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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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 »