UFT Legal Services Plan

Available services

• Free telephone advice and consultation 
  Participants have access to unlimited telephone consultations and advice.
• Free office consultations
  Participants are entitled to two sessions each calendar year concerning any new legal matter with a plan attorney or a local referral attorney.
• Free letter writing
  Plan attorneys will write as many legal letters as needed. In matters such as consumer protection and credit resolution, a telephone call from a plan attorney is often the ideal solution.*
• Free document review
  Plan attorneys will review documents such as automobile leases, promissory notes, retail sales agreements and other contracts of up to 10 pages per document.*
• Free wills, power of attorney, health care proxy 
  Participants are entitled to the preparation of a will, living will, health care proxy and power of attorney annually without any additional charge. Reciprocal wills are also prepared at no charge for spouses/domestic partners. 
• Free special-needs trust
  If you have a dependent with special needs, the National Legal Office will prepare a special needs trust or supplemental needs trust to be incorporated into your last will and testament.
• Free residential-lease review 
  The firm will review a covered individual’s lease or proposed lease for their primary residence. It will offer advice about changes to the lease and answer questions about the lease.**
• Personal injury fee reduction
  If you or an immediate family member is injured in any type of accident, call the legal plan immediately. The firm will determine the viability of a personal injury lawsuit. It’s important to call the plan as soon as possible to preserve evidence. The plan can save participants thousands of dollars due to a reduced contingency fee. If there is no recovery, there is no fee.
• Identity theft
  Plan attorneys can help you avoid becoming an identity theft victim and reclaim your identity if you are a victim. This help may include legal advice on the laws governing this crime, the appropriate course of action, the proper entities to contact to place a fraud alert and assistance with formulation of the appropriate dispute letters to the agencies and creditors involved.
• Bankruptcy
  Plan attorneys can offer advice on alternatives to bankruptcy such as creditor workout, including suspension of interest, budget review and, in extreme circumstances, Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy alternatives. Where appropriate, the plan attorney may contact the creditor involved to discuss favorable alternatives to ever-mounting debt or collection litigation.
• Veterans benefit
  Participants will get help in obtaining the Veterans Administration Aid and Attendance benefit.
• Real estate 
  Plan participants will receive advice on the purchase or sale of a primary residence.
• Stockbroker fraud or abuse
  Financial abuse cases arising from investment fraud, investment loss, financial-adviser misconduct and account churning may be accepted on a contingent-fee basis by a participating referral attorney with a 10% reduction from the standard contingency fee approved by the court of the applicable state.
• Elder law
  Plan attorneys or a referral attorney can provide representation and advice regarding Elder Law matters at a reduced fee.

• Senior citizen abuse
  If a UFT member, their parents or their grandparents are the victims of physical abuse, financial abuse or institutional neglect, the plan will offer advice and/or send a cease-and-desist letter to the offending party and provide strategies, including referrals to the appropriate regulatory agencies, when advisable.

  ---

  * Document reviews are limited to a certain number of pages. 
  ** Residential lease reviews are limited to a certain number of pages.