Wappingers Congress of Teachers

Appeals to the Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees of the Fund adopts rules and regulations for the payment of benefits and all provisions in this booklet are subject to such rules and regulations and to the Agreement and Declaration of Trust, which established the Fund and governs its actions. A covered member may request a review of action taken by the Fund Office by submitting an appeal, in writing, to the Board of Trustees of Wappingers Congress of Teachers Welfare Trust Fund, 867 Route 3 76, Wappingers Falls, New York 12590.

HOW TO USE THE LEGAL SERVICES PROGRAM
If you wish to make an appointment to consult a lawyer for benefits provided, call (914) 997-1576 and identify yourself as a Wappingers Congress of Teachers member.

You will be provided with an attorney from a panel law firm selected by the Fund. This firm will provide you with the benefits of the Fund. Your relationship with this law firm will be that of attorney and client. The attorney-client relationship will be exclusively between the covered member and the law firm. No employee of the Fund or any Trustee of the Fund can interfere in this relationship.

The Fund is designed to help pay for covered legal services. While the Fund cannot pay for all legal costs you have, it will help meet a substantial amount of such costs. You should explore with an attorney of the panel law firm the cost involved for any problem for which you seek help, so that you and the law firm, will have a working concept of what services are covered as well as what you will have to pay. Remember, however, that it is not always possible to estimate total costs. When, after general consultation with the panel law firm, you decide to retain the panel law firm, you will then be required to make the appropriate payment as indicated in the plan of benefits.

You are not compelled to use the plan provided by the Fund. You are free at all times to select an attorney of your own choosing and to make payment to such an attorney for services. However, the Fund will not absorb or be responsible for any part of the fees or charges of attorneys other than those representing law firms on the panel for the legal services program.

You are also free at any time to discontinue the services of the panel law firm, and if you desire, to secure the services of a non-panel attorney. However, in such an event the Fund will neither be responsible for nor absorb any part of the fees or charges of non-panel attorneys. In addition, you continue to be obligated to the panel law firm for any cost incurred above the scheduled amount.

The panel law firm may, under exceptional circumstances, at any time (as is customary in the case of the independent retention of private attorneys) not undertake, discontinue or withdraw from representation of any covered member with appropriate adjustment of fees. In such cases, you are free to secure your own counsel. However, the Fund will neither absorb nor be responsible for any of the fees or charges of a non-panel attorney.

If you are an active member, you do not have to pay any subscription or registration fee to obtain the benefits of the Fund.

In instances where two covered members are involved in the same controversy or proceedings as adversaries, (and both members would have the right to the benefit under the rules of the Fund) each member will be provided access to an attorney, or provided with a stipend by the Fund, as determined by the Board of Trustees.

REPRESENTATION IN CIVIL MATTERS
The legal services benefits are divided into two major benefit categories: Representation in Civil Matters and General Legal Matters. All covered members are entitled to three Representations in Civil Matters, each year. The following section concerns itself with the specific benefits within this category.

Legal Defense Benefit
Uncontested Legal Separation Benefit
Uncontested Divorce Proceeding Benefit
Uncontested Anulment Proceeding Benefit
Adoption Benefit
Personal Bankruptcy Benefit
Change of Name Benefit
Homeowner's Rights Benefit

GENERAL LEGAL MATTERS
As indicated before, the benefits of the Legal Services Program are divided into two categories: Representation in Civil Matters and General Legal Matters. This section describes the General Legal Matters of the Fund. These benefits are provided to the members in those instances where the member's legal problems do not fall within the benefits provided within the Representation in Civil Matters category. The following section describes the benefits included within the General Legal Matters category.

General Consultation Benefit(Three Each Year)
Document Review Benefit
Will Benefit
Personal Injury (Negligence) Benefit
Arraignment Assistance Telephone Consultation Benefit
Consumer Protection Benefit
Living Will/Health Care Proxy Benefit
Planning For The Elderly Benefit
Estates and Administration Benefit

GENERAL EXCLUSIONS FROM ALL BENEFITS OF THE LEGAL SERVICES PROGRAM
All legal services provided by the Fund have been specifically stated and described. Any legal service that has not been so described can be considered excluded from the Plan of Benefits.

However; in order to guide the member in his/her utilization of the Legal Services Program benefit package, this section lists specifically, but without limitation, particular exclusions from the Plan:
• Any controversy, dispute or proceeding with or against the employer or the employer's agents or officers;
• Any controversy, dispute or proceeding directed against the Union or any of its affiliated bodies, e.g., the Fund, or any of the officers, agents or attorneys of the Union and its affiliated bodies;
• Any controversy, dispute or proceeding in which the Fund would be prohibited from defraying the cost of legal services by any provisions of the law;
• Any controversy, action or proceedings in which representation on a contingent fee basis is normally and customarily available or where the fee is payable by virtue of statute or by order of court;
• Class actions or interventions or amicus curiae activities. Two or more parties may not pool or combine their benefits for the purpose of asserting a claim in which they have a mutual interest;
• Any matter concerning the preparation or filing of income tax returns or payment of income tax;
• Any controversy, action, proceeding or dispute in which the legal services are available through insurance or through any government agency or attorney (Federal, State or local);
• Any controversy, dispute or proceeding in which the member was previously represented by an attorney;
• Any legal expenses incurred for a matter which commenced before the member became eligible to receive a benefit under the Plan;
• Any controversy, dispute, proceeding or matter that cannot be litigated or otherwise handled within Rockland, Dutchessr Putnam, Orange, Nassau, Suffolk or Westchester Counties, the five boroughs of New York City or the five Northern Counties of New Jersey, as described in the Legal Defense Benefit section;
• Any controversy, dispute, proceeding or matter which involves a member's business, commercial interest or investment matters;

THE FUND WILL NOT PAY:
• for services or advice when such activity involves a duplicatibn of the same service or advice previously obtained in connection with the same problem and previously claimed for under the Plan;
• court costs and/or filing fees, nor in any event will the Fund pay fines, penalties or any amounts in which a member may be cast in judgment.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS WITH REGARD TO COVERAGE, BENEFITS OR EXCLUSIONS, PLEASE CONTACT THE FUND OFFICE.