If you have hired us on a contingency fee agreement

For those of you who hired us on a contingency fee agreement, we are often asked at the end of the case how is it we’re going to get paid. Which I find a little bit startling only because that’s the discussion we had before we even started work on your case and it’s in your retainer agreement in black and white.

I’m gonna go through some of this so it’s clear to you and frankly so you have this video as a reference. If you’ve hired us on a contingency fee agreement we have put it down in writing for you and we’ve both agreed to what the percentage is going to be and all of our contracts say the same thing which is depending upon how far we’ve gotten into the case that’s going to determine what percentage we are paid and also the reimbursement of our direct out-of-pocket cost for what we’ve done for you. So the question always arises well what happens if there’s more than one distribution? Sometimes we get the sale of a major asset some money’s distributed from the trust but there’s still other money or other assets that need to be liquid data and so there will be at least one more distribution at a later time.

Well, we are being paid based on what we recover for you so if there is a partial distribution and the case is still going on yes we are going to be paid and the way it works is based on what that distribution, that partial distribution is we will get the appropriate percentage, we will also be reimbursed for our costs up to that point in time.

If there’s more work than we do overtime and more costs that are incurred when the later distribution comes in then it will be paid at that time whatever the appropriate percentage is but will only be reimbursed for the cost from the first distribution onward.

We don’t double dip there’s nothing that gets marked up it’s bookkeeping if you will. Sometimes we have clients who I don’t know why but they will say to us well gee I didn’t think if there were partial distributions you would be paid from all of them, yes we will.

Please go back and look at your retainer agreement if you have any questions or any doubt about what we’ve agreed to. What it says is we’re going to be paid based on what we recover for you. If that recovery comes in pieces or it comes in one lump sum it’s the same thing. When recovery comes in that’s when we get paid that’s when you get your portion. That’s how it works if you have any questions about it if you’re not clear please call and set up a time for us to discuss it. I don’t ever want to have a disagreement or a misunderstanding with a client about payment so if it is not crystal clear to you let us know so we can make sure that it is.

If you are ready to start your case, then please give us a call or fill out our Get Help Now form. A comprehensive overview of California Probate is available here. Should you have additional questions about trust litigation, you will find plenty of useful information in our Learning Center.