psychedlic cashAt least once a week I get a call from a potential client.  The question is always the same:  “How much does X document cost?”  This is always a perplexing question.  Usually the answer is “I don’t know.”  It is nearly impossible to quote somebody a price over the phone.  I know of an attorney who agrees to quote the client a price over the phone if they can answer one simple question:  “What color tie am I wearing today?”    Usually, (good)lawyers don’t ask questions they don’t already know the answer to.  This lawyer knows that people will protest-  “how can I know what color tie you are wearing if I am not there?”  The lawyer then points out (if the client has not gotten it already) that both questions are similar.   The lawyer is not one of those scanners at Target- he’s not reading the barcode on the back of the document and spitting out the suggested retail price.  A quick conversation over the phone  does not usually provide enough information to adequately assess what is needed to be able to give a good quote.

Get ready folks:  Here’s where I pull back the curtain and you get to look into how attorneys price out a job.  Most attorneys either charge by the hour or a flat fee for the specific project.  Now there is a time and place for the hourly rate.  Some firms worship at the altar of the billable hour, and this is okay, however one could argue that the hourly rate certainly benefits the slow, inexperienced attorney in that the more time he or she takes to do the job, the more money they can charge.  The hourly rate can also be abused by doing needless work that certainly sounds important and necessary but really is not.   Lawyers who bill a flat fee take several things into consideration when determining their fee.  The process involves fact finding:  learning about your situation and goals.  Your attorney should ask lots of questions.  It also involves thinking about what course would be appropriate to accomplish your goals.  Estate planning attorneys then consider the work involved in putting your estate plan into place:  the writing, revising, explaining and execution of your plan.  With the flat fee you know from the start the total price for the work agreed upon.

If your shopping for price understand that the lawyer who charges either a flat fee or by the hour will be hard pressed to give you a price over the phone, it takes time to collect information and to think about what needs to be done.  If you can find an attorney who can quote you a price over the phone- think twice.  An attorney (or any professional) who can blindly quote you a price over-the-phone may not be thinking about what is really involved in the job.  If the attorney is not thinking too much about the price, which is important to his or her bottom line, how much time will they put into thinking about your case.  I suggest that  you look tothe value, not the price when deciding on an attorney.  What value or benefits will you receive for the fee charged?  Regardless of what price you are quoted, you can be sure that there is another attorney in town who can and will do it cheaper.  But are you getting the same value from the cheaper priced attorney?  Do they charge you for telephone calls, additional consultations, copies, faxes, postage, or any other hidden fees?  Do they offer a guarantee?  What happens if once you complete the process, you are not satisfied?  All of these issues should be taken into consideration when choosing an estate planning attorney.  Price is an important factor (especially in this economy)  but it should not be the only factor considered.  Shop for value not price when you’re looking for an attorney.