[tobe]

Hi - Wondering if anyone paid his/her adoption attorney by Hr, and what kind of statement you received. Is it normal to see dates and not duration of each tasks and then a total on the statement. I was wondering if this is the norm. Here is an example of what I got:
Oct 2, 04 taks1
Oct 5, 04 task2
Oct 15, 04 task 3
total $...

Tks, TB

[sandymomof2]

When we adopted our 2nd daughter, we paid the bmom's
attorney at an hourly rate, and we got VERY DETAILED
billing information - each phone call or meeting being
billed also listed the date, with whom, and duration.
BTW, this got very expensive - ended up costing more
than both attorneys for our first adoption added together!

[Sarah0518]

some atty bill by the hour. others have flat fees for specific tasks, and ony charge for anything else considered over & above normal in detail.

how did your lawyer explain their fees in the beginning, or in the contract you signed to retain them?

[tobe]

no problem with the hr rate, just the fact that statement gives dates and tasks but no indication of durtion of each task. with one big total at the end. So basically I do not know for how many hours they are charging me. Tks, TB

[bumpkin]

ours billed in 15 minute increments with a breakdown of the task.


10/1 reviewed contract 45 minutes................ $$$$

10/4 Emailed agency attorney 15 min............ $$$$

and then a total at the bottom.

Hope that helps.

[DebCsMom]

Our attorney for 2 of our adoptions had a retainer first, then by the hour. All of the work he did was detailed out & how long it took. It was done in 5 minutes increments.

For the other adoption, it was just a flat rate. Everything she did was included in that one fee.

Deb

[tobeafamily]

Both our attys billed by the hour, had an upfront retainer, and itemized expenses and hourly activities - deducting from retainer until exhausted. After that, we paid them each month.

HTH

Regina

[34andhopeful]

Tobe, before you pay - get details of the task.

[tobe]

Thank you all for your time. TB