However, consultation with a lawyer preceding the complaint is advised.

- and if they draw a blank as to being included in the legacy, arrange a free consultation with a lawyer regarding your rights.

The legal services include free 30-minute initial consultations with a lawyer and follow-up services requiring a letter or a phone call.

To prepare, Mr. Shayne suggested spending $100 for an hour's consultation with a lawyer.

Fees and services vary, but most include consultations with a lawyer, review of simple legal documents and letters or phone calls to third parties.

In Santa Monica, Calif., local attorneys opened a coffee house called Legal Grind, where for about $20 a person can get a cup of coffee and a consultation with a lawyer.

In consultation with a lawyer, the library board came up with behavior guidelines in May 2005 that prohibited activities like "hairdressing or grooming of another person" and "refusal to leave the building."

The Times report last month said that the Chicago and Houston accountants debated in conference calls for several days about how to revise the memos, at times in consultation with a lawyer for the firm.

Montgomery Ward sells clothing, bicycles, televisions and now, for $6.75 a month, basic legal services: a simple will, document review, unlimited telephone consultations with a lawyer and a discount on more complicated matters such as divorces.

"It would be worth it for a person in her situation to have a consultation with a lawyer," says Anne Vladeck of Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Engelhard, a firm that specializes in employment law.