Note:
The
following standard engagement letter is used by me in the preparation
of
individual engagement letters for different clients and is not an offer
to provide any services to anyone or everyone who happens to be reading
this web document. It is included on my web site for the convenience of
those who have a serious interest in my services. If I agree to assist
a
specific taxpayer, the terms of the specific engagement letter will be
modified to fit the requirements of that client.
Month 00, 2005 Name Address City, State, Zip Dear __________: You have asked me to assist you in finding legal ways to minimize your income and/or estate taxes or to advise you with respect to some contemplated transactions outside the U.S.. This process may necessitate a comprehensive and detailed review of your financial and tax affairs and of any organizations that are controlled by you. In addition, you have specifically asked me to 1. _________________ 2. _________________ 3. _________________ As noted in my Disclaimer Memorandum, I am not an attorney, investment advisor or valuation specialist. You may need an attorney to assist you in the design of an asset protection plan. Although I am a Chartered Life Underwriter, I do not choose to be licensed to sell any insurance or investment products and I am not a specialist in property, casualty and liability insurance. The services of such specialists may be required in order to accomplish your objectives. As a part of the services that I will provide for you, I will assist you in
The tax planning process requires your active cooperation in providing me with various types of information concerning your personal and business financial situation. My work will not begin until I have received copies of
The suggestions and recommendations included in your comprehensive tax plan will involve prospective events and will be contingent on a wide variety of future events that can't be accurately predicted. I cannot guarantee the performance of any investment, insurance or other products that you may purchase to implement the recommendations in your plan. The plan may also include financial projections based on assumptions about future events, which will be provided by you or will be subject to your approval. I cannot vouch for the achievability of such projections as the assumptions about future events may not prove to be accurate. The comprehensive tax planning service that I provide will be implemented in three stages. The first stage is a preliminary review of your tax and financial information to determine if I believe I can assist you to achieve your stated objectives and/or to reduce your income or estate taxes. ___You have elected to have me do
that review on a time available basis, with no deadline for the
completion of that review. Because I am free to do the work at my
convenience, there will be no charge for the preliminary review and an
estimate of my fee to assist you with the development and
implementation
of a comprehensive tax plan.
___ You have asked me to review
your financial and tax information at the earliest possible time,
no later than ___________ ____, 200__. My fee for the review will be
$______ which is payable in advance. If you agree to accept my
proposal,
the review fee will be deducted from the implementation fee.
If I should conclude that it is likely that I can help you to legally secure more favorable tax results than you are currently achieving, the second stage will be a much more detailed analysis of your tax and financial information, including the preparation of a summary financial statement, a summary of your tax returns and a summary of your various investments. The third stage will be the preparation of detailed and specific written recommendations to accomplish your stated objectives, which will include estimates of the expenses and fees necessary to implement those recommendations. The fourth stage in your comprehensive tax plan will be to help you to implement the recommendations provided to you in the third stage. My recommendations will include an estimate of the fees to implement each recommendation, including any time I may need to provide to help you if you should elect to use my help at that stage. Although accountants now have some accountant-client privilege with respect to communications between the client and accountant regarding tax matters, such privilege is very limited. By signing this engagement letter, you are in effect waiving the opportunity for privileged communication by retaining an attorney, who would then retain me (or another accountant) to assist him as required. I have enclosed as a part of this agreement a brief explanation of the attorney-client privilege and the accountant-client privilege. Because of the extreme size and complexity of the tax law, and the frequent changes in the tax law, I may need to devote some time to search through various reference sources to find answers to questions about various tax issues. Before undertaking more than two hours of such research, I will contact you and give you the option to (1) authorize me to continue the research, or (2) to seek help from a person who specializes in that segment of the tax law. I will also provide you with suggestions and contact information regarding any tax professionals who are known to be specialists in the subject area. If assistance is provided by other professionals, you will need to (1) enter into a service agreement with such professional, or (2) provide an advance retainer to me for the full amount of any fee that I may become obligated to pay on your behalf. My commitment to you is limited to the specific issues for which you have sought my help. This agreement includes and incorporates the enclosed Disclaimer Notice which describes the types of services I am not offering to provide and that will not be part of this engagement. The Disclaimer Notice also discusses various matters that could become a source of a misunderstanding relative to your expectations regarding my services. This engagement agreement does not include tax preparation services. A separate engagement letter will be provided if such services are requested. We have agreed that the work you wish me to do for you will be completed no later than __________, 200__ unless we subsequently and mutually agree to extend the completion date. My services are being offered to (_____________) and these recommendations may not also be in the best interest of your spouse, children, parents or any business that you may own or in which you have a substantial ownership. There may be occasions when it will be in the best interest of these persons or companies to seek separate counsel. When services are provided to a married couple, any recommendations made are not applicable to either spouse in the event of a divorce or separation. My fees and billing procedures are set forth in the enclosed Schedule of Fees, which is a part of this agreement regarding my services on your behalf. Fees will be billed on a monthly basis for work in progress after the accumulated billings have exceeded the retainer provided. As described in the enclosed Disclosure Memorandum, I work by myself and do not have any employees to assist me. You can therefore be sure that your work will not be delegated to a less experienced professional but my fees may be higher than if I did have less expensive staff to do some of the work. I charge clients by the hour rather than by the task or assignment. This means you can limit the cost of this service engagement to a specified amount. It also means that you can discontinue this service engagement at any time and you are not obligated to pay for any time that has not been used on your behalf beyond the date you ask me to discontinue the engagement. Conversely, you agree to pay for any services provided up to the date you ask me to discontinue the engagement. This agreement may be terminated by either party but if the agreement is terminated by me, any unbilled time will not be payable after the notice of termination. I will provide the best results that I can within the time limit imposed by the fee that you agree to pay, but I can't guarantee that the work will be complete within that amount of time. Any estimates provided as to the time required to complete the work you have asked me to do for you is not a guarantee and is not binding. In the event that this assignment may result in a future inquiry from the IRS, I will attempt to assist you as much as possible, but such assistance will constitute a new engagement of services and additional fees. You have indicated that you wish to limit the fee for this service engagement to no more than $_______, plus any out-of-pocket costs, unless you subsequently agree to modify the scope of the engagement. You agree to pay me a retainer equal to one half (50%) of the maximum fee set forth above. In the event that either of us should terminate this engagement for services, any part of the retainer that has not been utilized for services provided will be refunded. The enclosed Disclosure Statement provides information that might be pertinent to your decision as to whether you wish to retain me as a tax consultant and is therefore enclosed as a part of this agreement. I make every reasonable effort to avoid any errors or omissions in the services or advice that I provide to clients. However, the tax law is voluminous, ambiguous and constantly changing. My liability for any errors or omissions will be limited to a full refund of the fees and expenses paid and will not include liability for any consequential damages. Any claim for damages will expire within two years of when the final billing is mailed to you. My liability is also limited to you and any recommendations provided to you may not be used or relied upon by any other parties. You will, of course, be free to follow or to disregard, in whole or in part, any recommendations I may make. You will be responsible for any and all decisions regarding the implementation of any of my recommendations. However, if you should elect not to implement my recommendations, you will thereby waive any claim for a refund of any fees. Payment can be made by use of one of the three major credit cards which I can process through Offshore Press, Inc. or by a check or money order payable to Vernon K. Jacobs. I will provide an invoice for professional services and related costs. If you agree to the terms and conditions for the provision of services as provided in this Engagement Letter, please indicate your acceptance by executing the enclosed copy of this letter below and by returning it with the agreed upon retainer Very truly yours, Vernon K. Jacobs, CPA I agree to and accept the terms and conditions set forth in the foregoing letter. Date _________________ By _____________________________________ Name ________________________________________________
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