"Why don't businesses
treat me like I want to be treated?"
Remember when doctors made
house calls? Remember full-service gas stations and the attendant
who checked under the hood and washed your windshield?
There are few "professionals"
left in stores and restaurants. Rarely do they offer a suggestion
or alternative when they don't have the item you want. They have become
"order takers" rather than "service providers."
The pressure to be price-competitive
has all but driven "service" out of our business establishments.
It costs more to sell full-service gas than self-service gas. Have
cost-cutting pressures crept into our professions such as medicine and
law?
Well, the legal profession
is now seeing "do-it-yourself" computer programs that lure consumers into
thinking they can get the same quality of professional analysis and decision
making from a computer as they can get from a trained and experienced attorney.
Unless you know the complexities and nuances of the law, it may be hard
for you to appreciate the difference.
At Jones Waldo,
we're here to tell you that that professional service, analysis, decision-making,
and recommendations, concerning your legal needs, is more important
today than it has ever been! Truly, our laws are more complicated
than just a decade ago, and those who would try to deny you your legal
rights and, especially, your property are smarter and craftier today than
ever before. Never in the history of the world has it been more important
for you to protect your rights and your assets with the aid of trained
and experienced legal professionals.
When Randall and Matthew
(Randy and Matt) formed Jones Waldo, they said, "We want
to be an extraordinary estate planning law firm -- the kind where we treat
clients the way we want to be treated with competence, care, duty, and
attention to detail. We refuse to give in to the enticement to get
more clients by offering them the lowest prices. As professionals,
if we cut the clients short of service, in order to give them a low price,
what have we done? Ultimately, we have cheated the clients.
As we said above,
Those who would
try to deny you your legal rights and, especially, your property are smarter
and craftier today than ever before. Never in the history of the
world has it been more important for you to protect your rights and your
assets with the aid of trained and experienced legal professionals.
Our law firm is an exception
to the rule. This is a place where clients are treated the way they
want to be treated. Wow, that's a tall order! Do we really
do it? Ask some of our clients, if you'd like to. (We'll provide
references). Are we extraordinary? A lot of businesses
say they are. Self-promotions like "You are Important to Us," or
"Red Carpet Treatment," or "The Best of Service" sure sound good, but they
rarely reflect the way the business is really treating its clients.
ARE WE REALLY DIFFERENT?
ARE WE BETTER?
We try hard every day to
give our clients and prospective clients a better experience than they
have ever had with any other law firm. As a client of Jones Waldo, here are some of the things you'll notice.
WE WILL TALK TO YOU LIKE
REAL PEOPLE
If attorneys would tape
record what they say and then listen to it, they would be amazed at the
way they sound. Legal jargon or "legalese" as some call it sounds
like a foreign language. So we tape-recorded ourselves and listened
to the tapes to see what we sound like when we discuss legal topics.
It really helped. We have modified the way we talk. Clients
now tell us that are presentation of legal concepts is "simple and easy
to understand," and we'll show you the letters and evaluations from people
just like you.
YOU'LL FEEL GOOD ABOUT
WHAT YOU PAY FOR OUR SERVICE
True or false? You
get what you pay for. Attorneys and law firms who drop their fees
to compete with cost cutters also decrease services. There is a difference
between the attorney who visits with you for 1, 2 or 3 hours, to help assess
your situation and diagnose the problems, and the attorney who has an assistant
give you a form to fill out to make your own legal decisions and choices
without the benefit of the attorney's training, expertise and experience.
We don't have rock-bottom fees like some do. But read on, if you
want to know the difference between fee cutters and those who charge a
reasonable fee for competent work and good service.
Most people who are serious
about having a quality estate plan that will preserve their hard-earned
assets from all legal challenges want personal attention and service;
they want to consult with their attorney. They want professional
counsel and recommendations; and, most importantly, they want follow-through
and attention to detail. They want the job done right.
That level of service does
come at a cost, and the "fear" of that cost is what keeps many people from
taking the important step of getting started with their estate plan.
The fear that the attorney is charging "by the clock" and that the "meter
is running" with no end in sight is a legitimate concern of any careful-minded
consumer.
At Jones Waldo,
we have not ignored that "meter is running" fear. For most cases,
we don't charge by the hour. Instead, we quote the client a flat
fee with this promise. No matter how much work we have to put into
the project, we won't charge you a penny more than the flat fee.
In that way, our clients can go into the estate-planning project knowing
exactly what it is going to cost, and the fear of "the meter" simply goes
away.
We hold to that proverb that
has been proven true time and time again: "You get what you pay for."
The flat fee we quote you
will include all services. In most cases, you'll never be charged
extra for phone calls, office consultations, interviews, letters,
or anything else pertaining to setting up the estate plan. We'll
even stay in touch with you by mailing you our quarterly newsletter.
When we finish your estate
plan, we will send you an evaluation form and we'll ask: "Was the
fee you paid a fair price for the service provided?" You can put
your name on the form or send it back to us anonymously. We have
hardly ever had anyone say that they didn't get their money's worth.
We'll even show you the evaluation forms if you'd like.
A few people say to us, "Don't
you just print a Will or a Trust from a computer program ... aren't they
all the same?" No. Just as no two people are the same, no two
families are the same. While computer software and cut-rate firms
will give you a "one size fits all" estate plan, at Holmgren & Mitton
your estate plan contains numerous provisions that are custom written for
your specific family and property situation.
One last thing. Before
you invest in a computer program to set up a "do it yourself" estate plan,
remember these important points:
-
You wouldn't perform surgery
on yourself using a "do it yourself" manual, would you?
-
The software manufacturer is
not a licensed attorney and is not subject to the rules of competence,
professionalism and ethics that a licensed attorney is.
-
The software manufacturer is
not responsible for its mistakes, errors, or omissions. Read their
"Disclaimer" and you'll know what we mean.
-
Conversely, by law an attorney
cannot disclaim responsibility for the work he or she does. The law
guarantees the attorney's work because, if it is not done correctly, the
client has legal recourse against the attorney.
How important are those issues
to you?
WE'LL BE LISTENING WITH
OUR HEART
There is only one way to
really know what the client wants, and that is to feel what the client
feels. That is called "empathy." Quality estate planning demands
that the attorney understand what the client wants (in addition to what
the attorney thinks the client needs).
How do we get to the point
where we understand what you want? We spend time at it, and
there are no shortcuts.
In many instances, we start
with a public or private seminar (no charge) where we explain estate planning
options and choices in an easy-to-understand way. Sometimes, we can
accomplish that same result during an office consultation, so don't worry
if you've met us without having attended a seminar.
Next, we visit with you in
a private confidential consultation or interview (no charge). The
consultation is with an attorney, not with an assistant of some kind.
During that consultation, we listen to your wishes and wants and your fears
and concerns. We don't rush you. When such consultations go
over an hour or so, some clients apologize that they are taking "too much"
of our time. "No you're not," is our reply. "That's our job."
The consultation takes as long as it takes for us to understand and feel
what you want your estate plan to accomplish. So, if the interview
takes a while, don't apologize to us because we'll want to keep on listening
(and we won't charge extra for the extra time).
WE WON'T TURN YOU OVER
TO AN ASSISTANT
If we did, we'd be like
the cost cutters who have to move on to new prospects while
they leave their clients behind. No, once the attorney has met with
you and recommended an estate plan for you, and the documents have been
prepared, you will meet with an attorney again to sign the documents.
The attorney will make sure that everything is the way you want it.
After you return home and have some time to read the documents carefully,
you may want to call the attorney to ask follow-up questions. Please
call. If the attorney is available, he'll take the call. If
the attorney is not available, an assistant may try to answer your question,
but if the question needs a response from the attorney, the attorney will
call you back usually the same day. Of course, there is no extra
charge for any of this service.
WE'LL STAY IN TOUCH WITH
YOU
Its a shame, but people
tell us all the time: "We had an attorney do some estate planning
work for us years ago, but after we signed the papers we never heard from
him again." Things aren't that way at Jones Waldo. After
we complete your estate plan, you'll get a letter explaining some things
you should keep in mind in the future. Then, every year you'll be
entitled to a complimentary "annual review" meeting. There is no
charge for the meeting, but we feel it is important that you have that
kind of a "checkup" every year or two so that your estate plan doesn't
become outdated or obsolete.
We will send you a quarterly
newsletter to remind you to see us for a "review" every year or so.
The newsletter will also contain important information about estate planning
laws, and it will usually include valuable articles about other topics
that are related to estate planning. The newsletter is free for our
clients.
WHEN YOU HAVE QUESTIONS,
YOU'LL GIVE US A CALL
Down the road, if you have
questions you'll call us because 1) you're welcome to, and 2) because we
won't charge you to talk to you. One of our staff will try to answer
your questions and, in many instances, that works just fine. However,
if the question requires a response from an attorney, one of our attorneys
will take your call or call you back as soon as possible. You will never
get a bill for these kinds of phone calls, as long as they relate to your
estate plan and how it works.
WHAT ABOUT THE HOUSE CALLS
AND CHECKING UNDER THE HOOD?
Yes, we knew you'd remember.
Well, we don't check under the hood because we don't know beans about automobile
engines. But we do make house calls when needed.
If you don't live in the
Salt Lake City area, we'll make every effort we can to meet with you in
your community. We have hundreds of clients all over Utah and we
travel to meet with them in places like Moab, Price, Manti, Brigham City,
Ogden, Cedar City, St. George and other places. We'll do our best
to meet you where you want if we can do it in an efficient and economical
way. And, we literally make house calls, whenever possible,
when a client is hospitalized or confined to home.
So, are we different than
our competitors? We hope that this article has been helpful in making
a decision about which law firm you want to handle this very important
business for you.
About Jones Waldo.
Attorneys Randall
J Holmgren and Matthew L. Mitton are noted speakers on various estate planning
topics. Their area of emphasis is primarily estate planning, although
the attorneys accept other legal engagements on a selected basis.
Their seminars are "informative, entertaining & easy to understand."
The firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.
To make a reservation for
an upcoming estate planning seminar, or to schedule a private complimentary
consultation, please call (801) 534-7434
