Brian R Kelly

Tag: lawsuit

  • LegalShield Small Business Plan Protects Real Estate Brokerage

    LegalShield Small Business Plan Protects real estate brokerageLegalShield Small Business Plan protects real estate brokerage. Broker/owners have a lot of risks. We are dealing with the public and emotional property and transaction issues. Many problems are covered after the fact of lawsuit. Legal problems are prevented with my Legal Shield small business coverage plan.

    The greatest value of LegalShield’s Small Business Plan is the ability to pick up the phone and ask questions regarding hiring and firing, worker’s compensation, contract review, joint ventures, city zoning, vendor issues, etc. I do not have to worry about choosing the correct attorney for the question and then dealing with the aggravation of paying an unknown amount for the advice. I know what the bill will be each month and I know if the lawyer does not know the answer they will research the issue and get back with me. I was amazed at the research completed by the Tennessee law firm for an issue related to an unlicensed investor purchasing an option. The law firm did a great deal of research on Tennessee law as it related to previous court cases and specific language in the state real estate code.

    My real estate company has general liability and errors and omissions insurance. The Legal Shield policy accomplishes a few things for me as a business owner, which are as follows:

    1. Valuable research and answers to unlimited questions during business hours. Prevention of future problems.
    2. Review of agreements and signed contracts.
    3. Legal correspondence. Writing letters to get things accomplished.
    4. 75 Hours of Pre-Trial and Trial Defense if company is named defendant in civil action.
    5. 25% discount on any additional legal fees if needed.

    One of my agents and my company was sued by an investor purchaser this year. My E&O company and Legal Shield worked together to help me defend the suit. The suit was dismissed and I was a relieved broker.

    I grew up around the real estate business since the 70s. I have been serving in the real estate brokerage business since 1991. The family real estate business has seen thousands of property transfers. In 2006 the company had 14 office locations and over 400 agents and over $20 Million in commissions collected. I am not saying this in a boastful way, I am saying I know what it is like to see 5 figure legal bills on your Profit and Loss statement. In have been in court representing a seller defendant and I have had to go to court to sue a developer/builder to collect earned commissions not paid. Hind sight 20/20, I could have saved much money using the Small Business Plan of LegalShield.

    But, no time like the present. I started a small real estate brokerage firm and now I do use the Small Business of Legal Shield plan to protect it. I found out about the plan from an investor attorney who has the plan for his property management business. I purchased a family plan to protect my son going away to college. I liked it so much, I bought the small business plan and then decided to sell it to others as an extra income. LegalShield does not solve all your business problems, but used well, they can save you lots of time and money in legal fees. Check out my website to find out more about the plan. Call me if you want to find out why I choose LegalShield Small Business Plan to protect my real estate brokerage.

  • What is Legal Shield?

    What is Legal Shield? Legal Shield is the old Pre-Paid Legal. Pre Paid Legal was started in the 70’s by Harland Stonecipher of Ada, OK. Legal Shield LogoHe was involved in a car accident. He had auto insurance but another party sued him even though he was not at fault. He had to pay thousands of dollars to defend a lawsuit. Most home owners and auto insurance policies do not cover legal fees. You certainly do not have to be at fault to pay thousands of dollars to defend yourself. So Pre-Paid Legal was begun.

    What started out as a type of “legal gap insurance” has grown into many services that protect you and your family.

    I originally purchased a Legal Shield policy because my son was headed to Connecticut to college over 4 years ago. Legal Shield covers you and your minor and college children. You have the ability to call an attorney for any legal matter as many times as you want for a small monthly fee. If you are involved in a car accident (or any violation of law) in any state in America you can call an 800 number and have legal representation 24 hours a day!

    The service includes will preparation at no additional fees, unlimited phone calls, letter writing, legal defense for lawsuits, and so much more. 55% of Americans will die without a will! I have been encouraged in my heart to not only update my will for my wife and kids, but also write a letter expressing my wishes and love for my family if I die. ((LOL,,, reading this afterwards, realized I wrote “if” I die… well, I am a believer in Jesus… so “if” the Rapture happens or I get an “Elijah” fiery chariot ride out…it needs to say “When” I die)) Your family deserves good communication. What better to leave knowing the ones you love do not have to worry about details after your death.

    Check out the wikipedia on Legal Shield here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LegalShield

    Legal Shield also has a popular Identity Theft product that is serviced by Kroll. Kroll is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kroll_Inc. the world’s largest security and consultancy company. With Kroll and Legal Shield they offer the most robust services to monitor your credit, and identity via the internet as well as restore your credit if ever stolen with the Legal Shield legal teams.

    Yes, Legal Shield is a multi-level marketing “type” company. and Yes, I signed up to sell or make money from selling the services. But I joined as an individual because my son was going out of town for college, and then I signed my real estate company up for the small business legal plan because you have incredible research and unlimited questions during business hours. So, I was a user of the services before I signed up to sell.

    Full disclaimer: this is an “insurance type” of product and they have a lot of small print in their policies. And they have frustrated me on several occasions by “not” covering claims. But, not because I make so much money from selling it, (I made $700 in 2012), I keep my personal family policy and my business policy (at $75 monthly) because they offer real value.

    The basic legal plan is $17.00 monthly in Tennessee. They provide so much for this small amount, that if you truly do use them a few times, the policy pays for itself many times over for a lifetime.

    If you are a landlord, small business owner, teacher, etc. Any job where you deal with the public and have a decent chance of being sued, then you truly need to consider the service. There are no contracts, it is a month to month service.

    I know many attorneys in town. Most of the lawyers I know specialize. One great benefit of Legal Shield is the ability to call about “any” legal matter and if the issue is not covered by the plan then Legal Shield will refer your matter to an attorney near you at a discount to their “normal” hourly rate. I was recently referred to an attorney in Chattanooga for a lawsuit that was not covered by our plan. The attorney did a fantastic job and the discounted costs were covered by my Errors and Omissions insurance company.

    So, to recap… a service that covers, A.) IRS audits, B.) moving violations, C.) Real estate law, D.) Estate planning, E.) Family law, Divorce F.) Online legal forms, G.) Contract reviews for cell phones, rental agreements, home purchases, etc., H.) Wills, I.) Bankruptcy, J.) Credit, lending and banking law, K.) 24/7 phone support to attorney (pulled over at 2am in a rental car out of state?, call your attorney!)

    Goto www.kellybr.legalshield.com for details about the service. Call me to talk about my real life experiences with Legal Shield and their strengths and weaknesses as a service. I have found them a valuable service for my family and small business. What is Legal Shield? It is a valuable service helping protect you and your family.