Why You Should Read Your Legal Bills

You know you should read your legal bills because you’re a responsible consumer. That’s not the only reason, though. By reading your attorney’s invoices when you receive them, you’ll know the most recent progress on your case and the status of your retainer funds.  Plus, it keeps you and your legal team on the same page.

Read on to learn more.

Attorney Invoices Are Case Updates

At Freed Marcoft, our invoices aren’t just bills. They provide a useful, frequent update on our most recent work on your case. They explain the effort that your divorce attorneys and team put in to move you forward toward your goals.

In other words, our invoices will include the time we spent, but equally — or more — importantly, they will show what we did with that time. In other words, our efforts on your behalf.

Read: How Do Legal Fees Work in a Connecticut Divorce?

Stay on the Same Page

We want to make sure you understand what’s happening in your case — including our charges.  One of the reasons it’s so important that you read each invoice when you receive it is so you can quickly bring any questions you have to our attention.  We want to make sure you understand what is happening in your case and have any answers and clarifications you need.  It’s extremely important to us that we are on the same page with you.

Read: How to Help Keep Your Legal Fees Down

Legal Bills Contain a Summary of Your Remaining Retainer Funds

Remember, a retainer is the fee for your divorce or an estimate of how much your divorce will cost. 

A retainer refers to the money that a client provides to a law firm in advance. The law firm keeps those funds in a special account called a “trust” or “IOLTA” account, then used them to pay your invoices as work is completed on your case.

Rather than ask you to pay a larger single retainer upfront, your engagement agreement with Freed Marcroft may contain a provision for an “evergreen” retainer.  With an evergreen retainer, you make an additional when your retainer funds drop below a certain amount, you make an additional deposit.  This is called “replenishing” your retainer.  In other words, an evergreen retainer is an upfront partial payment, not an estimate of the overall cost of your case.  You can think of your initial retainer payment as start-up funds.  This type of retainer is more flexible payment method for clients than requesting a larger sum at the beginning of their case.

At Freed Marcorft, we put a summary of your trust account balance at the bottom of each invoice we send you.  That way, you can stay on top of where you stand and already plan in place in time for your next replenishment.

Read: What Is an Evergreen Retainer?

Next Steps

Please reach out with any questions.