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Need a Will, Property or Medical Power of Attorney, or Living Will?
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The Law Office of Walter Wm. Hofheinz, Attorneys Counselors Mediators, provides a broad range of legal services, including both transactional and litigation practice. Included are:
Walter Wm. Hofheinz is Board Certified, Estate Planning and Probate Law, by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Members of the firm are not Board Certified in other areas of practice described.
Representation in estate planning matters range from simple non-tax dispositive planning through complex multi-generation planning for large estates with substantial business or other assets. Advanced lifetime management, federal estate and gift tax, generation skipping transfer tax, and dispositive planning integrates one or more general or limited family partnerships, revocable living trusts, and wills. Also included are other trusts customary to integrated planning, such as generation-skipping for children and other beneficiaries, irrevocable life insurance trusts, and special purpose trusts for a spouse or others. Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts, Durable Powers of Attorney, Directives to Physicians under the Texas Natural Death Act, Sibling and Family Agreements (see the Dallas Morning News article March 8, 2007), and other appropriate ancillary documents needed for lifetime planning are also negotiated and prepared.
The firm provides complete estate administration services, including probate, estate settlement and federal estate tax return preparation.
In addition to direct representation of clients, the firm is pleased to provide services in this area to other attorneys on an associate counsel or consulting basis.
The firm offers services in the area of estate and trust litigation, including Will contests, representation of beneficiaries in enforcing rights under Wills or Trusts, and representation of trustees in actions by beneficiaries to determine or enforce rights under Wills or Trusts.
The firm provides complete transactional business representation, including selection of entity and formation of closely held business entities, control and continuation agreements between owners, business reorganization and termination, and general representation in contract and other on-going matters necessary to conduct the business. Representation is provided for all services necessary for the purchase or sale of substantial business interests, from negotiation of the transaction through closing.
The firm provides representation in litigation arising from business activities, provides oversight of litigation on a consulting basis.
The firm designs and implements dispute resolution systems to minimize cost and improve internal and external business relationships.
The firm provides extensive mediation and negotiation services. Negotiation services include strategic and tactical planning, as well as direct participation in negotiations.
Mediation services are provided either on a voluntary or court ordered basis. In addition, the firm provides assistance in mediation advocacy to other attorneys on a consulting or associate counsel basis.
The firm provides complete state-wide Texas probate collection representation , on a predictable, systematized, cost-effective basis. Routine representation includes all required actions to assert, establish, and collect undisputed claims against estates on a fixed fee basis with no “extras.” No actions other than those included within the fixed fee will be required to collect from the vast majority of estates.
In addition, the firm offers reprentation in adversary collection proceedings following disallowance or rejection of a claim.
For a detailed description of services offered and related fees, please see Texas Probate Collections Overview.
It is the goal of the firm to provide outstanding legal representation to meet all the needs of its clients. When a member of the firm does not possess the requisite substantive expertise or experience, it is the policy of the firm to associate counsel to assist in the representation and to retain responsibility and supervision of the overall course of the matter, or to refer the client to a practitioners who can better meet the specialized needs of the client for that matter. When appropriate, the firm adopts a "team" approach to meeting the client's needs, forming the group of practitioners and support resources necessary to meet the client's particular goals.
There is a minimal charge for a limited initial consultation (typically approximately one hour) regarding the client's circumstances, appropriate available legal alternatives, and whether the firm and client are a suitable match for the needs of the client. The fee will be waived if it is determined during the consultation that the matter is not one appropriate for acceptance by the firm. It is the firm's policy to always have a specific representation contract regarding the work to be performed and the basis upon which fees are to be charged before work begins for which the client is expected to pay. This avoids surprises regarding the fees for both the client and the firm. When work is to be performed on an hourly basis, the client may impose a maximum authorized fee, and decide when that limit is reached whether to proceed further.
The firm prefers, whenever possible, to work on a "flat fee" or "fixed fee" basis. Only when the necessary scope of the work is uncertain will an hourly basis be preferred.
Unless the representation contract provides for a fixed fee, the firm's service to clients is at the firm's customary hourly rate of compensation for the type of services rendered. The firm uses attorneys, legal assistants, and qualified technical support staff in order to represent clients in the most cost effective manner possible. Currently the customary hourly rate is from $195 to $395 per hour of service for attorneys, $95 to $125 per hour of service for legal assistants, and $45 to $150 per hour of service for billable staff. Billable staff includes only technical support staff performing non-clerical duties. Our minimum billing increment is .2 hours, and additional time is billed in .1 increments. The customary rate is adjusted from time to time. Our representation contract determines the period for which the firm agrees to apply the current rate to particular representation. Fees for services rendered outside of the Dallas metropolitan area, or at a location other than an office of the firm, are computed including travel time. Charges computed on an hourly basis are subject to upward adjustment in the firm's discretion where services are requested outside of normal work hours or on an expedited basis which cannot be accommodated in the normal flow of work.
Mediation and other ADR service fees are generally based upon a one-half day or full day basis. The rate for such services varies depending upon the number of parties, the complexity of the case, the amount in controversy, and the particular process chosen by the parties. Current mediation rates range from $250 per party per half-day to $1,500 per party per day. Generally, two hours of preparation and administrative time per party per day are included in the fee; additional preparation or administrative work required are charged at the firms customary hourly rate. All mediation and other ADR service fees are payable in advance.
Generally, one-half of any fixed fee agreed upon is due at the time the client asks the firm to begin work, with the balance of charges due upon the execution of necessary documents. The firm usually requires the payment of a retainer or non-refundable deposit at the inception of representation to be applied against accruing fees where work is to be performed on an hourly basis, typically in the amount of the fee estimated to be likely to accrue during the first two months of representation. All hourly fees are due upon the client's receipt of an invoice for services. When appropriate to the client's circumstances, however, the firm is often able to arrange an installment payment of fees. If invoiced fees are not paid in a timely fashion, the firm retains the right to withdraw from representation.
Estate planning, business transactions, and estate administration work for clients outside of the Dallas metropolitan area may require the participation of local counsel, depending upon the particular services to be rendered. Where the plan implemented requires on-going attention, the client can only expect prompt, efficient service if local counsel is readily available in the community. The firm's services also frequently require the active participation of the client's certified public accountant and other financial, professional and business advisors.
You should also know that the firm's compensation is always subject to adjustment based upon a person's needs and ability to pay. Our goal is to provide high-quality representation to all those with a need for such services.
Representation of a particular client is contingent upon acceptance of representation by the firm, in its sole discretion, and mutual agreement of the firm and client as evidenced by a written representation contract.
Legal representation, including estate planning, business transactions, real estate transactions, and tax planning usually occur in four stages. The first is information gathering and analysis. In simple situations it is often possible to accomplish this stage during the initial complementary consultation. Where the client's circumstances and needs are more complex, this stage may take place in two steps: first, with general information and preliminary analysis regarding planning to be implemented accomplished during the initial complementary consultation; second, with specific information accumulated during the course of the representation and decisions to be implemented as appropriate to the more detailed information accumulated. When this stage takes place during the initial consultation, analysis is generally included within the scope of a fixed fee, while fees for extensive information gathering, analysis, evaluation, and decision making are determined on an hourly basis.
The second stage is preparation of the necessary documents together with nominal funding, if applicable. In areas of practice in which the firm works extensively, it is able to provide a fixed fee for the preparation, review, and completion of most transactions documents. Where extensive negotiations are necessary to arrive at a final agreement regarding the documentary implementation of a transaction, the firm customarily represents clients on an hourly basis.
The third phase is implementation, including transfers of ownership, an activity for which time requirements vary greatly and for which it has been difficult, if not impossible, to provide a fixed a fee. In unusual cases, the representation contract may include implementation. In general, however, services in the implementation stage are based upon an hourly rate of compensation.
The fourth phase of a business or planning transaction is maintenance. This service is provided either on a yearly fixed fee retainer or on an "as needed" basis at an hourly rate of compensation.
For information without obligation, please contact us, and we will be pleased to discuss any questions you may have by telephone, email, or mail.
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© 1997-2008 Walter Wm. Hofheinz. Permission
available for republication, contact wwh@hofheinzlaw.com.
Last modified January 28, 2010 5:10 pm