Thank you for inquiring about hiring this firm to help you with your divorce. We are sorry things have not worked out between you and your spouse but are ready to assist you in settling your affairs and getting you divorced in an affordable and cooperative manner. Once I have received the enclosed questionnaire and your acknowledgment of my terms of representation, I will quote you, free of charge, a fee for drafting the agreement, which may be preceded, if necessary, by a telephone conference.
Please understand that I am not representing both parties but representing you only and acting on what you tell me is the agreement you have reached with your spouse. Further, and most important, because of my inexpensive fees, you acknowledge that I am acting in a ministerial capacity only, that is,I am simply drafting the agreement you have reached with your spouse into an appropriately lawyered separation agreement. If you need advice about any or all of your rights and obligations with respect to the separation, or if you require legal representation to negotiate any of the provisions of the agreement, then please contact another attorney. I will not so advise nor will I negotiate.
After I have received the quoted fee, and we have conferred by telephone, if necessary, regarding the content of the agreement, I will send you a draft copy of the proposed agreement which you will review with your spouse and send any changes and/or additions to me by email or by telephone. Provided the changes are minor or relatively unsubstantial, there will be no additional charge for my services at $250 an hour. I can’t remember the last time I billed a client for an additional charge.
Once we have finally drafted the agreement, I will then send you an original and two (2) copies for you and your spouse to sign before a notary public. One of the signed and notarized copies is then returned to me so it can be attached as an exhibit to the complaint for divorce when the final divorce proceeding is filed with the court.
I thank you for your inquiry and look forward to the opportunity to be of service to you.
Bruce K. Tyler
Thank you for contacting this office to obtain a“no-fault” divorce. There are two grounds under Virginia law for obtaining such a divorce. If you have minor children, then you and your spouse must be separated for at least a year. If there are no minor children, then separation for at least six months is sufficient, provided you and your spouse have signed a separation agreement. Without an agreement, you must wait one-year separation before your case is filed. When you submit the following questionnaire, you will be prompted by PayPal to pay either $449, court costs included, or $499, if resumption of a former or maiden name is desired. If you prefer, please contact us to snail mail or email this divorce “package” to you and you can send it back with a paper check. In either event, this letter will act as a retainer agreement and we agree as follows:
1. My services include drafting and filing of the complaint for divorce, the taking of evidence by either deposition or affidavit, and the drafting and filing of a final divorce decree meeting all other requirements of the law of the Commonwealth of Virginia. All divorce decrees are issued by the appropriate Circuit Court and will contain an order referring matters relating to the minor children to an appropriate Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. If your spouse will not cooperate by signing an "Acceptance of Service of Process and Waiver of Future Service of Process and Notice", then a sheriff will serve the complaint and notice to take depositions and it will be necessary for you to appear in this office to be deposed. If this becomes necessary, then there will be an additional attorney fee of $80 and a possible additional service fees (see paragraph 3 below). If your spouse cooperates, then there will be no need for a deposition and we will send you an affidavit.
2. Our fee agreement is based on the assumption that the entire proceeding will be uncontested by your spouse. In the event your spouse does contest the action and/or files an answer to the complaint, then we will confer by telephone and discuss the nature of the opposition and any additional attorney fees which may be incurred if we continue to represent you. If the matter seems to be contested, then I will decline representation of you and you will be required to hire an attorney who will represent you in the contested matter.
3. Our fee agreement is based on the assumption that your spouse resides in Virginia. In the event an out-of-state spouse is cooperative and signs the Acceptance and Waiver, there will be no additional charge. In the event we have to have your spouse served by the sheriff in his/her locality, there will be a additional charge of the difference between sheriffʼs fee and $24, the amount charged here in Virginia. In the event your spouse cannot be located, then an order of publication in a local newspaper will be required and my additional attorneyʼs fee of $80.00 and newspaper publication costs of $400 to $500 would be due and payable in full before the order could be published. Proceeding by publication will prolong the period of time for your divorce to be final to approximately three months.
4. If one spouse is receiving a portion of a 401(k) or similar retirement plan, there is also an additional, minimum fee of $450 if a Qualified Domestic Relations Order(QUADRO) needs to be drafted for entry by the Court and registered with thePlan Administrator of any retirement account. We will also need full account information, including identification number of the account, the name/address/email address and telephone number of the Plan Administrator, user name, password and PIN, if any, of the“Participant” who is the spouse who is transferring to the “Alternate Payee” a portion of the Plan.
5. In the event your spouse is incarcerated, the law requires that a guardian ad Iitem be appointed to protect his or her interests. Upon assurances from you that your spouse will have no objection to being divorced, we have lawyers who will act as a guardian ad litem for payment of $200, which can be paid directly by paper check or via a PayPal invoice for $206. There also may be additional sheriff service fees if your spouse is incarcerated in another state.
6. Our fee agreement is based on the assumption that all information given on the enclosed information sheet is true and correct; that you will provide this office with any existing court orders and/or other documents referred to in the questionnaire and that you fully disclose any unsettled matters between you and your spouse, including any issues relating to jointly-owned property which would include but not be limited to real estate, motor vehicles, mobile homes, etc. If any property remains jointly-titled, please indicate that on the enclosed questionnaire. There must be some written agreement which will determine what happens to that property in view of the divorce and there would be additional fees in the event this firm drafts a separation agreement dealing with those issues.
7. I am willing to speak with you over the telephone about anything for which you seek legal opinion and/or advice, reserving the right to quote you additional fees in the event I get more involved over and above a short telephone conference about the matter. When we receive your agreement to the above conditions, the questionnaire and your payment, we will send the complaint to you for review, file it with the court and proceed to the taking of evidence either by deposition or affidavit. I look forward to working for you.
Bruce K. Tyler
Thank you for engaging this law firm to form your Corporation. By signing below, you acknowledge the following:
You have read the “Business Formations” page of our website.
You understand that we are not suggesting whether or not your financial circumstances even call for the formation of a corporation.
You understand, in the event you have decided to protect your personal assets, that we are not suggesting whether you should form either a corporation, but that decision should be made after consultation with your accountant or financial advisor.
You acknowledge that our services for the money which you are paying us are set forth on the Business Formations page.
You acknowledge that our representation of you ends when we send the corporate kit and the minutes of the organizational meeting of the Board of Directors.
Very truly yours,
Bruce K. Tyler
Thank you for engaging this law firm to form your Limited Liability Company. By signing below, you acknowledge the following:
You have read the “Business Formations” page of our website.
You understand that we are not suggesting whether or not your financial circumstances even call for the formation of a limited liability company.
You understand, in the event you have decided to protect your personal assets, that we are not suggesting whether you should form a limited liability company, but that decision should be made after consultation with your accountant or financial advisor.
You acknowledge that our services for the money which you are paying us are set forth on the Business Formations page.
You acknowledge that our representation of you ends when we deliver the operating agreement to you.
Very truly yours,
Bruce K. Tyler
Thank you for retaining me to draft a “Be Prepared” document package for you. The package is very reasonably priced at $225 per person, or $400 for married couples. It consists of a simple will or will with an orphans’ trust ($150 separately), a combined property and medical power of attorney ($90 separately) and an advance medical directive ($75 separately), all drafted in strict accordance with Virginia law, and, of course, your wishes. If a “simple” will turns out to be considerably more than “simple”, which rarely happens, then we will confer and decide on whether to proceed and if so, on what terms.
Please complete the accompanying questionnaire and mail it to us with a check for $225 per person along with a signed copy of this letter. We will send a draft of the will to you at your residence, make any changes in a telephone conference, and then schedule you for a will signing ceremony here at my office in Afton. At that time, you will sign the power of attorney and the advance medical directive; advance copies of those documents are not sent to you beforehand.
If you decide to deal with us electronically, you can either email us the questionnaire and a signed copy of this letter, or fill it out on line and electronically sign this letter and in both cases, pay the $225 per person, or $400 for married couples, either by snail mail, or through PayPal on my website, aftonlaw.com. We will email you the draft of the will and proceed as above. Although you are welcome here in Afton to sign all three documents, if you wish, we will send you instructions on how to properly execute a will (and the other documents) at home or at the office. Just let us know. Our services end when you leave the Afton office or we mail you the original documents for signing at home or the office. Once again, I thank you for the opportunity to be of service to you.
Very truly yours,
Bruce K. Tyler