Western Conference of Teamsters Legal Service Trust Fund

Introduction

We are proud to be selected and serve as panel attorneys in Utah for the Western Conference of Teamsters Legal Services Trust Fund. The Trust Fund is a Taft-Hartley Trust and a Group Legal Plan for bargaining unit employees of certain employers in Utah including United Parcel Service. The Trust Fund is administered by S.F. Administrators, Inc., 642 Harrison Street San Francisco, California 94107-1351 S.F. Administrators has a toll free number: 1-800-222-3025.

The Group Legal Plan has certain eligibility requirements. You may contact us or S.F. Administrators, Inc. directly to determine your eligibility and obtain a summary plan description. See Disclaimer at the end of this page. Generally, to be eligible, employee participants must be employed by an employer contributing to the Trust Fund and have been employed for at least 80 hours in the preceding month. Coverage is provided to both regular and part-time employees who fulfill this requirement. In addition to employee participants, dependent spouses and unmarried children under 19 of employee participants may also qualify for benefits.

The Group Legal Plan covers a wide variety of legal benefits at no cost to the employee participant. Those benefits are described below. However, there are some legal benefits that are excluded. The Group Legal Plan may not be used to provide legal benefits for a business venture, any proceeding where the adverse party may be your employer or local labor union, or any health, welfare, or pension plan in which the employee participates. It also excludes cases that normally provide for a contingency fee such as accidents and negligence cases. It also does not cover felony cases or appeals.

How To Use The Plan

Contact Us. Using the Group Legal Plan is easy. Simply contact us and we will determine your eligibility. You will need to provide us the employee participant's name, address, social security number, and name of employer. If we have any questions concerning eligibility, we will contact S.F. Administrators on your behalf to verify eligibility. Following that, we will set up an appointment with an attorney in the firm to discuss your legal matter.

Initial Appointment. During your initial appointment, you will be given a Legal Benefits Claim form to complete and sign. This form will be used by the Group Legal Fund to pay your attorney for the benefits you use.

Confidentiality. Your right to confidentiality under an attorney-client relationship, and privilege, will not be lost by using any benefits under the Group Legal Plan. Likewise, no other member in the Group Legal Plan will be given information pertaining to you.

Plan Legal Benefits

The Group Legal Plan contains limitations on certain benefits described below. For example, an employee participant may only obtain one divorce every three years using the Group Legal Plan. If any question exists, you may contact S.F. Administrators directly or us to discuss any limitations. Benefits offered by the Group Legal Plan include:

  • 1. Advice and Consultation. This section includes telephone advice and Office Consultation. In many cases, an attorney can answer questions over the telephone or with a short office conference. For example, you may wish to contact an attorney about:
    • Problems with neighbors.
    • Family questions such as divorce and separation.
    • Debt counseling.
    The Group Legal Plan encourages the employee participant to use this benefit as a means of avoiding more serious legal problems at a later date.
  • 2. Administrative Proceedings. This section includes advice and representation involving federal, state, and local governmental agencies. Examples of some of these agencies and types of issues include:
    • Social Security Administration - problems in applying for or receiving benefits.
    • Internal Revenue Service - problems with income tax audits or delays in obtaining refunds.
    • State Tax Commission - problems with taxes or refunds.
    • Motor Vehicle Department - proceedings involving your driver's licence.
    • Crime Victim Compensation - representation to assist you in recovering benefits.
    • Immigration - assistance with applications, cards, hearings.
  • 3. Civil Litigation. The Group Legal Plan provides benefits that are considered "civil proceedings." Legal benefits are extended through all stages of the proceeding before the trial court. Examples of this area are:
    • Personal injury defense - where you are being sued for damages and no insurance covers you.
    • Consumer transactions - where you wish to enforce warranty provisions, or have services or repairs rendered in an unsatisfactory manner.
    • Mortgage Foreclosure - where your mortgage company is foreclosing upon your residence.
    • Proof of Claim - where you need assistance in filing proof of a claim with a governmental agency.
    • Name Change - where you wish to legally change a name.
  • 4. Criminal (Traffic) and Youthful Misdemeanors. The Group Legal Plan provides advice and representation for traffic misdemeanors, or tickets, and for misdemeanors involving minors. Examples include:
    • DUI's - where you are accused of driving intoxicated.
    • Revocation or Suspension of a Driver's License - where an agency seeks to remove your privilege to drive.
    • Speeding - tickets for excessive speed, equipment violations, etc.
    • Youthful Offenders - where your minor dependent has a proceeding with juvenile court.
  • 5. Domestic Relations. The Group Legal Plan provides you with advice and representation in a wide variety of contexts:
    • Pre-Nuptial Agreements - where you wish to protect your assets prior to marriage.
    • Divorce Proceedings - petitions or responses to actions for the termination of a marriage, custody disputes, property and debt divisions.
    • Divorce Modifications - where previously divorced, a party requires the decree to be modified to reflect changes in custody, visitation, child support, or other matters.
    • Annulment - petitions to end an early marriage improvidently made.
  • 6. Family Matters. A variety of legal benefits are available for:
    • Adoptions - these include agency, step-parent and independent adoptions.
    • Paternity Actions - proceedings to establish or defend the establishment of paternity and corresponding issues such as child support and visitation.
    Guardianship - actions involving the member or eligible dependent in obtaining legal guardianship of a member of the family.
    Delinquent Children - mattes involving minor children who have juvenile delinquency problems.
  • 7. Financial Matters. Advice and representation in debt administration including, for example:
    • Financial Counseling - advice concerning debts.
    • Out of Court Arrangements - negotiations with creditors to avoid bankruptcy.
    • Personal Bankruptcy - Advice and representation in filing Chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcies.
    • Defense/Adversarial Proceedings - where you are being sued by a bankrupt debtor seeking to avoid a transfer.
  • 8. Rental Agreements. The Group Legal Plan provides benefits for advice and representation involving a participant employee's rights in a landlord/tenant dispute. Examples include:
    • Proceedings against Landlord - actions to recover deposits, enforce lease agreements. etc.
    • Eviction Proceedings - where you are being required to vacate the premises.
  • 9. Estate Planning. Advice and drafting of estate planning documents and representation in probate proceedings. Examples are:
    • Wills/Trusts - preparation of wills and trusts such as simple wills and more complex documents such as marital deduction wills and trusts.
    • Durable Powers of Attorney - documents that appoint another person to act in your stead.
    • Medical Powers of Attorney - documents that allow another person to make medical decisions for you.
    • Living Will - a document that allows you to chose not to be artificially maintained on life support mechanisms.
  • 10. Probate Administration. The Group Legal Plan provides advice and representation to a participant employee who is appointed to be a personal representative, executor, or administrator of an estate of a deceased person. This includes:
    • Probate - where a will or intestate estate requires a party to administer assets or debts though a court procedure.
    • Administration - involving a will or intestate estate and assets and debts of the deceased.
  • 11. Real Estate Matters. The Group Legal Plan provides benefits for a participant-employee in the following contexts:
    • Purchase or Sale of Residence - advice and representation at closings or other important stages.
    • Mortgage Refinancing - review and advice regarding the refinancing of a residence.
    • Building Contracts - review and preparation of documents involving the building of a personal residence.
    • Deed Transfer - preparation of quit claim and warranty deeds for the legal transfer of real property.
    • Quiet Title - legal representation in litigation that is required to eliminate title or ownership questions involving your residence.
  • 12. Payment Adjustments. Legal benefits are provided to an employee participant in matters such as:
    • Discrepancy in Amount of Check - where someone claims an improper amount was paid.
    • Benefit overpaid or underpaid - where, for example, the Social Security Administration claims you were overpaid.

Disclaimer: The above general description of the Plan is not intended as an accurate and complete description of eligibility or benefits and no right or opportunity is created by such description. Visitors should contact us or S.F. Administrators for verification of eligibility and/or benefits