Thoughts on [Pre-paid legal service]

[redacted]

Apologies if this is discussed somewhere else, but searching for these terms seems to find a lot about the M&P Shield.

During my LTC course, we had a representative visit from [Pre-paid legal service]. For a small monthly payment of $10.95, you have 24 hour access to lawyers whom specialize in Self-Defense cases, specifically, but not limited to, those involving firearms. https://www.[Pre-paid legal service].com/

Does anyone have any insight into this service? Is it worth it? I am more scared of what happens after using my gun in a self-defense situation than the situation itself; if I survive, what happens? This service provides you a defensive council in a situation where you had to use your gun to defend you or your family, and also is your resource if you have question regarding where or if you can carry into specific places or in specific situations.

I would like to have a service like this one, but I'm not sure if this is the best service to have.

Any thoughts are welcome!

[dlh]

I can only speak for myself, not you. I would rather spend my money on ammo and guns. I thought about the total number of folks with handgun licenses in Texas. Then I thought about the total number of claims or lawsuits filed against members of that group. I do not have any precise figures but my gut tells me it is a tiny, tiny fraction. My risk assessment may not be the same as yours but I encourage you to attempt that analysis. Additionally, ask for a copy of any proposed contract they want you to sign before you sign and review that or have an attorney review that with you. You have the right to know what you are buying with your money.

[Tex1961]

Your probably going to get answers both in the pro and con side of it.. But in the end it's your decision... Plan and simple... Personally, it was one of the first things I did after taking my class. I had it a few days before my LTC arrived in the mail box... Remember this... The ones who say NO, ask them will they be there to represent you if you need it ????

Again, only YOU can make that decision.. I don't even miss the $10.00 per month that comes out of my account... Bring a bag lunch that day instead of buying and you are even $$....

Hope that helps...

[Pariah3j]

I decided for the 10 bucks a month or so, that it was worth it if nothing else to have a lawyer to contact if a situation arises and I need representation at the time of the event. I think it'll be worth it for that alone. I feel like its cheaper than paying a retainer fee to have a lawyer on standby - just don't have those type of funds currently.

[CZp10]

Talk to any independent expert on the subject, and they all agree. If you don’t assume you will need legal assistance if you every need to defend yourself then you are making a mistake. I seriously doubt anyone who claims not to be worried about needing legal help in that situation has any actual facts to back them up. There are plenty of legal and/or insurance services to choose from, and if you have the funds you can put a good attorney on retainer. I would be very surprised if anyone with actual assets to protect would advise you to just not worry about it.

The probability of anyone of us actually needing to fire our weapon in justified self-defense is extremely low, so low in fact that it is one of the reasons that the vast majority of people don’t bother carrying. However, the probability of needing serious legal help if you do use your weapon is very high, and this is based on facts, not opinions. So someone will recommend that you carry a gun for self-defense for a really tiny chance you might need it, and at the same time they will recommend that you don’t take adequate steps to protects yourself and your family’s assets for the high probability that you will need legal help? Ridiculous.

[dlh]

Talk to any independent expert on the subject, and they all agree. If you don’t assume you will need legal assistance if you every need to defend yourself then you are making a mistake. I seriously doubt anyone who claims not to be worried about needing legal help in that situation has any actual facts to back them up. There are plenty of legal and/or insurance services to choose from, and if you have the funds you can put a good attorney on retainer. I would be very surprised if anyone with actual assets to protect would advise you to just not worry about it.

The probability of anyone of us actually needing to fire our weapon in justified self-defense is extremely low, so low in fact that it is one of the reasons that the vast majority of people don’t bother carrying. However, the probability of needing serious legal help if you do use your weapon is very high, and this is based on facts, not opinions. So someone will recommend that you carry a gun for self-defense for a really tiny chance you might need it, and at the same time they will recommend that you don’t take adequate steps to protects yourself and your family’s assets for the high probability that you will need legal help? Ridiculous.

Okay, please provide the facts that, in Texas, if you use your gun in a self-defense situation, that it is probable you will need "serious legal help." To answer that you would have to put in the denominator all of the people in Texas who used their guns in self-defense--then, on the numerator you would have to document all of those people who needed "serious legal help." I have never seen any statistic like that, in Texas, certainly nothing approaching a probability.

[redacted]

All of these are great, thank you. It wasn't until after I posted the question that I noticed the automatic removal of the name, and then proceeded to follow through some additional findings on the specific company. I have to agree that the chances of ever having to use a firearm to defend myself or my family is very minor, but I would rather have the peace of mind knowing that there's a legal council available if I need it.

I am worried that this particular service may not be the best one, but I don't know of other's that are any better with a similar price-point or offer package; I'm very new to this and haven't even gotten my LTC yet... I definitely can't afford to put down a retainer for a lawyer though.

From my review and understanding of the laws, it seems pretty solid that if the shooting was justifiable, that you are not likely going to have to get involved with the legal system too much.

[BBYC]

Everyone knows you will be sued, most likely by multiple people, if you ever have to justifiably use your weapon.

molon labe

[Caliber]

I bought prepaid legal fees. If something bad happens, the whole scenario of jail, grand jury, etc. is not to be taken lightly.

[Liberty]

I bought prepaid legal fees. If something bad happens, the whole scenario of jail, grand jury, etc. is not to be taken lightly.

The thing is the prepaid services are not going to keep you from being held over night for questioning or help you in a grand jury. A lawyer can not represent you before a grand jury.

[rotor]

I received an email today from the not to be mentioned company that says they have 1/4 million members so apparently they are a force to be reckoned with. It is my understanding that it is not legal for them to be advertised as "insurance". It is also a question as to how many cases they have actually represented. I don't have those answers either.

Apparently though this is a financial blessing if the company can bring in $2.5 million per month. We now also see other groups sponsoring legal services and I notice large scale television advertising by the NRA affiliated company.

All in all I can not make recommendations as to which way to go with any of these companies as we just don't have the data to know. It would be interesting to know how many of our members are involved. I don't know how many Texas LTC holders there are but let's assume 1 million. That means that 1/4 of them are affiliated with this company if we are to believe the statistics.

Statistically though the chances that any of us will ever need a legal service during a lifetime are low but not zero. I do not believe though that a "righteous" shooting will escape the hands of a district attorney or civil lawyer without considerable expense or downtime. It is not just a question of how much money that one has it is also a question of whether you will go to jail. In some areas of Texas I would think jail time might be more of a problem. How many of us have the finances to retain a lawyer? Does that lawyer have a knowledge about gun laws in Texas? Obviously the person that does bankruptcy cases is not necessarily skilled in gun cases. How would one even find a suitable lawyer to retain? I don't have any idea. Tough issues but obviously we all need a plan beforehand as to what to do in the worst case scenario. I think that is how these prepaid legal services prosper because they claim to be experts in gun law. Perhaps they are.

[Flightmare]

Charles spoke about this in one of his podcasts:

https://www.texasfirearmscoalition.com/ ... or-do-they

You can skip to 51:39 in the podcast if you want to hear the question that he was asked and how he answered it.

[thatguyoverthere]

For some reason that I've never understood, it seems to me that the owners and/or moderators of this site do not want to allow discussion of insurance and/or prepaid legal services for legal defense of armed self defense encounters. I think a lot of people would benefit from that discussion, but it's their website, so I'll abide by their rules & customs.

Having said that, note that there are some limited but useful discussions on that subject on this forum - you just have to search to find them. There are also other self defense forums that do contain more discussions of this topic. There are also lots of hits that come up if you do a Google search of the web for "armed self defense legal services comparisons" or some similar terms.

Some people say you need that type of protection; others say it is a waste of money. To each their own. I personally am one of those who does believe that having that type of protection is important to me, so I do subscribe to one of those services.

Good luck with your search, and welcome to the forum.

[Liberty]

I received an email today from the not to be mentioned company that says they have 1/4 million members so apparently they are a force to be reckoned with. It is my understanding that it is not legal for them to be advertised as "insurance". It is also a question as to how many cases they have actually represented. I don't have those answers either.

Apparently though this is a financial blessing if the company can bring in $2.5 million per month. We now also see other groups sponsoring legal services and I notice large scale television advertising by the NRA affiliated company.

All in all I can not make recommendations as to which way to go with any of these companies as we just don't have the data to know. It would be interesting to know how many of our members are involved. I don't know how many Texas LTC holders there are but let's assume 1 million. That means that 1/4 of them are affiliated with this company if we are to believe the statistics.

Statistically though the chances that any of us will ever need a legal service during a lifetime are low but not zero. I do not believe though that a "righteous" shooting will escape the hands of a district attorney or civil lawyer without considerable expense or downtime. It is not just a question of how much money that one has it is also a question of whether you will go to jail. In some areas of Texas I would think jail time might be more of a problem. How many of us have the finances to retain a lawyer? Does that lawyer have a knowledge about gun laws in Texas? Obviously the person that does bankruptcy cases is not necessarily skilled in gun cases. How would one even find a suitable lawyer to retain? I don't have any idea. Tough issues but obviously we all need a plan beforehand as to what to do in the worst case scenario. I think that is how these prepaid legal services prosper because they claim to be experts in gun law. Perhaps they are.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I would think that most criminal lawyers would have a good understanding of gun laws. My understanding is that there most clearly self-defense shootings rarely result in more than an overnight stay. How many of these type of cases go further than a grand jury. I believe that the company that claims to have 250K membership is a national company .. Not just exclusively in Texas ..

[CZp10]

How would one even find a suitable lawyer to retain? I don't have any idea. Tough issues but obviously we all need a plan beforehand as to what to do in the worst case scenario. I think that is how these prepaid legal services prosper because they claim to be experts in gun law. Perhaps they are.

You can look at reviews for attorneys and their firms, that is a place to start. Then you call and ask exactly what they would do if you need them. Do you have 24/7 access to an attorney? Will one show up quickly to the scene of the shooting? Can they answer any of your gun and self-defense questions quickly, without having to look things up, have they been defending cases such as these before? Prepaid service or the insurance plans are not a bad way to go, nothing is perfect, but they are better than nothing. But you can also go another route by picking your own law firm and attorney. My only point is assume you will need legal help, just be prepared for it, that is all, don’t put your head in the sand and think everything will just work out ok. The other thing is be completely prepared for exactly what you will do, who will you call, what will you say, what pictures/video of the scene will you take, etc. I have several LEO in my family and respect them greatly, however if you are involved in a shooting the 911 operator and police on the scene are not your friends, they are not on your side.