The U-M Legal Services Plan, administered by MetLife Legal Plans, provides you with professional legal assistance on a range of matters for a low monthly fee. The plan provides access to a network of participating attorneys in private practice to help you with personal, confidential legal matters.
New Services in 2025
Divorce, Dissolution and Annulment (contested and uncontested)
This service includes preparing and filing all necessary pleadings, motions and affidavits, drafting settlement and separation agreements, and representation at the hearing or trial, whether the plan member is a plaintiff or a defendant. This service does not include disputes that arise after a decree is issued, and is available to the plan member only, not to a spouse or dependents.
Custody Order
This service is available to the plan member and spouse, and covers preparation of petitions, consent forms and waivers, and representation at court hearings to modify or enforce a child custody order.
Enforcement or Modification of Support Order
This service is available to the plan member and spouse, and covers representation after a judgment has been entered to enforce or modify a court's award of support or alimony, whether the plan member or spouse is a plaintiff or a defendant. This service does NOT cover transfer of a divorce decree from one state to another, the division of property, or collection activities after a judgment.
Low-Cost Help with a Variety of Legal Matters
For the cost of your monthly premium, you can receive professional legal assistance with matters like these:
- Wills and estate planning, including living wills, powers of attorney, trusts and codicils (updates to wills). Please note that simple will preparation services are also available to U-M faculty and staff members enrolled in the U-M Optional Life Insurance Plan through MetLife.
- Real estate matters, including eviction defense; problems with your landlord; and buying, selling or refinancing your home.
- Family law matters, including name change, uncontested adoption and guardianship. (Note that the plan covers advice about divorce but does not cover representation in a divorce case.)
- Debt defense (problems with creditors).
- Defense of civil lawsuits.
- Document preparation, including deeds, demand letters, promissory notes and mortgages.
- Identity protection and credit monitoring.
This is just a brief summary of legal assistance that is available to plan members. Refer to Covered Legal Services for details.
If you need legal representation on a matter that is not covered by the plan, your participating attorney will give you a written fee agreement in advance. That means you’ll know from the start what those services will cost you.
Please note that simple will preparation services are available to U-M faculty and staff members enrolled in the U-M Optional Life Insurance Plan through MetLife without enrollment in the Legal Services Plan.
Coverage Exception
You cannot use legal plan services to file a lawsuit against the University of Michigan.
Legal Service Plan Rates
You pay the full cost for enrollment in the Legal Services Plan. There is no university contribution. Faculty and staff pay the premium for the Legal Services Plan through automated after-tax payroll deductions. Retirees can pay by Electronic Funds Transfer or receive a monthly billing statement to pay by check or money order.
The monthly rate is based on the coverage level you select at the time you enroll.
2025 Rates
- Coverage for you only is $8.34 per month.
- Coverage for you and one or more dependents is $13.34 per month.
2024 Rates
- Coverage for you only is $8.34 per month.
- Coverage for you and one or more dependents is $13.34 per month.
If you are paid monthly, payroll deductions for U-M benefits will be taken from each monthly paycheck.
If you are paid biweekly, payroll deductions will be taken from your first two paychecks each month. If there are three pay dates in a month, no benefits deductions will be taken from the third paycheck.
Aura
Credit monitoring and identity theft services that are included with your enrollment in the U-M Legal Services Plan are provided through Aura. When you enroll in the Legal Service Plan, you will receive a welcome email from Aura with the subject line, "Your identity theft coverage through MetLife Legal Plans has been upgraded." You may need to search your email program's Spam or Junk folder to locate this email.
Aura covers employee, a second adult, and children up to the age of 26.
If you have any questions about the registration process or the service, contact Aura toll-free at (844) 987-0705. Aura offers 24/7 support to answer questions or account setup support.
You may find a participating attorney in your area either by calling MetLife Legal at (800)821-6400 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST or by going to members.legalplans.com to create a profile. From there, you will have immediate access to complete plan details, attorneys in your area and case numbers.
Make the most of your Legal Services Plan coverage; activate your Aura Identity & Fraud Protection benefit today'