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Estate or Trust Tax Preparation Engagement

Estate or Trust Name:
Authorized Representative's Name:

Subject: Preparation of Estate or Trust Income Tax Returns

In order to document the understanding between us as to the scope of the work that our firm will perform, we are entering into this agreement with you. To avoid any misunderstandings, this agreement defines the services we will perform for you as well as your responsibilities under this agreement.

Service Pricing and Payment

Fees for our services are billed according to our fee schedule plus out-of-pocket expenses. We periodically update our fee schedule with new pricing and services. A current fee schedule is always published at www.mehdiani.com/fee-schedule. Variance from the fee schedule is an adjustment based on the complexity of a particular return or particular client at our hourly service rate. Lack of client organization and/or preparedness at the time of tax preparation may result in additional fees. These fees assume one tax preparation appointment. Multiple appointments will result in an increase in fees. If specific tax research is required to complete your return, your fee may be higher. Tax preparation fees include reasonable email and telephone contact throughout the year as well as simple tax agency correspondence. Additional fees will be charged for in-office consultations, extended email and telephone contact, extended tax agency correspondence, and audit representation at hourly rates, which will require a separate engagement agreement.

An upfront retainer must be paid prior to beginning our engagement. The retainer amount will be determined by Mehdiani Financial Management based on an initial assessment of the involvement and complexity of your tax returns. For returning clients, the retainer amount may be determined by your prior year fees. This amount will be communicated to you via an initial invoice after our assessment. The retainer amount is not an estimate of the total cost of the tax returns. Services rendered will be drawn against the retainer until the funds are exhausted. Fees for services rendered after the retainer is exhausted are invoiced immediately and due upon receipt. All accounts not paid within thirty (30) days are subject to interest charges to the extent permitted by state law. In some cases, such as with tax preparation, we will not file returns or furnish the work until our invoices are paid in full.

Service Agreement

This engagement applies to tax year(s):

We will prepare the estate's or trust's federal and state income tax returns for the tax years indicated above. We will depend on you to provide the information we need to prepare complete and accurate returns. We may ask you to clarify some items but will not audit or otherwise verify the data you submit. A Tax Organizer can be accessed on our website's Resources page (https://www.mehdiani.com/resources/) or has been previously shared with you to help you collect the data required for your return. The Tax Organizer will help you avoid overlooking important information. By using it, you will contribute to the efficient preparation of your returns and help minimize the cost of our services. If a Tax Organizer is not provided to Mehdiani Financial Management, we will not be responsible for omitted or incomplete information. We may also charge additional fees for extended communications to obtain information that would have been available in a completed Tax Organizer. Therefore, we strongly encourage you to complete and send one to us.

We will perform accounting services only as needed to prepare your tax returns. Our work will not include procedures to find defalcations or other irregularities. Accordingly, our engagement should not be relied upon to disclose errors, fraud, or other illegal acts, though it may be necessary for you to clarify some of the information you submit. We will inform you of any material errors, fraud, or other illegal acts we discover.

The law imposes penalties when taxpayers underestimate their tax liability. Call us if you have concerns about such penalties.

Requesting an extension to file provides taxpayers an additional six months to prepare and file taxes. However, it does not provide additional time to pay taxes owed. To avoid penalties and interest, pay the full amount owed by the original due date.

Should we encounter instances of unclear tax law, or of potential conflicts in the interpretation of the law, we will outline the reasonable courses of action and the risks and consequences of each. We will ultimately adopt, on your behalf, the alternative you select.

We will return your original records to you at the end of this engagement. Store these records, along with all supporting documents, canceled checks, etc., in a secure location in case these items are needed later to prove the accuracy and completeness of a return. We retain copies of your records and our work papers for your engagement for seven years, after which these documents will be destroyed.

Our engagement to prepare your tax returns will conclude with the delivery of the completed returns to you (if paper-filing) or your signature and our subsequent submittal of your tax return (if e-filing). If you have not selected to e-file your returns with our office, you will be solely responsible to file the returns with the appropriate taxing authorities. Review all tax-return documents carefully before signing them.

In connection with this engagement, we may communicate with you or others via email transmission. As emails can be intercepted and read, disclosed, or otherwise used or communicated by an unintended third party, or may not be delivered to each of the parties to whom they are directed and only to such parties, we cannot guarantee or warrant that emails from us will be properly delivered and read-only by the addressee. Therefore, we specifically disclaim and waive any liability or responsibility whatsoever for the interception or unintentional disclosure of emails transmitted by us in connection with the performance of this engagement. In that regard, you agree that we shall have no liability for any loss or damage to any person or entity resulting from the use of email transmissions, including any consequential, incidental, direct, indirect, or special damages, such as loss of revenues or anticipated profits, or disclosure or communication of confidential or proprietary information.

In the event we are required to respond to a subpoena, court order or other legal process for the production of documents and/or testimony relative to information we obtained and/or prepared during the course of this engagement, you agree to compensate us at our standard hourly rates then existing for the time we expend in connection with such response, and to reimburse us for all of our out-of-pocket costs incurred in that regard, including but not limited to attorney fees.

In the event that we are or may be obligated to pay any cost, settlement, judgment, fine, penalty, or similar award or sanction as a result of a claim, investigation, or other proceeding instituted by any third party, and if such obligation is or may be a direct or indirect result of any inaccurate or incomplete information that you provide to us during the course of this engagement, you agree to indemnify us, defend us, and hold us harmless as against such obligation.

You agree that any dispute (other than our efforts to collect an outstanding invoice) that may arise regarding the meaning, performance or enforcement of this engagement or any prior engagement that we have performed for you, will, prior to resorting to litigation, be submitted to mediation, and that the parties will engage in the mediation process in good faith once a written request to mediate has been given by any party to the engagement. Any mediation initiated as a result of this engagement shall be administered within the county of Los Angeles, California, according to its mediation rules, and any ensuing litigation shall be conducted within said county, according to California law. The results of any such mediation shall be binding only upon agreement of each party to be bound. The costs of any mediation proceeding shall be shared equally by the participating parties.

Any litigation arising out of this engagement, except actions by us to enforce payment of our professional invoices, must be filed within one year from the accrual of the cause of action, notwithstanding any statutory provision to the contrary. In the event of litigation brought against us, any judgment you obtain shall be limited in amount, and shall not exceed the amount of the annual fee charged by us, and paid by you, for the services set forth in this engagement letter.

This engagement letter is contractual in nature, and includes all of the relevant terms that will govern the engagement for which it has been prepared. The terms of this letter supersede any prior oral or written representations or commitments by or between the parties. Any material changes or additions to the terms set forth in this letter will only become effective if evidenced by a written amendment to this letter, signed by all of the parties.

Furthermore, it is understood that either party may terminate this agreement at any time, for any reason, within 10 days of written notice to the other party. It is understood that any unpaid services that are outstanding at the date of termination are to be paid in full within 10 days from the date of termination.

To affirm that this agreement correctly summarizes your understanding of the arrangements for this work, sign where indicated below.

Thank you for the opportunity to be of service. If you have any questions, contact our office at 310-800-1472.

Sincerely,

Alan Mehdiani, CEO
Mehdiani Financial Management
9025 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 301
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
info@mehdiani.com
www.mehdiani.com

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January 13, 2020 5:03 pm PDT

Estate or Trust Tax Preparation Engagement Uploaded by Alan Mehdiani - alan@mehdiani.com IP 98.148.6.8

January 13, 2020 7:27 pm PDT

Herber Palacios - herber@mehdiani.com added by Alan Mehdiani - alan@mehdiani.com as a CC'd Recipient Ip: 2605:e000:8540:4400:78a9:cff6:7791:86e7

December 4, 2020 2:04 pm PDT

Document owner alan@mehdiani.com has handed over this document to info@mehdiani.com 2020-12-04 14:04:42 - 98.148.6.8