Finding the right lawyer for legal issues, especially during a crisis, or even when things are calm, can be really confusing. You aim to find a lawyer you connect with, who gets your family’s needs. But you’ve got to think about the lawyer’s fees too and if they can handle your immediate problems and support you in the future.
Different legal needs – be it a tough court battle, a one-time transaction, or ongoing support – can be confusing to navigate. You might have thought about legal insurance or prepaid programs, but while they sound good, they often fall short.
In this blog, we’ll dive into hiring a lawyer, starting with billing models. Future articles will cover consistent relationships, strategic guidance, and avoiding risks. Here, we’ll focus on proactive estate planning, touching on reactive situations like immediate elder care or intense divorces or business splits.
The Pitfalls and Costs of Hourly Billing
For ages, lawyers charged by the hour, often in tiny increments. If you’ve dealt with hourly billing, you’ve probably felt the need to keep things short and business-focused, worrying about oversharing or getting charged for every conversation.
When working with an hourly billing attorney, you might hesitate to reach out for fear of extra charges or unexpected bills. This fear can block open communication and stop you from getting the full legal help you require.
Or, you may not even think about how your lawyer is billing, and after a quick phone call to your lawyer here and an email to them there, you could be caught off guard by how quickly those 6-minute increments add up to substantial invoices you weren’t planning on. This can harm your relationship with your lawyer, make it challenging to budget for legal services effectively, and can leave you feeling stressed about your legal bills instead of focusing on the reason that brought you to the lawyer in the first place.
Complex cases or unforeseen complications can inflate your bill even more by prolonging the time your lawyer is needed to complete the work. Even without a complex case, hourly billing may unintentionally skew your lawyer’s incentives. After all, a longer legal process means more billable hours for them. If you’re wondering if this is the case with your lawyer, it negatively impacts your sense of trust in your relationship with them.
Hourly rates for lawyers can be as low as $125 per hour, and as high as $1000 or more per hour. In some big firms, they even get as high as $2000 per hour now. The general range seems to be $250-$650 per hour, depending on the type of matter.
Because hourly billing comes with so many risks to the relationship with your lawyer and your bank account, whenever possible, we recommend that you work with a lawyer who is experienced enough in the type of matter they are handling for you that they are able to quote you a flat fee for a specific outcome related to the work you need handled.
The Advantages of Flat Fees
When you opt for a lawyer who charges flat fees, it changes the game by providing a clear and upfront way of billing for legal services. With flat fees, you’re aware of the exact cost right from the start and what services you’ll receive in return. In our office, everything operates on a flat-fee basis agreed upon beforehand, erasing any surprises. This transparency eliminates the stress of unexpected expenses and helps you plan for legal costs more effectively.
Flat fees create an open environment for discussion without the constant worry of time or straying off-topic. You can freely ask questions, and your lawyer can guide whether any additional services would alter the agreed-upon fee for the needed assistance.
The way we see this work in our office when we are focusing on your estate planning matters is that we’ve invested considerable time in coming up with a flat fee billing structure that’s based around the outcomes you desire, rather than the specific documents you need, and that is flexible to change and grow with you over time.
For example, you may begin with a plan that is focused on keeping your kids in the care of people you know, love, and trust but doesn’t fully avoid the court process. Later, you might upgrade to a more comprehensive plan that focuses more on asset protection. The critical aspect here is that your fee is tied to the outcomes you desire, not the hours it takes or the documents we create.
When an attorney charges a fee for their services that is based on the outcome you desire, you know you’re getting a comprehensive package, not just one or two documents or a set of hours that won’t actually deliver for you and your family at the end of the day.
Keeping The Focus On You
As your dedicated attorney, we specialize in providing comprehensive estate planning with a focus on our client relationships. That means charging a reasonable flat fee for a comprehensive plan where we can take the time to get to know you, your family, and your needs on an intimate level and tailor your fee to the outcomes you desire.
Plus, we understand that planning for death and incapacity can be a lot to think about, and we want to give you the mental and emotional space to consider your estate planning options without the anxiety or distraction of a bill that changes every month. We want our time spent together to be entirely focused on you and your needs.
If you’re ready to create an estate plan for the people you love that will serve and protect them for years to come, we invite you to reach out.
At Cheever Law, APC, we don’t just draft documents; we ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death for yourself and the people you love, starting with a valuable and educational Life & Legacy Planning Session. This will allow you to get more financially organized and make the best choices for the people you love. If you have already completed your estate plan, we will review that plan at your Life & Legacy Planning Session to ensure that it will work the way you intend and address any holes or gaps that may be present if circumstances have changed since you executed your plan.
To learn more about our one-of-a-kind systems and services, contact us or schedule a no-obligation 15-minute introductory phone call today.