Higher commission payments and marketing expenses, in part, led to a 14 percent drop in third-quarter net income for Pre-Paid Legal Services Inc.

On Monday, the Ada-based company reported that its quarterly net income fell to $11.6 million, or 88 cents per diluted share, down from $13.4 million, or 93 cents a share, in the same quarter last year.

For the first nine months of the year, net income was $39.5 million, or $2.96 a diluted share, up from $38.6 million, or $2.58 a share, in the year-earlier period.