Not everyone can afford a law firm's pricey retainer or hourly rate when a legal issue comes up. Platforms like LegalShield can make it more affordable to consult with a lawyer, have important documents reviewed and get legal assistance with basic issues — all for a fixed monthly fee.
Here's what you need to know about LegalShield, including its pricing, plans and features.
LegalShield review
LegalShield
Cost
$39.95/month for Basic plan; $49.95/month for Advanced plan; $59.95/month for Premium plan
Services offered
Family law, consume rights, estate planning, real estate, employee rights, traffic and accidents, business law and more
Add-ons
Each tier gives you a different level of access to notarization services, number of personal legal issues, family legal support, discounts and more
Pros
- Offers monthly pricing model
- Offers discounts on additional services
- Notarization included in each package
- Assists with a wide array of legal needs
- Offers an app
Cons
- Not all pre-existing legal situations are covered
What is LegalShield?
LegalShield is an online platform that offers a wide variety of personal and business legal services. You can get help with estate planning, family, traffic issues, real estate, renter issues, employee rights, debt collection, civil litigation, contracts, business licenses, prenuptial agreements and more.
LegalShield also provides resources like an online blog with educational articles, a lawyer directory to help you find a lawyer near you and AI document review.
What does LegalShield offer?
The LegalShield platform has different plan tiers, each with a different level of access to the services. Here's a breakdown of what you'd get:
LegalShield Plan Breakdowns — Personal Use
| Basic | Advanced | Premium |
| $39.95/month | $49.95/month | $59.95/month |
| - Will preparation - Power of Attorney - Civil trial defense - Advice on consumer disputes and traffic tickets - Document review (up to 15 pages) - Online notarization (1 per year) - Unlimited eSignatures - Covers you and your spouse - 15% discount on additional services | Everything in Basic plus: - Annual updates to your will - Assistance navigating divorce (uncontested) - Prenuptial agreements and annulments - Adoption - Rental lease review - Mortgage document review - Vehicle property damage - Covers you and your family - Traffic tickets - Online notarization (5 per year) - Document review (up to 25 pages) - Unlimited eSignatures - 20% discount on additional services | Everything in Advanced plus: - Assistance with establishing a trust - Probate assistance - Death-related traffic charge defense - IRS tax audit representation - Document review (up to 35 pages) - Unlimited online notarization - Unlimited eSignature - 25% discount on additional services |
LegalShield Plan Breakdowns — Business Use
| Small Business Basic | Small Business Preferred | Small Business Premium |
| $59.95/month | $99.95/month | $169.95/month |
| - Phone consultations with a lawyer - Document review (up to 25 pages per document) - Lawyer letters (up to 6 per year) - Debt collection letters (up to 6 per year) - Legal research - Up to 15 hours of IRS audit help - Trial defense hours - Business health check - eSignatures and online notarization - 15% discount on additional services | Everything in Small Business Basic plus: - Document review (up to 35 pages per document) - Lawyer letters (up to 12 per year) - Debt collection letters (up to 12 per year) - Up to 45 hours of IRS audit help - Multi-state coverage with the same EIN - 20% discount on additional services | Everything in Small Business Preferred plus: - Document review (up to 50 pages) - Lawyer letters (unlimited) - Debt collection letters (unlimited) - Up to 90 hours of IRS audit help - Coverage for 2 named business owners - 25% discount on additional services |
Across the board, higher priced tiers offer additional services or more attention on your personal and business matters. For instance, if you want your package to include prenup services, you'll have to upgrade from Basic to Advanced.
Pricing
LegalShield doesn't charge an hourly rate. Instead, it offers tiered pricing plans for a fixed monthly fee. For personal use, prices start at $39.95 per month. For business use, prices start at $59.95 per month.
LegalShield also offers a "Young Adult" plan that includes assistance with things like small claims, traffic tickets, help with rental leases, phone consultations and more. This plan costs just $14.95. It's worth noting, though, that it is not available in every state.
Pros and cons
Before signing up for a LegalShield subscription, consider these pros and cons.
- Offers monthly pricing model that's cheaper than paying an hourly rate
- AI document review
- Resources like educational blog articles
- Available for personal and business use
- Offers discounts on additional services
- Offers an app
- Notarization included in each package
- Connects users to experienced law firms
- "Young Adult" plan not available in every state
- Page limit on document reviews may be insufficient
- Doesn't cover pre-existing situations
- Standard membership may not be able to help with more complicated or unique matters and you may need to pay for additional legal assistance
- Doesn't assist with International Law, Military Law or Tribal Law
Overall, LegalShield may be most helpful as an affordable way to get legal help and consultations on basic situations, like reviewing a lease or brief document reviews. But if you have a more complicated circumstance or need help in a highly specialized area that isn't covered (like Military Law), you'll have to seek outside assistance. LegalShield can offer a discount you can use with its provider law firms but you'll still wind up paying more than the small monthly subscription fee in this case.
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