Clear and Flexible Arrangements

A relationship based on trust should also be supported by clear practical arrangements. The family should understand what No More Worries will do, what it will not do, how we will communicate and how our fees will be calculated.

At the beginning of an assignment, we discuss the purpose and expected scope of our involvement. For a specific project, this may be relatively precise. In a continuing counselling relationship, the role may be broader, but the family should still have a clear understanding of what it can expect.

Where external lawyers, tax advisers, accountants, trustees or other specialists are engaged, they remain responsible for their own professional advice. No More Worries may help select, instruct and coordinate them, but does not assume their technical responsibilities. The family is free to communicate directly with every professional involved.

Clear and Flexible Arrangements — continued

Our fee arrangements are tailored to the nature of the relationship and the work concerned. Depending on the circumstances, No More Worries may work under a regular retainer, for an agreed daily rate, for a fixed fee for a particular project or under another arrangement agreed in advance.

A retainer can be particularly suitable for a long-term relationship. It enables the family to contact its counsellor whenever a question arises without having to define and price a new assignment each time. It also allows the counsellor to remain familiar with developments and to recognise issues that might otherwise escape attention.

A daily rate or fixed fee may be more appropriate for a particular project. The best arrangement depends on the nature of the work, the expected duration and the degree of continuing involvement the family requires.

Brief telephone calls and informal exchanges are part of our service and are not charged separately. We do not want clients to postpone a useful conversation because they are concerned that every short contact will produce an additional invoice.

If the nature or extent of our involvement changes, we discuss whether the existing arrangements should also change. Flexibility should not mean uncertainty. Adjustments should be understood and agreed rather than appearing unexpectedly afterwards.

Our objective is that the relationship remains practical and economically sensible. Good coordination and early attention can reduce duplication, avoid unnecessary professional work and prevent relatively manageable questions from developing into expensive problems.

Clear arrangements are not intended to make the relationship formal or distant. They provide the confidence that allows the family and counsellor to work together naturally, knowing what has been agreed and what each may expect from the other.

Good arrangements provide clarity without making the relationship unnecessarily formal or inflexible.