Many attorneys bill their clients on an hourly basis. This makes it difficult for clients to know how much their final bill will be, since the amount of the bill will depend on the attorney's hourly rate as well as the time it took the attorney to complete the work.

By contrast, I bill at a fixed rate for estate planning matters. In other words, after I have an initial meeting with a client, I tell the client what my fee for the matter will be. With one exception (see below), this is not an estimate -- this is what the actual fee will be, no more and no less.

The exception mentioned above is for situations where the nature of the matter changes significantly after the initial meeting. For instance, if a client decides on one certain type of estate plan, but changes his or her mind after I have completed a substantial amount of work for the client, I reserve the right to increase my fee. This is a relatively rare occurrence.

My fixed fee is based on a number of different factors, including my estimate of the time and labor required, the fee generally charged in the Chicago area for similar legal services, and my experience and ability as a lawyer.

I find that many clients enjoy paying a fixed fee (although perhaps "enjoy" is too strong a word!). They don't have to worry about a huge bill, and they don't hesitate to call me if they have questions or need to give me additional information. To my mind, a fixed fee fosters both comfort and communication, which are two keys to effective legal representation.

So what can you expect to pay me for an estate plan? That depends on your marital situation as well as the type of plan you have. I would suggest the following guidelines:

Let me note that these are just guidelines – the final fee quote (which you will receive before you decide to retain me) may be higher or lower than the amounts shown.

For Estate and Trust Administration Matters

Estate planning matters involve somewhat standard procedures. Unfortunately, the same is not true of estate and trust administration, especially if such administration becomes contested and turns into a court battle. As a result, I bill for these matters at a rate of $200 per hour.

I also try to communicate with clients as much as possible, so that they know how much time I am spending on their matter. As much as possible, I try to break these matters into smaller "pieces," so that I can quote a fixed fee for each individual piece. I also try to communicate with clients as much as possible, so that they know how much time I am spending on their matter.

For Real Estate Matters

When I began practicing law on my own, I charged a fixed fee for representing clients in the purchase or sale of real estate. This rather small fixed fee was supplemented, at least when I represented sellers of real estate, by a fee paid to me by Chicago Title, for whom I act as an agent. However, I recently took stock of the work I’ve performed for my real estate clients, and was struck by how much time is involved in a “typical” real estate transaction. As a result, I have decided that I will no longer charge a fixed fee for representing real estate clients; instead, I will bill for these matters at my regular hourly rate ($200 per hour), while applying my fee as a title agent to the payment of my client’s final bill. (For example, if my final fee is $1,500, and I receive $800 for my title agent fee, my client will owe me an additional $700 at closing.) Some potential clients may dislike this approach, by it is based on a lot of thought, as well as on the following two ideas, which have somehow come to be considered radical:

1. A good real estate attorney can be an incredibly valuable part of the process of selling or buying real estate, saving his or her clients time and money; and
    
2. When you are making perhaps the biggest purchase (or sale) of your life, it’s important to have someone in your corner, representing YOUR interests. A good real estate attorney is that someone. A realtor, while important to the process of buying or selling real estate, is not.