All fees are held in trust until "earned" in accordance with Virginia State Bar Rules.
CLR LAW, PLLC 2-PAYMENT BILLING CYCLE
FIRST ½ PAYMENT: Upon hiring CLR Law, PLLC to build your Legacy Plan, you receive an Engagement Letter and invoice for the first ½ payment of your plan's total flat fee. Payment is due upon receipt and deposited into CLR Law, PLLC’s Trust (escrow) Account until “earned” in accordance with Virginia State Bar rules. Upon completion of your Draft Review Meeting, your first ½ payment is considered earned and paid to CLR Law, PLLC.
SECOND ½ PAYMENT: Upon completion of your Draft Review Meeting, you are invoiced for the second ½ payment of your plan's total flat fee. Payment is due upon receipt and deposited into CLR Law, PLLC’s Trust Account until earned. Upon execution of your final documents, your second ½ payment is considered earned and paid to CLR Law, PLLC.
ATTORNEY TRUST ACCOUNT
An Attorney Trust Account, known as an IOLTA account (which stands for "Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts") is a special type of bank account that attorneys use to responsibly hold money belonging to their clients. The account also serves charitable purposes.
Funds deposited into CLR Law, PLLC’s Trust Account do not earn distributable interest.
TRUST ACCOUNTS EXPLAINED:
Attorneys often receive money from clients that is meant to be held temporarily, such as legal fees, settlements, or other legal transactions. Instead of keeping the client's money in the attorney's own business account, attorneys are required by the rules of ethics to deposit their clients' money in a separate IOLTA account.
The bank pays a small amount of interest on the money in the IOLTA account. This interest is pooled together with interest from other IOLTA accounts, and the total amount is used to fund legal aid programs or other charitable initiatives that help provide legal services to people who otherwise can't afford them.
An IOLTA account helps protect clients' money, ensures that it's not mixed with the attorney's own funds, and allows a small amount of interest to be used for charitable purposes in the field of law.
Under the Organization and Government of the Virginia State Bar, Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia Part 6, § IV, Paragraph 20(B), all interest earned on attorney Trust Accounts is remitted by the bank directly to the Legal Services Corporation of Virginia to fund the provision of civil legal services to the poor and underserved citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
PAYMENT METHODS
All invoices are sent via email through a secure online legal platform that accepts e-check and credit card bill payment.
All credit card fees are billed to CLR Law, PLLC instead of you.
You may also pay by paper check, in-person or by mail.
Payment by e-check and paper check are preferred.
PAYMENT BEFORE COMMENCEMENT OF WORK
Work commences upon receipt of payments.
We will begin building your Legacy Plan upon receipt of your first ½ payment.
We will begin finalizing your Legacy Plan upon receipt of your second ½ payment.
If, after work has commenced, you notify CLR Law, PLLC of your decision not to proceed with building your Legacy Plan, or abandon the planning process (determined at 60 days of no communication), representation of you will be terminated and an invoice will be sent to collect any final fees.
