable
Financial Advisor*	Covered	not applicable
Immigration Services*	Covered	not applicable
Mediation*, (Where Available)	Covered	not applicable

¹Some Limitations May Apply.

Exclusions

This Policy excludes benefits for the following:

Appellate court proceedings, class actions, interventions, derivative action and amicus curiae filings.

The preparation and filing of individual, partnership or estate tax returns, appellate or administrative proceedings related to tax returns, litigation before the U.S. Tax Court, U.S. Court of Claims or any other federal, state or other courts with respect to tax matters.

Matters relating to securities, trademark or patent matters; business or commercial interests, including, but not limited to, professional, partnership and/or corporate matters; matters involving the law or laws of jurisdictions other than the United States and its territories and Canada; any matters involving a government (domestic or foreign) entity or agency; farm related issues; matters involving commercial or rental property transactions, including the purchase, sale or lease of investment or income-producing property. A two-family house, whether or not used by the Member as his or her primary residence, is deemed an investment or income-producing property.

Legal services which are fully paid for or provided at no cost by any governmental agency, organization or insurance company.

Matters that the attorney deems frivolous, spurious, harassing, or unethical (collectively referred to as “frivolous”) or otherwise prohibited by the Model Rules of Professional Conduct of the state in which the attorney is licensed.

Costs associated with covered legal services, including but not limited to, all fines, court costs, penalties, sanctions, expert witness fees, bonds, bail bonds, attorney fees, exhibits, deposition costs, filing fees, transcripts, postage, telephone, photocopying, recording fees, messengers, judgements, jury fees, court reporter fees, investigative costs and all other

incidental and out-of-pocket legal and litigation costs.

Any services on behalf of a Family Member against the interests of the Member.

Any employment-related matter. This includes, but is not limited to, any dispute involving the Member’s employer or its affiliates, their officers or directors, the Member’s employee benefit plans, credit unions, programs or arrangements sponsored by an employer, or cases involving workers’ compensation, unemployment compensation, sex harassment, age discrimination, etc.

Any dispute or proceeding against the following persons or entities, their officers, directors, employees, or agents: any person or entity involved in the sale of the group policy; Administrator or its subsidiaries; Policyholder; Member’s employer; Virginia Surety Company, Inc. it’s parents, subsidiaries or any affiliated or successor company, plan underwriter or reinsurer; Plan Sponsor; or any Participating and/or Non-Participating Attorney, if the dispute or proceeding pertains to services provided under the group policy / Certificate of Coverage.

Except regarding LegalEASE Helpline and Financial and Tax Helpline services, benefits will not be provided in connection with pre-existing matters, which includes any matter where the Member and/or Family Member is on notice as to a pending legal dispute or has previously contacted an attorney.

Network

About the Network of Attorneys

When going in for surgery, you don’t want a surgeon that has a poor track record or only a couple years experience. We feel that a legal need is just as important.

The credentialing standards that we utilize to vet our providers is the most stringent in the country. We focus on years of experience, as well as insurance, review of E & O and Discipline, as well as penalty of perjury submissions with extensive back ground checks.

When it comes to finding an attorney…. an employee can waste days looking for the right one, even with a legal plan.

Our process has a Help Focus Infrastructure. We focus on our relationships with our Providers to help us help your employees, faster. Our Attorney Match Technology and dialogue with attorneys and members ensures the RIGHT help the first time. Matching an employee to the RIGHT help expedites solutions while saving time and stress.

Thanks to them matching me to the attorney, I got the help I needed. I would have not known who to call on my own.

Member– South Carolina 2009

Best Qualified Service-Oriented Attorneys

We understand how important it is to give your employees experienced help from quality lawyers when they need them. For this reason, we have set up one of the most developed Network Attorney and Law Firm Providers that help your employees obtain professional, experienced and quality care when they face a personal legal problem.

Under the Provider Network, your employees will receive legal help from professionals with many of these service characteristics:

Experience in the Legal Matter Needed
Quality Time Spent in Consultations
Years of Legal Training and Experience
Up-to-date Legal Training Each Year
Lawyers Who are Service-Oriented
Lawyers Who Have a Solid Local Reputation in their Communities
Exceptional Backgrounds
Years of Courtroom and Trial Experience

Provider Standards of Care

The Network Provider shall strive to provide the highest quality of legal representation and service to Plan Members.

Plan Providers agree to the following:

To comply at all times with the Rules of Civil Procedure and Criminal Procedure and the Rules of Professional Conduct applicable to the jurisdiction.
To return member's calls promptly within one business day, and communicate with members such that a member and the member's family do not voice substantiated concerns over promptness or frequency of your or your firm's communication.
To not enter continuances, adjournments, or the like without the member's comfort and consent.
To not arrange for substitutions or stand-ins unless the member has been previously advised and that the member understands that you remain responsible for the case and to contact you if there is any concern or if proceedings do not go as planned.
To always respect a member, their needs and family.
To maintain a professional office, in staffing and appearance.
To fully explain yourself such that a member has an understanding for the reasons behind your recommendations and suggestions, even if a member may not hire your firm.
To not complete any additional work that will result in a fee to the member, where not covered by the member's plan, until a fee arrangement is fully understood by the member and there is a written agreement.
To help each member individually and ensure that everything you do is in the interest of the member.
To notify Legal Access if there is or may be the possibility of a conflict of interest or violation of ethical codes.
To notify Legal Access if there may be a misunderstanding or potential service issue where there may be a complaint without breaking any client confidences.
To direct any grievances or concerns, such as process procedure or billing, to Legal Access and not a member.
To not refer any member to another attorney without the knowledge and consent of Legal Access if you cannot assist.
To take responsibility and uphold the highest standards of customer service delivered by any and all firm staff or employees that have interaction with members.
To communicate and cooperate with Legal Access on any concern, inquiry or issue and return any communication from Legal Access within one business day.

About

We are here to serve you...

We believe people deserve to have a sense of safety and security, a peace of mind, when it comes to being protected in legal matters that they may not be the experts in. To have access to legal professionals that can ease and solve their legal burdens. We are here to serve you.

How we do it is by providing an in-depth pool of resources to accommodate all your legal needs. Legal Access and LegalEASE have broad experiences with employees in small, medium and large companies in the public and private sectors, local, state and federal government offices, unions, employee assistance plans, work-life companies, and organizations, when it comes to solving your legal matters.

What we do is provide value by creating unparalleled access to a network of skilled attorneys to cover your legal needs with options in convenient plans. We are a diversified employee benefits company engaged in administration, network development, technology management and insurance, based in Houston, Texas. Since 1971, we have grown from five attorneys in Los Angeles providing services to a modest amount of companies into a company with the strongest attorney network across America. We provide assistance to members over half of a million times each year throughout the United States and the world.

Legal Access Companies consists of several companies and brands to best meet customer needs, including but not limited to: Legal Plans USA, Legal Access Plans, LegalEASE, and LAMG. Legal Access Plans has a wide array of products across several market segements, including worksite, employee assistance and worklife. LegalEASE is the group's primary insurance brand and focuses primarily in the worksite market. LegalEASE products are underwritten and presented by Virginia Surety Company, part of the Warranty Group.