LAW OFFICER OF

                                                      
      30 ROCKEFELLER PLAZA                                   TEN POST OFFICE SQUARE o SOUTH
       NEW YORK, NY 10112           DECHERT PRICE & RHOADS       BOSTON, MA 02109-4603
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                                                   March 12, 1998

Pioneer Funds Distributor, Inc.
60 State Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02109-1820

         Re:  Pioneer Independence Plans
              (File No. 333-42113)
              --------------------------

Gentlemen:

     Pioneer Funds Distributor, Inc. ("PFD"), a Massachusetts corporation, has
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Company
Act of 1940 a Registration Statement on Form N-8B-2 (File No. 811-08551)
registering Pioneer Independence Plans as a unit investment trust of which PFD
is the principal underwriter and sponsor. PFD has also filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933 a Registration
Statement on Form S-6, as amended (File No. 333-42113), also covering the
registration of Pioneer Independence Plans.

     We have examined the Registration Statements for Pioneer Independence Plans
and have also examined the custodian agreement, dated February 17, 1998 (the
"Custodian Agreement") between PFD and State Street Bank and Trust Company (the
"Custodian") under the terms of which Pioneer Independence Plans are issued.

     Based on the foregoing, it is our opinion that PFD has duly entered into
the Custodian Agreement with the Custodian and that the Custodian Agreement is a
valid and binding agreement of PFD.  It is also our opinion that the Pioneer
Independence Plans, when issued in the manner contemplated by the Custodian
Agreement and the Registration Statements, will constitute legal, valid and
binding obligations on the part of PFD.

     We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the
Registration Statement on Form S-6 of Pioneer Independence Plans and to all
references to our firm therein.

                                                   Sincerely,


                                                   /s/ Dechert Price & Rhoads
                                                   Dechert Price & Rhoads