Estate Planning — Short Agreement | Attorney Fee Agreements & Forms

HEIR, DIVISOR, & REMAINDERMAN

Attorneys at Law
123 Perpetuity
Pourover, Texas 76531

Dealey Divisor, Partner

[Delivery]
Mr. Mrs. Ms. [Full Name]
[Address1]
[Address2]
Austin, Texas 787_____

Re:      Estate Planning

Dear [Short Name]:

          I enjoyed meeting with you today. Thank you for selecting our law firm to represent you in connection with the preparation of the following estate planning documents for each of you:

Your will, a summary of your will, powers of attorney for financial and medical purposes, a directive to physicians (“living will”), a designation of guardian, and suggested insurance, IRA, and retirement plan beneficiary designations.

A trust [that will [purchase and] own insurance policies on your life] [for the benefit of [your children] [each child of yours], a summary of [the] [each] trust, a memorandum discussing your objectives in creating the trust[s], the steps necessary to accomplish these objectives and tax considerations involved in implementation of this portion of your estate plan, and related documents necessary to implement the plan, including a partition agreement, letters to the beneficiaries (or their guardians) notifying them of gifts to the trust[s] and their withdrawal rights, and a letter to the trustee which restricts the withdrawal rights of certain beneficiaries.

It is our understanding that our engagement is limited to the performance of these services.

        I estimate that our fees for these services (excluding expenses) will be approximately $_____________________. However, the actual fees may be more or less than that amount depending upon the amount of time expended on your legal matters. If we encounter anything that would cause a significant variance from our estimate, we will let you know in advance. The principal factor in billing for our services is the time and effort and the hourly rates of the attorneys and legal assistants involved. Our hourly rates are set by the firm and are based on years of experience, specialization and training in practice, and level of professional attainment. My present hourly rate is $_______ and my legal assistant’s rate is presently $________ for these types of services.

         Also, we generally charge for some non-legal services provided in connection with our services. These typically include one or more of the following: long-distance telephone charges; messenger, courier, and express delivery charges; telecopy and telex charges; photocopy charges; and filing fees. We will itemize all charges for non-legal services on your bill.

        Our standard practice is to bill our clients on a regular basis, normally each month, for both fees and disbursements. However, for these types of estate planning services, we normally wait until all of our services have been completed prior to sending a bill. We expect payment within 30 days of our statement. If you ever disagree with the amount of our fees, please call me or the firm’s managing partner, Adam Hauser. Usually, any disagreements are resolved to the satisfaction of both sides with little inconvenience or formality.

        Both of you are our clients and we may ethically represent you both so long as your interests do not differ. You have an affirmative duty to us to advise us of any conflict between the two of you as husband and wife which will affect your estate planning. If your interests do differ, or you are in conflict concerning your estate and financial planning objectives, we must advise you that each of you would be best served by obtaining independent legal counsel. (I am not aware of any conflicts at this time based upon my knowledge of your family situation and estate planning goals.)

        The State Bar of Texas has a toll-free “800” number for information relating to the attorney grievance process. The State Bar investigates complaints of professional misconduct by Texas attorneys. Although not every dispute with a lawyer involves professional misconduct, the State Bar Office of General Counsel can provide you with information about how to file a complaint. For more information call 1-800-932-1900.

        Please review this letter and let me know if you have any questions or would like some clarification. Thank you for entrusting this legal work to us. We will do our best to provide you with prompt, high quality service. It is important for us to know how our clients feel about the services we provide. If you ever feel that we are not meeting this commitment or you have other questions about our relationship, please do not hesitate to call me or our managing partner. We look forward to serving you.

       Yours very truly,

      Heir, Devisor & Remainderman, LLP

By:                                                                              
      Dealey Divisor
Enclosures

cc:   [CC List]

Agreed and Accepted as of _________________ ____, 202____:

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