Financial or Legal Problems? Free, Expert Help is a Phone Call Away

Are you experiencing legal or financial difficulties? You're not alone. A recent study from the American Bar Association found more than 70% of U.S. households had the need for a lawyer in the previous 12 months—and most of those consumers felt uncertain how to tell a good one from a bad one. Also, according to the Pew Charitable Trust, 44% of Americans reported having one or more of the following financial difficulties over the last year:

• Getting or paying for medical care (29%)
• Getting laid off or losing a job (16%)
• Having difficulty paying their mortgage or rent (26%)

Most of us hoped that any legal and financial problems rising out of the financial downturn would be far behind us by this time. The reality is that, for many individuals and families, the problems have not only continued but are getting worse. Many people are now facing serious legal and financial issues, including:

• High credit card balances
• Student loans coming due
• Medical bills due to loss of insurance
• Couples who "can't afford" to divorce
• Child support and custody issues
• "Upside down" mortgages
• Threat of foreclosure or bankruptcy

Legal and Financial Difficulties Can Be Tough - Your EAP Benefit Makes Facing Them Easier

As part of your EAP benefit, you have access to a network of attorneys and certified financial consultants made up of more than 17,000 local professionals nationwide, each with over 10 years of experience, expertise and a solid local reputation. Simply call 800.383.1908 and ask to be transferred to find an attorney or financial consultant in your area.

When you've got a legal question, give us a call for a free, 30-minute confidential consultation with an attorney who can help you understand your issues, explain your options and provide general advice, depending on the nature of your issue. Call us whenever you've got questions about:

• Family Issues: Divorce or separation, child custody, child support, adoption, juvenile issues, guardianship, elder law
• Property & Contracts: Contractor issues, lease agreements, buying or selling a home, foreclosure
• Criminal Offenses: Traffic tickets, Driving Under the Influence (DUI), domestic violence
• Financial Issues: Estate planning, probate, tax audits, insurance, bankruptcy, debt collections, identity theft
• Personal Injury: Social Security/disability, personal injury lawsuits

Basic Legal Services Provided Free Of Charge

For general legal questions, your initial 30-minute consultation can often give you the answers you need to resolve your issue. Services provided free as part of your initial legal consultation can include:

• Simple Dispute Resolution When a dispute arises with a third party, if the Plan Attorney determines that a simple letter or a phone call to your opposing party is likely to resolve the dispute, this service is provided at no charge.
• Short Document Review A free review of any legal document six pages or less is provided as part of your benefit.
• Simple Wills If your needs and circumstances fit the parameters of a Simple Will by your state's definition, creation of your will is covered 100%.

Our attorneys are not able to give personal opinions during a consultation, review lengthy documents or instruct you on how to practice law. One consultation per issue is provided free of charge—but there's no limit to the number of issues we can help you address.*

Should you need to retain or use your attorney's assistance beyond the initial consultation, you will receive a 25% discount off the attorney's normal hourly rate.*

Free Financial Counseling Services: Confidentiality Guaranteed

A free, 30-minute confidential phone consultation with one of our financial counselors can help you find possible causes and solutions to your financial problems. There are many options to consider when figuring out how to best address financial questions or issues, or manage your debt. Most times you want to employ a combination of options to help you accomplish your goal. Areas where we can help include:

• Budgeting You can get on track with a consultation and materials for your personal or family budget. Determining your monthly net income, expenses and coming up with a budget is almost always the best place to start.
• Financial Planning You can receive a free initial consultation, and 15% discounts for ongoing work off their standard hourly rate, when working with a Certified Financial Planner from our network of providers for assistance in investments and other financial planning needs. Whether you have questions related to your retirement, your investments or want to start saving for a child's college fund, we can help.
• Debt Management Programs You can possibly consolidate your debt into one, lower monthly payment, while learning ways to improve your financial health through better debt management and credit repair.

We Can Help

If you've got a problem or concern, large or small, we encourage you to call sooner rather than later. Nobody has ever been told his or her problem was too small—we've never told anybody they called too soon. Don't wait until a problem feels too big to handle on your own.

Access your EAP resources by calling 800.383.1908 or through your VITAL WorkLife App. 

Online Legal & Financial Resources: Powerful Problem-Solving Tools

As part of your VITAL WorkLife EAP, you have unlimited access to our rich web resources where you'll find articles, information and resources about legal and financial issues including a document library that contains, among many others, forms for:

• Living Will Declaration & Revocation of Living Will
• General and Special Durable Power of Attorney
• Last Will & Testament
• Estate Planning Worksheet
• Sample Letters to Insurance Company/Debt Collector/Hospital Regarding Disputed Bill
• Contract for Home Maintenance/Simple Home Repair
• Motor Vehicle Bill of Sale

Accessing these resources is easy. Simply follow these steps:

1. Go to VITALWorkLife.com, click on member login.
2. Enter your user name and password, then click submit.
3. Go to the third shaded box from the top which says: "Click here to learn more about and access our legal and financial services."
4. In the shaded box that comes up, click on "Click Here for online Legal and Financial Resources" OR you can click on the dark green box on the left side of the screen that says: "Click here to go to your online Legal & Financial Benefits."

*For more information about what services are not provided free of charge, ask the legal or financial expert who takes your call or visit us online at VITALWorkLife.com.