It can help to understand the general rules and fee-setting process. An estate planning attorney is in business to earn a living, and time spent with you takes time away from billable hours that he could be spending on other clients’ matters. That said, this is also his opportunity to “sell” you on retaining his services and to get an idea of what your matter involves. This is when he determines how many hours he and his staff will have to invest into resolving your issue . . . and whether he wants to take your case on. Many attorneys recognize the context of a first meeting and don’t charge for it. The only reasonable alternative would be for the attorney to charge you on an hourly basis. The downside to this approach is that it leaves a great deal of uncertainty for you as to what the final total cost will be. You can avoid this by asking your attorney to come up with a flat fee to cover all the services that he’ll be providing to you. Just be prepared to move on and interview other attorneys if he declines. This will give you an idea of how many hours the attorney expects the firm to spend on your estate plan. If he quotes you a $5,000 flat fee and he bills his time at $200 an hour, he expects that he and his firm will spend about 20 to 25 hours on your case. The general rule is that the higher an attorney’s hourly rate, the more experience he has. All those hours might seem like a lot to you, but the attorney should have a pretty good idea of the time it will take to meet with you, answer your questions, design and draft your estate plan, review your plan with you, help you sign your plan, then help you fund your trust if you’ve chosen to include one. Don’t expect a great deal of decisive information in an initial phone interview. That would be like the attorney giving his advice away for free. Your goal for this phone conversation should be to determine whether you want to work with him or not. Each attorney should be able to get a feel for what your needs are during this conversation and quote you a flat fee for your basic estate plan. Remember, you’re not asking what you should do but rather how much it’s likely to cost you to do what you have in mind. This gives you the opportunity to compare the flat fees quoted by each attorney and narrow down your choice as to whom you want to meet with in person. Busier attorneys might not offer this option.
