LegalShield Review

About LegalShield

LegalShield is a legal subscription service. When you pay for a subscription to LegalShield, you will get access to a dedicated provider law firm within your state. You will receive discounted legal support compared to what you would pay if you hired a lawyer on your own.

According to LegalShield, this company was one of the first to offer legal expense plans, and has been in operation for 49 years. Today, the company works to help protect 4.5 million individuals and 140,000 businesses.

LegalShield doesn’t employ the lawyers that you will work with, but it maintains a network of independent law firms. According to LegalShield, the lawyers within the network have an average of 22 years of experience. The LegalShield Law Firm Finder includes names and background information about the law firms and lawyers, and you can review this information before subscribing. You can review the LegalShield law firms before signing up for the service.

You can review the LegalShield law firms before signing up for the service. Photo credit: LegalSheild

LegalShield Products

LegalShield offers a single plan with two billing options. No matter which option you choose, your plan includes the following services.

Estate Planning

LegalShield’s subscription includes the preparation of three of the most common estate planning documents:

• A standard will ensures that your estate is divided among beneficiaries according to your wishes
• A living will is important in planning for medical care if you should become incapacitated and cannot consent to your care
• A durable power of attorney allows you to designate a person to handle your financial and medical affairs if you are incapacitated

LegalShield members can have any or all of these documents prepared by a provider lawyer. Membership also includes annual reviews and updates made by the lawyer at no additional charge.

While LegalShield mentions trust preparation, trusts aren’t actually included in the membership. Instead, members can have their LegalShield lawyer prepare a trust while paying the 25 percent member discount (if the lawyer offers the discount). For context, Statista found that in 2023, the average hourly rate of a Washington D.C. law firm was $392 per hour. In West Virginia, that average hourly rate was $162.1 Rates vary depending on firms and locations, but even at a 25 percent discount, you can expect to pay significantly more for trust preparation.

24/7 Access to an Emergency Legal Help Hotline

LegalShield members also have access to a 24/7 emergency legal help hotline. Members can call the hotline if they:

• Are detained by a law enforcement officer
• Are involved in a vehicle accident resulting in injury
• Have an emergency concerning a minor child in their custody and a child welfare agency
• Are served with a warrant

Access to this hotline can be a reassurance, and since LegalShield’s plans include family members, the whole family can potentially benefit from this resource if they ever need it.

IRS Audit Assistance

If members are audited by the IRS, they can receive up to 50 hours of legal assistance from their provider law firm. They can also receive up to 3.5 hours of consultation, advice, representation, and negotiation after being notified of an audit. Members can also receive 46.5 hours in trial time or services for trial appearances if sued by the IRS.

Trial Defense

If a member or their spouse is a defendant in a covered civil suit, they can receive trial defense and pretrial preparation hours with a provider law firm. These hours increase the longer that the member is with LegalShield. First-year members receive 2.5 pre-trial research hours, 57.5 trial hours, and 60 total provider lawyer hours. By the fifth year of membership, those hours increase to 4.5 pretrial research hours, 295.5 trial hours, and a total of 300 lawyer hours.

This trial defense coverage can help to keep trial costs down, but it’s possible that a trial might require more hours, especially if you’re a new member. LegalShield offers the option to upgrade to increased trial coverage for an additional monthly fee.

Traffic Tickets

Members can call their provider law firm for assistance if they receive a speeding ticket or moving violation. They can also receive assistance if they’re charged with a covered motor vehicle-related crime with a fatality. Membership also includes 2.5 hours of law firm time to help drivers get their license reinstated or collect damages relating to a car accident.

Residential Loan Services

Members can have a provider lawyer prepare their mortgage documents once per calendar year. The lawyer can also review residential home purchase documents prior to closing.

Additional Benefits

If members need lawyer services that aren’t included in their membership, they will receive a 25 percent discount off of the provider lawyer’s standard hourly rate. Members can also receive discounts on products and services from brands like Verizon, Costco, and Amazon. These discounts are pretty unique, and they’re something many other estate planning services don’t offer.

LegalShield Pricing

LegalShield offers a plan that’s billed monthly, as well as an annual subscription plan. Both of these plans include the same services, like access to the 24/7 emergency hotline. They also include coverage for your family. For example, if your spouse gets a traffic ticket, they can benefit from the traffic ticket services included with the plan. Plans also include use of the LegalShield scheduling app.

LegalShield offers an annual subscription plan, which saves you $60 per year compared to the annual plan. Photo credit: LegalShield

The main difference between the plans is in how they’re billed. The monthly plan costs $29.95 per month. In comparison, the annual plan costs $299.40 for the year, and you’ll save $60 per year compared to what you would pay with the monthly plan.

While LegalShield’s base plans are already quite comprehensive (with the exception of trust preparation), the company offers the option to customize the monthly subscription plan with supplemental coverage. For $14.95 per month, members can add on:

• Home business legal assistance
• Additional trial defense support
• Rideshare and delivery legal services
• Gun rights protection legal defense

These supplemental coverage options are not available with the annual plan.

The attorney support available during the will preparation process alone justifies LegalShield’s cost. According to Forbes, the average cost of preparing a will with help from an estate planning attorney is $300, and that doesn’t include the additional documents, like power of attorney, that you’ll receive with a LegalShield subscription.2

LegalShield’s prices are quite reasonable and comparable to other services. For example, Rocket Lawyer, which offers a will, living will, and medical power of attorney, has plans starting at $19.99 per month when billed annually. However, Rocket Lawyer doesn’t offer attorney support. LegalZoom’s Will Estate Plan Premium, which is similar to the LegalShield plan, starts at $299 per year. It doesn’t include trust preparation; the Trust Estate Plan Premium starts at $599.

If you’re looking strictly for will preparation and don’t need lawyer support, a service like Rocket Lawyer could save you money compared to LegalShield. However, LegalShield’s value is in the attorney support, the diverse document preparation options, and the emergency lawyer access. If you need legal services on more than one occasion, such as for traffic tickets and will preparation, you could save money with a LegalShield membership.

Customer Support

Customers can call 1-800-654-7757, email LegalShield, use the online chat function, or use the LegalShield app to get support. LegalShield customer support is available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. CST on Monday through Friday. Unlike companies like LegalZoom, which offers customer support on weekdays and weekends, LegalShield customer support is not available on weekends. LegalShield states that customer support emails will be answered within 24 hours.

Additionally, LegalShield customers receive access to a 24/7 emergency hotline, which is a feature that most other online will makers don’t offer. This emergency access to member law firms is a valuable feature. It gives members peace of mind knowing that they can get help if they’re ever arrested or encounter another type of legal emergency.

LegalShield Reviews

Customer reviews of LegalShield are overwhelmingly positive. At the time of this article’s writing, LegalShield has a 4.6-star rating on Trustpilot (out of 5 stars). LegalShield also has a 4- out of 5-star rating on Consumer Affairs.

Several reviewers state that the will preparation process is simple and highly automated, making it easy to prepare their wills. Many customers who requested to speak with a lawyer said they received a call back from a lawyer within eight hours, and that they received thorough answers to all of their questions.

Negative reviews often described issues with a specific lawyer, not with the LegalShield service. One reviewer was frustrated that she hadn’t received help in canceling her service. Another LegalShield member, who has subscribed to the service since 2010, stated that she’s noticed a decline in customer service, a lack of professionalism, and lawyers who appear to be rushed in their interactions with customers.

How to Create LegalShield Estate Planning Documents

If you’re ready to start your will, LegalShield’s Guided Will Questionnaire will help you through the process. Once your membership is active, you can sign into your account through the LegalShield app and access the questionnaire. Many users describe the will creation process as being simple, step-by-step, and user friendly. You can save your progress and finish at any time.

The LegalShield Guided Will Questionnaire asks you some basic questions to help you through the process of creating your will. Photo credit: LegalShield

You can also connect with a lawyer through your account on the LegalShield app. LegalShield will pair you with a law firm in your state, so the attorneys will know your state law. You can upload documents, describe your problem or question, and schedule a call with a lawyer. Lawyers can also make phone calls or write letters on your behalf.

Comparing LegalShield to the Competition

LegalShield’s estate planning documents, including a will, living will, and durable power of attorney, should be enough for many members with fairly basic estate planning needs. However, LegalShield would not be a good fit if you’re looking for more extensive estate planning, such as trusts and their related documents, since you will pay 75 percent of the lawyer’s standard fee for trust preparation. If you want to prepare a trust, a service like LegalZoom might be a better choice.

The access to attorneys makes LegalShield stand out from other will planning services, like Rocket Lawyer, which doesn’t offer any sort of attorney support. In terms of pricing, LegalShield is most comparable to LegalZoom, though LegalZoom lacks LegalShield’s 24-hour emergency legal hotline. While there are cheaper services out there, like Rocket Lawyer, they lack the legal support that LegalShield offers.

Final Thoughts on LegalShield

Estate planning is an important part of finances for seniors. It’s essential to find a service that gives you the specific support you need as you make a will.

LegalShield offers some comprehensive legal services, including significant legal support, for a very reasonable fee. In addition to the estate planning services, like wills and power of attorney,  membership includes everything from legal support for speeding tickets to the IRS tax help. Since membership includes not only you, but also your family members, you and your family could use these services in many ways. This membership is incredibly well-rounded, and these extra services are rarely included in other online will planning services.

Members also enjoy excellent customer support with LegalShield. While customer support isn’t available on weekends, emails receive responses in 24 hours. You can also contact customer support by phone, chat, and through the app.

The standout feature is the 24/7 emergency legal help hotline. With this feature, LegalShield goes beyond providing estate planning support and instead offers legal support to help you navigate emergencies like child custody or arrest situations.

LegalShield is a well-rounded service ideal for basic to moderate estate planning needs. Trust preparation costs an additional fee, but the membership may be ideal for those who need a last will and testament, living will, and power or attorney documents. The value of the membership increases for those who may need other legal services, such as help with tax preparation. The service is also a great investment in your peace of mind, just in case you or your family members need help in an emergency.