Scope of representation and fee
This contract for legal services confirms that the client has asked Moss Law International, PLLC to provide representation and advice concerning specified estate planning matters. The personalized agreement will identify the documents to be prepared and the stated fee. Documents may include a Revocable Trust, Pour-Over Will, Durable Medical Power of Attorney, Durable Financial Power of Attorney, HIPAA Release, Medical Directive/Living Will, guardian declarations, documents concerning minor children, a Special Needs Trust, funding instructions, a trust summary, and a Trust Quick Glance Page.
The total fee will be written into the personalized agreement. This arrangement makes the documents within the engagement and the fee clear in advance. No additional charges will be made unless the client retains the firm for additional work outside that scope.
Review of documents and future changes
Estate planning documents may be complex. Clients are responsible for reviewing the prepared documents comprehensively before execution and asking for an explanation of any provision they do not understand. Changes made after execution are billed hourly.
Tax, property, probate, and other laws may change in ways that affect an estate plan. A client’s family, marital status, and finances may also change. Clients should have their plans reviewed regularly. The firm has no duty to review a client’s documents or estate plan unless the client requests a review and agrees to pay a reasonable fee for it.
Discussions with persons named in the documents
The client may authorize Moss Law International, PLLC to discuss the estate plan with persons named as executors, agents, trustees, guardians, or in similar roles, but only in the limited event of the client’s death or incapacity. The firm may also discuss the plan with the client’s other professional advisors, such as an accountant, financial planner, or insurance agent.
After reasonable efforts to determine that the client has died or become incapacitated, the client authorizes the firm to discuss the estate plan, file contents, and documents with those persons. The firm will not be held liable for a disclosure made in good faith and without gross negligence.
Legal work only
Moss Law International, PLLC provides legal services only. The firm’s attorneys are not acting as financial planners, investment advisors, insurance agents, or money managers. Clients remain free to invest money and property as they see fit, and the firm makes no representations or warranties concerning financial products or services purchased as part of an overall estate plan. Clients should research the financial strength and viability of any company whose products they purchase.
Limitations of representation
The firm represents only the client and only concerning preparation of the documents listed in the personalized agreement. Other persons who attend a meeting may be asked to sign a Non-Representation Agreement confirming that the firm does not represent them and that they should retain their own attorney to protect their interests. Signing that agreement does not necessarily prevent a future engagement, though client consent and other waivers or agreements may first be required.
The firm may decline to speak by telephone with anyone other than the client or a professional advisor unless that person first agrees to sign a Non-Representation Agreement.
Execution of documents
The firm will attempt to arrange a follow-up appointment for execution. In some circumstances, documents may be executed away from the office, in which case the firm will provide instructions.
If documents remain unsigned several months after drafts are delivered, the firm will send a reminder. If they remain unsigned several months after that reminder, the firm may send a certified letter stating that no further execution reminders will be made. Upon receipt—or return as unclaimed—the firm’s obligations will end and the file will close. If documents are not executed within one year after drafts are mailed or emailed, further changes will be billed at the firm’s normal hourly rates.
Death of attorney
If the responsible attorney dies before the work is complete, the client consents to contact by an attorney representing the attorney’s estate, that attorney’s agent or employee, or another person involved in disposing of firm files and winding down the practice. Under those circumstances, a person who is not the responsible attorney or a firm employee may review information in the client’s file.
Prices and terms subject to change
Quoted prices and terms are valid for 30 days. After that period they may change. Once the agreement is executed and the retainer received, its prices and terms do not change except as described in the execution section.
Arbitration; Texas law applies
If the parties cannot in good faith resolve a dispute, any controversy or claim arising from the agreement or the firm’s representation will be settled by arbitration under the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association. Judgment on an award may be entered in a court with jurisdiction. Arbitration will take place in Austin, Texas, and Texas law governs.
If the firm is required to provide attorney or employee testimony, produce documents, or provide discovery concerning its representation, the client agrees to pay the time and expenses the firm incurs in responding.
Notice: The agreement requires arbitration of fee disputes. Agreeing to arbitration waives the right to have those disputes resolved in court by a judge or jury. These are important rights that should not be given up without careful consideration.
Complaints
The State Bar of Texas investigates and prosecutes professional misconduct by Texas attorneys. Although not every complaint or dispute involves professional misconduct, the State Bar’s Office of General Counsel provides information about filing a complaint. Call 800-932-1900 toll-free for more information.
Neil Carlton Moss, Esq.
Moss Law International, PLLC