We charge flat fees for Initial Attorney Consultations when you meet with the lawyer to ask questions and receive specific, personalized, legal advice and counseling.
After we meet for your Initial Attorney Consultation (your Peace of Mind Planning Session) to review your unique family and financial situation, discuss your goals, explore your options, and decide how to proceed, we will determine the Scope of Services required to complete your estate plan along with the total flat fee for the same and enter into a written Engagement Agreement to proceed.
If we are unable to complete your Estate Plan Design during your Peace of Mind Planning Session, we will enter into an Agreement to Proceed and you will make an initial payment for that additional Attorney Consultation (your Plan Design Meeting).
Your initial consultation payment, and Agreement to Proceed payment if applicable, will be credited toward your total flat fee when we enter into our Engagement Agreement to work together to complete your estate plan.
Probate and trust administration matters are notoriously difficult to predict. There is usually so much unknown at the outset, and even when it all seems very simple at first, as it usually does, there are often surprises in these intensely personal family matters.
After your Initial Attorney Consultation to review and assess the scope of your matter, receive answers to your questions and specific legal advice about what we believe will be necessary to administer the trust or estate, we will enter into a written Engagement Agreement to proceed.
We will request a retainer payment which will hold in your Client Trust Account. We will then use those retained funds to cover necessary out of pocket costs, fees, and expenses, such as those payable to the Courts and Registries of Deeds here in Massachusetts.
We will send you a monthly accounting and invoice for the funds in your Client Trust account and our work to date, using those funds to pay the invoice. Any time your retained funds drop below the minimum threshold in our Engagement Agreement and we anticipate needing additional funds to complete the Scope of Services for you, we will request an additional retainer payment to enable us to continue work on your matter.
We appreciate the care that goes into your decision to make this investment in what matters most and for your the people you love.
After we meet, if we decide to work together on your legal matter, we will enter into a written Engagement Agreement and provide you with a Client Handbook incorporated into our agreement to clarify the:
all intended to earn your trust as we get to know one another, ensure you know what to expect as we proceed, avoid any potential misunderstandings between us, and create a positive experience and the opportunity to develop a warmly personal, long term professional relationship together.
We accept Initial Consultation and Flat Fee Invoice Payments by:
All retainer payments into your Client Trust Account for hourly billing on Probate and Trust Administration matters must be made only into that account by paper check or electronic payment through the separate link below or in the invoice or retainer requests we send you. We cannot accept retainer payments by Venmo.
DGVE law is a boutique Wills, Trusts, Estate Planning, Probate, and Trust and Estate Administration law firm founded by top-rated Massachusetts Attorney Danielle G. Van Ess in Hingham in 2008.
We help our clients leave a legacy, rather than a paper mess or infighting, by planning ahead, and we guide surviving loved ones, with compassion and empathy, through the difficult process of wrapping up final affairs after death.
Serving Massachusetts clients all around the Greater Boston area, from the South Shore to the Cape, from MetroWest to the North Shore and back again. We’re worth the drive, but we can condense meetings, and schedule video and phone conferences too.
Some important points: (1) Merely seeing this website or contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship (we need a written agreement). (2) DGVE law practices law within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts only. (3) DGVE law welcomes matters related to the listed practice areas in accordance with Massachusetts Rule of Professional Conduct 7.4. (4) This website is intended to provide general information, not specific legal advice. (5) Any unauthorized use of our firm’s material is at the user’s own risk.
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