MetLife Legal Plans Group Coverage

Faculty and staff have an option to select MetLife Legal Plans, which gives you access to network attorney who provide legal services for covered events. The plan covers representation for many personal legal services for you and your eligible dependents. You may receive office consultations and/or telephone advice with an attorney for virtually any personal legal matter, and as long as it is not specifically excluded.

During the consultation, the attorney will review the law, discuss your rights and responsibilities, explore your options, and recommend a course of action. Trials for covered matters are covered from beginning to end, regardless of length, when using a network attorney.

Cost for Coverage

MetLife Legal Plans cost $16.50 a month and covers full-time faculty and staff and their eligible dependents.

The group legal plan is a year-long commitment. Changes can be made only during open enrollment. Once enrolled in the legal plan, faculty and staff may not drop coverage until the next open enrollment.

Call MetLife Legal Plans client service center at 800-821-6400. Your social Security number is your identifier for you and your dependents. A representative will verify your eligibility; make an initial determination of coverage; give you a case number; provide you with the telephone number of a plan attorney most convenient to you; and answer any questions you have about the plan. You may also use the plan by visiting the MetLife Legal Plans website at www.legalplans.com.

  • Preparation of wills, living wills, and living trusts
  • Purchase, sale, and refinancing primary residence
  • Debt collection defense
  • LifeStages® Identity Management Services
  • Traffic ticket defense (no DUI/DWI)
  • Personal bankruptcy
  • Civil litigation defense
  • Uncontested adoption, guardianship, conservatorships
  • Protection from domestic violence
  • Tenant negotiations and eviction defense (tenant only)
  • ElderLaw for issues related to your parents and Medicare, Medicaid, nursing home arrangements, etc.
  • Preparation of Powers of Attorney, affidavits, demand letters, etc.
  • Tax audits and property tax assessments
  • Juvenile court defense
  • Name change and premarital agreement
  • Review and preparation of personal legal documents
  • Consumer protections and small claims assistance
  • Restoration of driving privilege
  • Boundary-title disputes and zoning applications
  • School hearings
  • Pet liabilities

You may be responsible for certain fees such as filing fees in connection with these covered services.

No services, not even a consultation, can be provided for the following:

  • Employment-related matters, including company or statutory benefits
  • Matters involving American University, MetLife and affiliates, and plan attorneys
  • Matters in which there is a conflict of interest between you and your spouse or dependents in which case services are excluded for the spouse and dependents
  • Divorce proceedings
  • Appeals and class actions
  • Farm and business matters, including rental issues when you are the landlord
  • Patent, trademark, and copyright matters
  • Third party costs like fines, filing fees, or court fees
  • Frivolous or unethical matters
  • Matters for which an attorney-client relationship exists prior to you becoming eligible for plan benefits

You can also access services from outside the network of attorneys. There is a separate schedule for reimbursement for these services. Once enrolled, you would be able to call Hyatt Legal's client service center for a fee reimbursement package for use with a non-plan attorney.

 

American University makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information that appears on the benefits site. However, if there are discrepancies between the information presented and the legal documents governing a plan or program (the "plan documents"), the plan documents will always govern. American University reserves the right to amend or terminate any benefit plan at its sole discretion at any time, for any reason.