Power of attorney, wills, etc

[camochick]

I am on another forum that is directed towards spouses of military personel and someone made this post.

"A service that was formally provided by the Judge Advocate for the forces deployed to over seas missions has now become and expensive hassle to our troops. Power of Attorney and drafting a will is no longer covered . A local MP just made myself aware of new option for troops being deployed to locations over seas that wont cost families a bundle in lawyer fees. For 26 dollers a month(only a 10 doller sign up fee) a top rated lawfirm will be at you beck and call 24/7 365 days a weeks to handle your problems. Not just the above listed but anything you may think of concerning law, from sorting through a cellphone contract too buying a new house(could save you thoughsands). All family members are also covered through the service with no extra fees. To find out more about the service check out www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/rdbartley. Many of our troops have found this tool invaluable. Perhaps it can help take the stress out of your lives aswell. Hope it helps you all out"

  My first thought is it is someone trolling for new business but the spelling mistakes make me wonder. Is what this guy saying true? I think it's important for military spouses to get acurate information especially concerning things like this. Some people may take this seriously and I don't want anyone to be duped. Thanks guys.

 

[Michael OLeary]

It could be a deal, if you average over $300 per year on legal fees (that aren't re-imburseable like the legal fees for home purchase on posting). On the other hand, if you don't .........

 

[AgentOrnge]

This sounds like a great idea.  It is a legit company I have heard of it before.  You can go to the main page www.prepaidlegal.com but i think to sign up you must go to the listed site as above.  As far as the 300$ in fees a year well for myself to do up a will it costs around 700$.  What if you get into a accident?  Bad shit happens to good people.  Im going to look into this further.

 

[bossi]

... Power of Attorney and drafting a will is no longer covered . ...

... I think it's important for military spouses to get acurate information especially concerning things like this. Some people may take this seriously and I don't want anyone to be duped. ...

I'll check when I get to work, but ... I'm dubious - something as sweeping as this would surely have generated more discussion - and, even though it's been over a year since I deployed, I know for a fact that I was provided with DND/CF forms for Power of Attorney and a will.

Two of the enduring lessons my lawyer taught me were:

"If it sounds too good to be true ... it probably is."

and

"Some people think free advice is worth what you pay for it ...".

Personally, I'd politely suggest there are many other options (e.g. there are "do it yourself" will kits available from stores such as Grand & Toy, however I'm not suggesting they're the optimum solution - I'm only pointing out their existence).

I seem to recall reading some information a while back in the media, to the effect that the Upper Canada Law Society (the governing body for lawyers in Ontario) had instituted a policy of an initial free consultation - i.e. it provided for a short discussion, basically to encourage people to at least ask a lawyer if they truly needed a lawyer (sort of like getting an estimate for car repairs from a mechanic) ... thus, if memory serves me correctly ... you'd be paying your hard-earned bucks for something that's available for free ... hmmm ...

As for free legal advice ... I couldn't remember the name, so I just finished Goggling "free legal advice Toronto" ... and voila!  You'll have to tailor your Google/Internet search to your location/province, however here's an example from the University of Toronto Law School:

http://www.law-lib.utoronto.ca/resguide/finding.htm

Legal Line
Developed by Legal Information Ontario, Legal Line Online, the Web version of this service provides free, easy to understand general information on 807 topics in 28 different areas of law via the Internet. Legal Line, the 24 hour touch tone version of this service is available by phone at (416) 929-8400, the telephone version is more up-to-date than the Web version and includes up to 1000 topics. Coming in 2001, users will have the option of connecting to a "live" lawyer for referral.

and

Downtown Legal Services (DLS)
655 Spadina Avenue
Toronto ON M5S 2H9
Tel: 416-978-6447 (to book an appointment)
Tel: 416-934-4535 (other inquiries)
Fax: 416-934-4536
E-mail: dls@utoronto.ca

Downtown Legal Services is a community legal clinic operated by the University of Toronto's Faculty of Law. Free legal services are provided by law students, who are supervised by lawyers. The clinic offers legal advice and representation for problems in a number of areas of law, including criminal law, tenants' rights, employment law, consumer rights, social assistance appeals, human rights and university affairs.  Other legal services include public legal education, test case litigation and law reform activities. Appointments are required, and can be made by calling (416) 948-6447. The clinic is located at 655 Spadina Avenue. It is just south of Bloor on the east side of Spadina Avenue (not Spadina Road), at the corner of Glen Morris and Spadina. Downtown Legal Services also sees clients at four satellite clinics, at Council Fire, Our of the Cold, Street Outreach Services, and 519 Community Centre.

Again - it's important to tailor your search to your location, specifically, your province or territory - this is because there are sometimes differences between laws in one province and another ... but, I'm not a lawyer, thus I'm not an authority on any of this ...

But ... I'm reminded of a certain Regulation ...

4.02 â “ GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF OFFICERS

An officer shall:

(a) become acquainted with, observe and enforce:

(i) the National Defence Act,
(ii) the Official Secrets Act,
(iii) QR&O, and
(iv) all other regulations, rules, orders and instructions that pertain to the performance of the officer's duties;

(b) afford to all persons employed in the public service such assistance in the performance of their duties as is practical;
(c) promote the welfare, efficiency and good discipline of all subordinates;
(d) ensure the proper care and maintenance, and prevent the waste, of all public and non-public property within the officer's control; and
(e) report to the proper authority any infringement of the pertinent statutes, regulations, rules, orders and instructions governing the conduct of any person subject to the Code of Service Discipline when the officer cannot deal adequately with the matter.


103.01 â “ RESPONSIBILITY FOR OFFENCES
Section 72 of the National Defence Act provides:
"72. (1) Every person is a party to and guilty of an offence who
(a) actually commits it;
(b) does or omits to do anything for the purpose of aiding any person to commit it;
(c) abets any person in committing it; or
(d) counsels or procures any person to commit it.
(2) Every person who, having an intent to commit an offence, does or omits to do anything for the purpose of carrying out the intention is guilty of an attempt to commit the offence, whether or not it was possible under the circumstances to commit the offence.
(3) Where two or more persons form an intention in common to carry out an unlawful purpose and to assist each other therein and any one of them, in carrying out the common purpose, commits an offence, each of them who knew or ought to have known that the commission of the offence would be a probable consequence of carrying out the common purpose is a party to and guilty of that offence."

And, I'm thinking ... there might even be a rule against "solicitation" ... but, I'll leave that one up to the proper authorities ...

 

[Art Johnson]

Just a comment, A friend of mine from WWII became divorced from his wife after 46 years of marriage. He was killed in an automobile accident without leaving a new will. When the estate was settled the will of his Army Pay Book was used as a basis of settlement. Everything was left to his wife, no one contested it, end of story.
Gosh how things used to be so simple.

 

[George Wallace]

Someone is definitely Trolling.  On every DAG, the OR will check that your Will DAOD Form 7012-1A (Formerly CF 30 Will/Will Certificate) are filled out.  This is done at the OR and doesn't cost anything.  You can also sign a Power of Attorney Form (unfortunately I don't have that form number) which will give your spouse Power of Attorney while you are on deployment.  Again, it doesn't cost anything.

If a person wants to go to a Lawyer or get those Will and Power of Attorney Forms from a store, it is well within their rights to do so.  Be warned though, although the "Do it Yourself" Will kits/Power of Attorney kits are cheap, it is always wise to have a Lawyer check them over to make sure that what you wrote is what you mean.  That way they will be less likely to be contested in court should anything happen.

 

[Strike]

For a "fee" they will be at your beck and call, 24/7.  Why not get something a little better -- by paying a one time retainer to a lawyer of your choice (usually about $250), you will get the same service indefinately.  Of course, each time you use up this retainer in an individual service cost, you will have to deposit another.  But considering wills, powers of attorney, and moving costs are all covered under the military, it may actually save you a bit of heartache.

Seems like someone is trolling for a few bucks.

 

[camochick]

Yeah, the guy popped up on a women's chat session last night and tried to tell us about it, but no one really took any notice. You would think if he is trying to generate business that he would atleast use spell check hehe.  > Thanks for all the info guys.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Well he/she has been locked on this thread for more than20 minutes now and hasn't tried to defend him/herself, so one would have to assume TROLL.
How about it, Agent?

 

[AgentOrnge]

Sorry about this I guess it does look like trolling.  This was unprofessional for me to do.  But I do have a MP friend who informed me about the will/power of attorney problems.(perhaps he was mistaken?)  I did only post this singly on another sight I figured it would help people.  I wont be posting this again.  To much negativity around it because I guess people didn't follow the link to find out more and only assumed it to be bad(human nature).  Sorry for poor spelling on previous forum.

 

[AgentOrnge]

f a person wants to go to a Lawyer or get those Will and Power of Attorney Forms from a store, it is well within their rights to do so.   Be warned though, although the "Do it Yourself" Will kits/Power of Attorney kits are cheap, it is always wise to have a Lawyer check them over to make sure that what you wrote is what you mean.   That way they will be less likely to be contested in court should anything happen.
[/quote]

This is not a Kit service.  It is completely done side by side with the law firm checking over everything.  I just don't want this service further bashed by people not knowing what it entails.  Sorry about any inconveniences.

 

[Michael OLeary]

And yet, though you have registered only to defend the concept of this service and camped on the thread, you have still not actually explained it. I would have expected better if you actually were a lawyer seeking potential clients. It has not been explained exactly what this service entails: from what we see the monthly fee could be a retainer or simply pay for a referral service, and there's been NO indication of whether or not the monthly fee constitutes the only charges to a client, if they go towards future costs, or simply evaporate into a mysterious referral and 24/7 availability clause.

With that, I believe each member who reads this thread will see that such a service exists; and they can consider it along with home kits for simple will requirements (like a soldier saying "Porn collection to my fire team partner, Everything else to Mom."), consultation with a local lawyer to discuss options, going to dad's lawyer, etc. And many members will know that once things get past that "simple" stage in life, consulting face to face with a laweyer is always best.

In any case, this seems to have turned into a contravention of the Conduct Guidelines:

You will not post advertisements, chain letters, pyramid schemes, or solicitations.

And lock will be applied. Please feel free to contact the site owner if you feel recourse is deserved.

 

[muskrat89]

My wife and I use the service, and are very happy with it. Of course, we live in the US where there seems to be a ton of litigation