Alaska Public Employees Association/ AFT: Legal Benefits

  General Information
  Plan Booklet
  Forms
  Attorneys
  Board of Trustees

APEA/AFT Headquarters
211 Fourth Street
Suite 306
Juneau, Alaska 99801
(907)586-9855 in Juneau
(800)478-9991 within Alaska
(907)586-5905 Fax

211 Fourth St., Suite 306, Juneau Alaska 99801

(907) 586-9855 or (800) 478-9991

kgeiger@apea-aft.org

January 1, 2012: Legal Benefit Decreased

Your yearly maximum limit decreased from $2,500 to $2,000 for attorney fees, paralegal fees and associated expenses for covered legal matters.

January 1, 2012: Plan Attorney Rates Decreased

Plan A attorney rates decreased to $125 per hour.

August 2011: New Plan Booklets Will Be Mailed

The SU and CEA will be receiving their new Plan Booklet and forms by email. Members' of the remaining participating units (JESS, FNSB, NJU, KBEA and Local 6070) will have hard copies mailed to them. Also included will be the most recent Plan A Attorney List. However, check out Attorneys (upcoming link) for the most up-to-date listing in your area.

July 1, 2011: Dependent Coverage Expands

Effective July 1, your benefit will now cover your same-sex domestic partner with your authorization and proof of relationship.

January 1, 2011: KBEA Has Legal Benefit

In great appreciation to the KBEA and APEA/AFT negotiators of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Employees Association members are now Plan participants of the Legal Trust Fund. The maximum benefit is the same for all participants. We welcome another 230 participants to the Plan.

July 1, 2007: Plan Attorney/Paralegal Hourly Rates Increased

Plan A attorney rates increased to $140 per hour and their paralegals to $75 an hour.

July 1, 2006: Legal Benefit Increased

Your yearly maximum limit increased from $1,500 to $2,500 for attorney fees, paralegal fees and associated expenses for covered legal matters.

OTHER NON-HISTORIC BUT

EQUALLY IMPORTANT STUFF

Plan A Attorneys Are Restricted to a Specific Hourly Rate

They may not bill you the difference to make up their normal hourly rate. Do not pay it. Instead, call me immediately so that I may contact the attorney. The restricted rate is the maximum they can bill. Period. The only reason you would need to pay anything out of your own pocket is when you’ve heard from this Plan Office that your maximum has been paid for the year or the attorney requires a retainer to begin work. While you may use any attorney you want to - the attorneys on our web site have lowered their rate for you and in doing so, make this benefit better.

Members who retain high-priced attorneys, otherwise known as Plan "B" attorneys to our Plan, have been disappointed with the payment made by the Legal Trust Fund. They wanted to know why we paid a reduced rate for Plan B attorneys ($60.00 per hour) and not the same rate as that of a Plan A attorney. Their argument was that they could not get a qualified attorney that would reduce their hourly rate.

It's like this: By using a Plan A Attorney, members pay nothing out of their own pocket until their maximum if reached. If the Trust were to raise the rate of Plan B attorneys to the same amount paid to Plan A attorneys, Plan A attorneys would soon become extinct. Attorneys would not lower their rate because they would be paid in full, regardless. The net result would be that every member would have to pay something out of their pocket. The basic premise of the Legal Trust Fund is to try and provide legal services to its members at no cost to them. Providing Plan A Attorneys to our members achieves that goal.

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Estate Planning Checklist

Do you have a Living Trust or a will?

Does your spouse or same sex domestic partner have a Living Trust or a will?

Are they valid in the state in which you are now living?

Have you had life changes since you created your estate plan that need to be updated?

Does your plan provide for your children and/or beneficiaries should you and your spouse die?

If you have a potentially taxable estate, have you planned for that in your will or trust?

Will your estate avoid probate?

Is all of your property titled properly?

Does your estate have sufficient liquidity to pay your final expenses and taxes?

Have you protected yourself and your estate from any potential incapacity?

Have your estate planning documents been reviewed in the last three years?