Planning is flat fee. Disputes are hourly with a retainer. Probate is set by statute and neither of us has any say in it.
That is the whole system, and the reason it splits that way is that some legal work is predictable and some depends entirely on how the other side behaves.
The three buckets
| Type of work | How it is billed |
|---|---|
| Living trusts, wills, powers of attorney, health care directives | Flat fee, quoted before you hire us |
| Trust amendments and restatements | Flat fee, from $750 |
| Deed preparation and recording | Flat fee, plus government recording charges at cost |
| Probate administration | California statutory schedule, set by Probate Code section 10810 |
| Trust contests, trustee removal, fiduciary claims, 850 petitions, contested probate | Hourly, with a retainer paid up front |
| Trust administration after a death, uncontested | Flat or hourly depending on complexity, quoted at the outset |
Why planning is flat
Because I know how long it takes. After twenty years of these, a standard couple's trust is a known quantity, and billing by the hour would create two bad incentives. You would hesitate before calling with a question, which is exactly when mistakes get baked in. And I would have no reason to be efficient.
Flat pricing also means the number in your head at the consultation is the number on the invoice. Nobody enjoys a legal bill that arrives larger than expected.
Why disputes are not
A trust contest costs whatever the other side makes it cost. If they produce documents when asked and mediate in good faith, it can resolve in a few months. If they refuse to account, force three motions, and take the case to trial, it will cost several times that. No honest attorney can quote a flat fee against that variance, and one who does has either padded it heavily or plans to withdraw when it gets expensive.
So we bill by the hour, against a retainer held in a client trust account, with monthly statements showing the time in detail. You will see entries you disagree with at some point. Call and ask about them. I would rather have that conversation than have you quietly resentful.
What a retainer is and is not
A retainer is not a fee. It is your money, held in a trust account, that we bill against as work is performed and that gets refunded if unused. When it runs low we ask you to replenish it, and if you cannot, we talk about scope rather than pretending the case can proceed anyway. The rate itself goes in your engagement letter in writing before you sign, because a rate you learn about later is not a rate you agreed to.
The uncomfortable arithmetic on litigation
Hourly billing on a family dispute regularly consumes more than the dispute is worth. That is not a scandal, it is a structural feature of litigation, and every attorney who does this work knows it. What varies is whether they tell you before you retain them.
So we do the math at the first meeting. What is realistically in dispute, what would a reasonable settlement look like, and what would it cost to get there. If the answer is that your $60,000 grievance would take $70,000 to litigate, I will say so, and I will suggest a demand letter and a mediation instead. I lose fees that way and I sleep fine.
“The single best predictor of how much a dispute will cost is not the law. It is whether one of the parties needs to win rather than needing to be paid. I can spot it in the first meeting most of the time, and when it is my own client, I say so out loud.”
Delia Vasquez-HartWhat we do not do
We do not take estate disputes on contingency. We do not bill for the initial consultation. We do not charge for short clarifying calls on a flat fee matter, because nickel-and-diming a planning client is how you get a client who stops calling.
Questions we get asked
What is your hourly rate?
We give it to you in writing at the consultation, along with an estimated range for your specific matter. It goes in the engagement letter before you owe anything.
Can a dispute be handled on a flat fee?
A discrete piece of one sometimes can, for example a demand letter and an accounting review. The litigation itself cannot be responsibly flat priced.
Do you take payment plans?
On flat fee planning work, half at engagement and half at signing is standard. Talk to us if that does not work for your situation.
Is the statutory probate fee negotiable?
It is a statutory maximum for ordinary services rather than a floor, but it is the standard in practice across the county.
Next step
Tell us in one sentence what the matter is when you call, and we will tell you on the phone which of the three buckets it falls into before you come in. Free 45-minute consultation, (310) 555-0219.