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Engagement Letter

After completing and submitting this form you will receive a copy of this Engagement Letter via email to the address that you provided above.

         Thank you for choosing the Sarah Horowitz Law Group to assist you in developing your estate plan. This letter confirms our discussion with you regarding your employment of our firm and describes the basis upon which we will provide legal services to you.  If you agree with the terms in this letter, please sign and date the acknowledgment below and return to me at your earliest convenience. 

         Scope of Representation. You have asked us to represent you with regard to the planning, preparation, execution and implementation of appropriate estate planning documents ().  Our representation includes an analysis of the management of your assets during your life, and the disposition of those assets to beneficiaries in connection with various contractual rights, such as life insurance policies and retirement plan accounts. You may limit or expand the scope of our representation from time to time, provided that any substantial expansion must be agreed to by our firm. While our firm would be interested in assisting you in other matters, unless we are specifically engaged for some other future matter this letter will confirm that our representation of you is limited to the foregoing matters and will end when they are concluded.

         After your new estate planning documents are signed, unless you and this firm otherwise explicitly agree, we shall have no obligation to advise you of subsequent changes in the federal estate-tax laws or other matters of fact or law that may affect your estate plan, and thereupon and thereafter you will not be considered to be an ongoing client of this firm. After your estate planning documents have been signed, we would be pleased to respond at any time thereafter to your request that we review your estate plan and/or the then-applicable estate-tax provisions and other relevant laws for the purpose of determining whether we would suggest any changes. Indeed, we strongly recommend that you consult us, or some other attorney of your choice, for that purpose at least once every three (3) years.

         Responsibilities of Law Firm and Client. We will provide only legal services, as previously described in the “Scope of Representation” section of this engagement agreement. We will keep you apprised of developments and will consult with you as necessary to ensure the timely, effective, and efficient completion of our work. You acknowledge that we cannot guarantee either the outcome or the timing to complete legal services on your behalf.  You agree to be truthful and cooperative with us, to respond to our inquiries and communications promptly and to promptly provide all information known or available that may be relevant to our engagement. You will provide us with factual information and materials as we require in order to perform the foregoing services. You acknowledge and agree that you remain responsible for making all business or technical decisions and that you are not relying on us for accounting, tax, personal financial matters or business management, and related non-legal matters and advice. 

         You understand and agree that by hiring the Sarah Horowitz Law Group, that we may assign any attorney to your case who is a member of our firm.  We intend to have the same attorney cover your entire case, but due to changes in employment, or other unforeseen circumstances, you hereby agree to the reassignment of attorneys within our firm if needed.  

         Fees. The fee for your estate plan will be a flat rate of $.  In order to lock in this rate, if you are paying by credit card, half of this amount ($) is due within seven days of this signed engagement letter as a retainer, and the other half is due within seven days from the date we deliver the first draft of your documents.  Payments not received within seven days of the date of draft delivery will be automatically charged to the credit card on file. If you are paying by check, the entire fee is due within seven days of this signed engagement letter.  Payments not received with the seven day window are subject to change.

         This flat fee includes counseling regarding your estate planning decisions, drafting your documents, and then one opportunity for you to review and revise your estate plan with edits and/or comments.  After that, any additional changes on your part after that time, not including errors I have made, will be billed at our hourly rate of $375. 

         The fee for the legal services described in this Engagement Letter is the amount set forth herein, unless Sarah Horowitz has expressly agreed to a different fee in writing, including by email. In that event, the separately agreed-upon fee shall supersede the price quoted herein.

         You understand that this law firm is not retained until the signed original engagement agreement is returned to the law firm, including the corresponding retainer.

         Termination. You may terminate this representation at any time with or without cause by notifying me in writing of your desire to do so. Upon receipt of the notice to terminate representation, I will cease all legal work on your behalf immediately. You will be responsible for paying all legal fees, expenses and disbursements incurred on your behalf in this matter until written notice of termination is received by my firm. To the extent permitted by rules of professional responsibility and the court, I may terminate my representation at any time if you breach any material term of this agreement, fail to cooperate or follow my advice on a material matter, if a conflict of interest develops or is discovered, or if there exists, at any time, any fact or circumstance that would render my continuing representation unlawful, unethical, or otherwise inappropriate.

         Electronic Data Communication and Storage. In the interest of facilitating my services to you, I may communicate with you or others by email, facsimile transmission, send data over the Internet, store electronic data via computer software applications hosted remotely on the Internet, or allow access to data through third-party vendors’ secured portals or clouds. Electronic data that is confidential to your case may be transmitted or stored using these methods. In using these data communication and storage methods, I make reasonable efforts to keep such communications and data access secure in accordance with my obligations under applicable laws and professional standards. You recognize and accept that I have no control over the unauthorized interception or breach of any communications or data once it has been sent or has been subject to unauthorized access, notwithstanding all reasonable security measures employed by me or my third-party vendors. You consent to my use of these electronic devices and applications and submission of confidential client information to third-party service providers during this engagement.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

         Each of us has read and understands the information in this letter regarding scope of representation, fees, and dual representation as it affects our mutual and respective estate plans. We realize the potential for conflicts of interest and differences of opinion between us, and also between other members of our family, and that each of us has the rights expressed above.  We know that each of us has the right at any time to hire an independent lawyer in connection with these matters. 

         Thank you for choosing the Sarah Horowitz Law Group to assist you in developing your estate plan. This letter confirms our discussion with you regarding your employment of our firm and describes the basis upon which we will provide legal services to you.  If you agree with the terms in this letter, please sign and date the acknowledgment below and return to me at your earliest convenience. 

         Scope of Representation. You have asked us to represent you with regard to the planning, preparation, execution and implementation of appropriate estate planning documents  ().  Our representation includes an analysis of the management of your assets during your life, and the disposition of those assets to beneficiaries in connection with various contractual rights, such as life insurance policies and retirement plan accounts. You may limit or expand the scope of our representation from time to time, provided that any substantial expansion must be agreed to by our firm. While our firm would be interested in assisting you in other matters, unless we are specifically engaged for some other future matter this letter will confirm that our representation of you is limited to the foregoing matters and will end when they are concluded.

         After your new estate planning documents are signed, unless you and this firm otherwise explicitly agree, we shall have no obligation to advise you of subsequent changes in the federal estate-tax laws or other matters of fact or law that may affect your estate plan, and thereupon and thereafter you will not be considered to be an ongoing client of this firm. After your estate planning documents have been signed, we would be pleased to respond at any time thereafter to your request that we review your estate plan and/or the then-applicable estate-tax provisions and other relevant laws for the purpose of determining whether we would suggest any changes. Indeed, we strongly recommend that you consult us, or some other attorney of your choice, for that purpose at least once every three (3) years.

         Joint Representation.  Spouses can have differing, and sometimes sharply conflicting, interests and objectives regarding their estate plan.  If each of you had your own separate attorney, you would each have an advocate for your position and you would each receive totally independent and confidential advice. All information that you gave to your separate attorney would be confidential, and none of that information could be disclosed to your spouse without your consent.  That is not the case when one firm advises both of you jointly. We cannot be an advocate for one of you against the other if we represent both of you. Information that either of you give to our firm relating to your estate plan cannot, and will not, be kept by us from your spouse. 

         You have asked us to advise you jointly, so our effort will be to assist you in developing a coordinated overall estate plan and to encourage the resolution of any differences of opinion or conflicting interests in an equitable and logical manner. As to those matters in which your individual interests may differ, I will attempt to explain to both of you the interests of each spouse and the effect on each spouse of a particular course of action.

         In the interests of efficiency, you may choose to communicate with me primarily through one of you, in which event I will provide any necessary explanation of the issues to that individual. Of course, I will respond at any time to any questions asked by either of you.  By signing this letter, each of you confirms that you have requested and consented to our joint representation of both of you in connection with the preparation of your estate plan, and each of you agrees that communications and information I receive from either of you that is relevant to your estate plan will not be kept confidential from your spouse.

         If at any time during the estate-planning process either of you wishes to retain separate counsel, the one desiring to retain separate counsel may terminate our representation. In that event our firm will be free to continue to represent the other spouse, except that, if one of you retained separate counsel because of a serious disagreement or conflict of interest in connection with your estate plan, our firm will not continue to represent the other spouse without the consent of the one who retained separate counsel. In general, our firm will be unable to continue to represent either one of you without the consent of the other in this or any substantially related matter in which your interests may be adverse. If our firm concludes that a serious or potentially serious conflict of interest between the two of you has developed or is likely to develop and that we should therefore not continue to represent either one of you, we will promptly notify both of you that we can no longer continue to represent either one of you. In that event we will not be obliged to disclose to either of you the precise reason or reasons why we have concluded that we should discontinue our representation.

         Responsibilities of Law Firm and Client. We will provide only legal services, as previously described in the “Scope of Representation” section of this engagement agreement. We will keep you apprised of developments and will consult with you as necessary to ensure the timely, effective, and efficient completion of our work. You acknowledge that we cannot guarantee either the outcome or the timing to complete legal services on your behalf.  You agree to be truthful and cooperative with us, to respond to our inquiries and communications promptly and to promptly provide all information known or available that may be relevant to our engagement. You will provide us with factual information and materials as we require in order to perform the foregoing services. You acknowledge and agree that you remain responsible for making all business or technical decisions and that you are not relying on us for accounting, tax, personal financial matters or business management, and related non-legal matters and advice. 

         You understand and agree that by hiring the Sarah Horowitz Law Group, that we may assign any attorney to your case who is a member of our firm.  We intend to have the same attorney cover your entire case, but due to changes in employment, or other unforeseen circumstances, you hereby agree to the reassignment of attorneys within our firm if needed.  

         Fees. The fee for your estate plan will be a flat rate of $.  In order to lock in this rate, if you are paying by credit card, half of this amount ($) is due within seven days of this signed engagement letter as a retainer, and the other half is due within seven days from the date we deliver the first draft of your documents.  Payments not received within seven days of the date of draft delivery will be automatically charged to the credit card on file. If you are paying by check, the entire fee is due within seven days of this signed engagement letter.  Payments not received with the seven day window are subject to change.

         This flat fee includes counseling regarding your estate planning decisions, drafting your documents, and then one opportunity for you to review and revise your estate plan with edits and/or comments.  After that, any additional changes on your part after that time, not including errors I have made, will be billed at our hourly rate of $375. 

         The fee for the legal services described in this Engagement Letter is the amount set forth herein, unless Sarah Horowitz has expressly agreed to a different fee in writing, including by email. In that event, the separately agreed-upon fee shall supersede the price quoted herein.

         You understand that this law firm is not retained until the signed original engagement agreement is returned to the law firm, including the corresponding retainer.

         Termination. You may terminate this representation at any time with or without cause by notifying me in writing of your desire to do so. Upon receipt of the notice to terminate representation, I will cease all legal work on your behalf immediately. You will be responsible for paying all legal fees, expenses and disbursements incurred on your behalf in this matter until written notice of termination is received by my firm. To the extent permitted by rules of professional responsibility and the court, I may terminate my representation at any time if you breach any material term of this agreement, fail to cooperate or follow my advice on a material matter, if a conflict of interest develops or is discovered, or if there exists, at any time, any fact or circumstance that would render my continuing representation unlawful, unethical, or otherwise inappropriate.

         Electronic Data Communication and Storage. In the interest of facilitating my services to you, I may communicate with you or others by email, facsimile transmission, send data over the Internet, store electronic data via computer software applications hosted remotely on the Internet, or allow access to data through third-party vendors’ secured portals or clouds. Electronic data that is confidential to your case may be transmitted or stored using these methods. In using these data communication and storage methods, I make reasonable efforts to keep such communications and data access secure in accordance with my obligations under applicable laws and professional standards. You recognize and accept that I have no control over the unauthorized interception or breach of any communications or data once it has been sent or has been subject to unauthorized access, notwithstanding all reasonable security measures employed by me or my third-party vendors. You consent to my use of these electronic devices and applications and submission of confidential client information to third-party service providers during this engagement.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

         Each of us has read and understands the information in this letter regarding scope of representation, fees, and dual representation as it affects our mutual and respective estate plans. We realize the potential for conflicts of interest and differences of opinion between us, and also between other members of our family, and that each of us has the rights expressed above.  We know that each of us has the right at any time to hire an independent lawyer in connection with these matters.