Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

I can't tell you what a reasonable fee is based on the information you provided because I don't know how much or little work has to be done to get the job done. Most of the trusts I have written over the years are "finalized" by the successor trustee without attorney help. However, there can be situations, especially if the trust owns real estate with mortgages larger than the value of the property, or other cases of debt issues, where attorney help is important.

What I can say is that attorney fees for the services you talk about can vary widely. I suggest your parents just ask their present attorney how more he will charge to get things resolved and what he will do for that fee and if they are not satisfied with the answer, then get another attorney.

As to 3 hours for reviewing a trust he wrote years ago, well, I suppose, he can't be expected to remember that far back and if it is a long trust, I suppose he can justify the time. At my law firm, Reed & Mansfield, in Las Vegas, Nevada, we recognize that clients hate hourly fees and try to offer flat or contingent fees as appropriate, some of which are discount fees such as for uncontested Nevada probates. I also write short trusts which get the job done without producing a monster documents which support huge hourly fees to read. Shorter trusts also increase the chances that the clients can understand what they are signing w/o being dependent on the lawyer to summarize it for them.