C____, the high-powered attorney, requires us to sign a (four page!) “Letter of Engagement.”

I have been told about these things in the past. They’re a bit more than a formality. In fact, I’d say they are a lot more than a formality. They’re a contract.

Strange: I can’t ever remember signing one before, though I’m sure I must have. I’ve done quite a bit of business with attorneys over the years, and one or two of them must have had such letters. . . . But I’ve never seen anything quite like this one!

I mean, four pages! . . .

Ultimately, I think it’s all well and good. It is very detailed. It lays out pretty much every possible issue and contingency that might arise and explains what Sarita and I may expect as a result (of any particular issue or contingency: “If you do this, we will do that.”).

It’s good.

But it also “puts me on notice”: “We’re not in Kansas anymore.” Yipes! We are dealing with a big firm! At $310 an hour. And they want a $1,000 cash payment in advance.

Anyway.

I’ve requested our comptroller to issue a check to go along with the signed letter of engagement. . . .

I feel a bit like I’m in a roller-coaster when it first gets clamped onto the pulley at the start of the ride. I’d better be ready to hang on!

But we should get some good counsel about going 501(c)(3). . . .

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Just for “completion,” I should probably note: the president of _____, the accounting firm that specializes in non-profit accounting, replied to my email this morning. He suggested we could talk sometime next week, and he’d bring in an attorney who works with their firm in the specific areas that are disturbing Sarita and me.

I told him about the arrangements we are making with C____, the attorney that J____ has urged us to engage. “With what I have just said, I am wondering if it makes sense for us, yet, to hold a phone conference. . . . What do you think?”

I haven’t heard back.

My guess: they’re passing. At least for now. And that should be fine for me. . . .

So J____, our legacy planner, and I spoke with C____, an attorney with a high-end attorneys’ firm here in Denver. C____ specializes in tax planning for estate disposition, intergenerational wealth transfers (including business succession), construction of specialized trusts, and law related to non-profit and religious institutions.

Before we spoke, I had forwarded her some of the results of my research. She said the cases I was referring to were rather old. “A lot of water has flowed over the dam in the intervening years,” she said. “We need to do research to find out what cases have followed that may make those cases that you’ve found unimportant.”

“So what’s the probability, you think, for us to succeed?” I asked. Read the rest of this entry »

J____ wrote back to me (very early!) this morning (in reply to my email to him last night):

John,

The reason you bring in experts to help in this area is because they live in this world and they know what can and cannot be done. No one I have reviewed your proposed plan with including L____ and B____ has stated you CANNOT be a nonprofit because there is not an acceptable charitable purpose.

Our call today with C____ [the attorney he wants us to talk with] will be very helpful to both of you.

Read the rest of this entry »

J____ wrote me a quick note about 8:30 this morning:

I have just a few minutes before I have to leave for a meeting, but I think it would be helpful for our discussions if you categorize your questions/concerns/needed clarification in one of three categories:

1. Financial
2. Logistical
3. Emotional

Read the rest of this entry »

What do you do when you become unsure of your counselors’ competency to answer your questions?

I try to find new counselors.

This morning, I thought of the accounting firm whose services are used by all the 501(c)(3)s with which I’m familiar. I looked them up on the web and just wrote them an email: Read the rest of this entry »

J____, our legacy planner, replied quickly to my email last night:

I just got your email. We have been in meetings all day long and have one more meeting tomorrow morning before we head home.

There is so much in your email, I would prefer to address these matters with you and Sarita by phone instead of trying to respond to them all in an email. We will be in the office on Thursday and Friday. Could we set up a time to have a conference call with all of us?

I replied, “Of course we can speak by phone! . . . And Thursday or Friday should be good. Please suggest some times when you’d be available, and I can confirm. . . .”

I then copied him (though in a different form) much of what I just posted.

!!!!!

I am definitely not comfortable right now!

Talk about disappointment. And shock.

Our legacy planner presented his legacy plan proposal this afternoon. That was fine. Indeed, it was quite exciting.

But he didn’t merely present his ideas for our future. He showed us where our current estate plan, drafted about eight and a half years ago, is going to leave us . . . unless we take some drastic action.

The results of our current plan are so far off-kilter from where we actually want to go, I can hardly express my dismay.

Some of the most shocking elements: Read the rest of this entry »