Ministers/Business Owners Click Here As a pastor and business owner, I need to be available to minister to my congregation and serve my clients, not putting out small fires all day long.
Like when a heckler visits our church complains that I purposely singled him out in my message and as he leaves, says he will see me in court. I have to make an trip to court to defend myself which costs several hundred dollars and only God knows how much time.
Or the speeding ticket my college age son gets for going 62 m.p.h. in a 50 m.p.h. zone. The fine it not the big issue, but I need to do something to keep the points off his record or else our insurance rate will go through the roof.
Then I get a call from one of my "good" neighbors - you know, the neighbor who says hello every morning so cheerfully you can't ever be down. She complains to me because some kids threw a rock at my office window and the shattered glass ruined her car's paint job.
Another neighbor sends me two invoices for reimbursement. One because he had to call a plumber on a weekend when water from our grass flooded her plants. And the second because she paid a landscaper to plant fresh plants in her yard. We're both tenants in the same complex but the landlord failed to respond to a water leak I had reported two days prior.
You know how the story goes...
In the past, a whole day would have been wasted putting out one fire after another.
Now, I do things differently. I pick up the phone and call my Pre-paid Legal Provider Attorney.
If I ever have a heckler threatening to take me to court, I'll call my attorney and let her contact the heckler and get him to understand that something said by a pastor from the pulpit as an illustration is not a criminal offense, especially when the complaining party is unknown by the pastor.
When my son gets a speeding ticket, my Pre-paid Legal Provider Attorney goes to court for him. We still pay the fine, but at least we keep the points off his license.
When my office window(in a leased apartment) shatters glass on a neighbors car, I instruct my Pre-paid Legal Provider Attorney to write a letter to the apartment owners and demand reimbursement for the broken window and the repair costs of my neighbors car.
As for the two invoices, I'll get my Pre-paid Legal Provider Attorney again write a letter to the apartment owners and demand reimbursement for plumber's charges and the landscaper's charges.
The greatest thing about all this is that I can handle these problems from my office with a phone call and a fax machine.
Here's how it works.
Members of Pre-paid Legal call their designated law firm and tell them what their "issue" is, such as a sue happy heckler, complaining neighbors, or a traffic ticket. Then they get a call back from a attorney who knows how to deal with that particular type of problem.
In most states, members can consult with their Pre-paid Legal law firm by phone on any personal or business-related matter.
And they can have an unlimited number of personal legal documents (up to 10 pages each) reviewed by their Pre-paid Attorney.
Included each year is one business document review at no additional cost.
Even if you've never used an attorney, this is a service you want to have like you have pre-paid medical insurance and pre-paid automobile insurance. The big difference is that you can use your legal plan to be proactive to take care of important things like a will and a living will. This is free as part of your plan.
For special services that are not covered by the basic membership, members get a significant discount of 25% off normal legal fees.
In most states, pastors who also own businesses can get additional coverage for their businesses, either as a Home-based business rider or a Legal Plan for the Self-Employed. If your church or business has three employees or more, you can even offer a Pre-paild Legal plan as an employee benefit.
We live and do business in the most litigious country in the world. Did you know the average American is three times more likely to end up in court than to land in the hospital (according to the American Bar Association)?
I would venture to say that pastors who are business owners are at much higher risk than the average American. We're with troubled people, write contracts and we own property. Three great big sources of lawsuits right there. All it takes to wipe out your ministry your business and your life savings is one lawsuit.
Why would you wait to get an attorney until you need one (i.e., until you get sued)?
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