Ridgeline Legal — Austin, Texas

Twenty years of
litigation experience.
One flat, honest price.

We will never start work on your matter without giving you a flat-rate estimate first. No surprises. No hourly clock running in the background. You decide what it's worth before we begin.

Estate planning, probate, and business counsel — with the prices published right on this page.

Technology changed everything. It was only a matter of time before it changed the law.

Book a Free 20-Minute Call See How It Works
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Why We Don't Bill By The Hour

Uncertainty and misaligned incentives.

When a lawyer charges by the hour, two things happen to you. First, you can't plan. The number isn't a number — it's a meter, running on every phone call, every email, every "quick question," and you don't find out the total until the bill arrives. Nobody likes being caught flat-footed by a legal bill full of charges they were never warned about.

Second — and this is the part that matters most — the incentives are backwards. If your lawyer is paid for how long something takes, what exactly is their reason to do it quickly? Efficiency costs them money. So you end up paying for slowness, and calling it service.

That's not a great model, so we don't do it.

At Ridgeline, you get a flat fee, quoted before we begin a single hour of work. It's a number you can plan around — fixed, complete, and honest. No surprises, no meter, no little charges hiding at the bottom of an invoice.

And because the price is fixed, our incentive finally points the same direction as yours: do excellent work, and do it efficiently. Modern tools let us work faster than a traditional firm without cutting a single corner — and instead of billing you for the time we save, we pass it along as a fair, predictable price and a faster answer.

We're not cutting corners. We're cutting waste — and passing the savings to you as a fair, predictable price.

That's the whole idea. The prices are published right on this page — because a promise you can't see isn't a promise.

How It Works

Three things you should know
about working with us.

01

You'll know the price before you start.

Most of our services are flat-fee. You'll see what it costs before you hire us — not after. No hourly surprises, no $400 phone calls, no invoices that require a translator.

02

Better tools do the heavy lifting. An attorney does the thinking.

We use the best available technology for research, drafting, and document review. A licensed attorney reviews everything, applies legal judgment, and makes the strategic decisions that actually matter in your case.

03

Three practices. One promise.

Estate planning, probate, and business & real estate counsel — each flat-fee, each with pricing published on this page. And when a matter needs a different kind of firm, we'll say so plainly and connect you with the right attorney.

Services

You'll know the number
before we begin.

Every matter is scoped and quoted upfront — no hourly clock, no surprise invoices. We tell you what it costs before we do a single hour of work.

Estate Planning

The Ridgeline Trust Package

$5,000 couple
$3,900 single

Without a plan, everything you own goes through probate court — a public, months-long process your family manages while grieving. A living trust keeps your home and assets out of court: your family follows your instructions, privately, in days instead of months. Signed and funded in 14 days.

Includes:
  • • Revocable living trust
  • • Pour-over wills
  • • Statutory durable powers of attorney
  • • Medical powers of attorney & directives
  • • HIPAA authorizations
  • • Guardianship designations for minor children
  • • Deed transferring your home into the trust
  • • The funding session that makes it all real
Book a free 20-minute call →
Probate

Texas Probate, Handled

$3,500 muniment of title
from $6,500 — independent administration

Muniment of title is Texas's shortcut when there's a valid will, no unpaid debts, and a home to transfer — the court recognizes the will directly. One filing, one hearing, done. Independent administration covers estates that need more: debts to settle, property to sell, or no will at all. We'll tell you which path fits — remote-friendly for out-of-state heirs.

Includes:
  • • Eligibility review — which path fits this estate
  • • Application drafted and filed within 5 business days
  • • Court hearing, handled
  • • Order + certified copies + deed-records handling
  • • Administration: letters testamentary, creditor notice, inventory
  • • Step-by-step executor guidance to closing
Book a free 20-minute call →
Formation

LLC Formation

from $1,500

Not a filing service — counsel. The state paperwork is the easy part; what matters is the operating agreement that decides what happens when partners disagree, someone wants out, or someone dies.

Includes:
  • • Certificate of formation, filed
  • • Operating agreement tailored to your ownership
  • • EIN & banking resolution
  • • A sit-down to walk through how to run the thing
Contracts

Contract Drafting & Review

from $750

Vendor agreements, service contracts, NDAs, partnership and buy-sell agreements — drafted from scratch or reviewed before you sign. If you own a business with partners, a buy-sell agreement is estate planning for the business itself.

Includes:
  • • Full redline
  • • Plain-English risk memo — what to push back on
  • • A call to walk through it
Leases

Commercial Lease Review

from $950

A commercial lease binds both sides for years at real money. Whether you're the landlord drafting it or the tenant about to sign it, every term deserves a careful read before it's final.

Includes:
  • • Full review of every term
  • • Risk memo with the specific changes to request
  • • Drafting or negotiation scoped separately
Real Estate

Real Estate Transactions

from $1,500

Purchase and sale agreements, closing documents, deeds, and 1031 exchange support — for buyers and sellers of commercial and investment property.

Includes:
  • • Document drafting or full review with proposed revisions
  • • 1031 exchange documents & intermediary coordination
  • • Guidance through closing

Every matter is scoped on a free 20-minute call and quoted as a flat number before any work begins. If your situation is more complex than the starting price covers, you'll know exactly what it costs — before, not after.

Outside General Counsel

Your attorney.
On call. Every month.

Most businesses need a lawyer a dozen times a year. They just shouldn't have to introduce themselves every time.

A full-time General Counsel costs $250,000 or more. Traditional outside counsel bills you $400 an hour every time you pick up the phone — which means you stop picking up the phone. Neither option works for most growing businesses.

Outside General Counsel is a flat monthly arrangement that puts an experienced attorney on your team — without putting one on your payroll. You get someone who knows your business, your contracts, your risk tolerance, and your goals. Someone you call before you sign, not after something goes wrong.

Day-to-Day

Contract review, vendor agreements, NDAs, and quick legal questions — handled before they become problems.

Strategic

Business decisions with legal implications. A sounding board who already knows your situation — no billing clock running while you catch them up.

Listed

Patrick Hotze listed as your General Counsel. Counterparties, lenders, and vendors see a company with legal counsel in place.

Referred

Matters outside our scope go to the right specialist — and we stay involved to make sure they're handled the way we'd handle them.

Core
$1,500/mo

Up to 3 attorney hours. Two contract reviews. Same-business-day responses. A 30-minute strategy call every month.

Growth
$2,500/mo

Up to 6 attorney hours. Higher contract volume. Same-business-day responses. Monthly strategy call.

Partner
$4,500/mo

Up to 12 attorney hours. Priority volume and response. Strategy call plus on-call access.

Not included, plainly: litigation appearances, employment investigations, M&A, and transactions over $250,000 — those get scoped and quoted separately, up front. Month-to-month after the first three months.

Let's talk about fit We don't take every company — the fit call is mutual
Our Commitment

Technology is the tool.
Judgment is the job.

We want to be direct about something. Technology is powerful, but it isn't a lawyer. It doesn't understand your life, your circumstances, or what's actually at stake. That's what attorneys do. And that will never change.

What modern tools do is eliminate the mechanical work that used to consume most of a lawyer's time — and most of your budget. That means our attorneys spend their time where it actually counts: thinking about your case, not formatting your documents.

Licensed attorney review on everything.

No document, filing, or communication leaves this office without an attorney's eyes on it. Period.

Full transparency, always.

You'll know what tools we use, what your case costs, and where your money goes. No surprises, no jargon, no fine print.

Your data stays yours.

Client confidentiality isn't negotiable. We use enterprise-grade tools with strict data privacy protections. Your information is never shared or used for any purpose beyond your matter.

A real person, when you need one.

Technology runs our backend. Humans run our relationships. You'll always have direct access to your attorney.

If it's not our case, we'll find you the right attorney.

We won't bluster. We won't take a case just to take it. If your matter is outside our expertise, we'll tell you — and we'll make sure you end up with the best attorney for your situation, even if that's not us.

About
Patrick Hotze — Founder, Ridgeline Legal
Patrick Hotze
Founder & Attorney
Experience
20 Years
Recovered
$200M+
Licensed
TX & D.C.
Education
UT Austin
Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Patrick Hotze

Twenty years of complex litigation. Co-founded a practice that recovered over $200 million for clients across mass tort, pharmaceutical liability, and industrial accident cases. Past results don't guarantee future outcomes — but experience changes how documents get drafted.

Licensed in Texas and Washington, D.C. UT Austin undergraduate and law school. Ridgeline Legal is built on the conviction that good legal work shouldn't require an hourly rate to prove it.

A good lawyer, with very good tools, who charges you fairly for both.

Common Questions

Straight answers, before you call.

Do you handle probate for heirs who live out of state?

Yes. A good share of the families we help are managing a Texas estate from somewhere else. Most of the process can be handled remotely — documents by email and e-signature, filings we manage locally here in Texas. You usually don't need to travel. We'll tell you upfront which probate path your situation needs and what it costs as a flat fee.

How much does an estate plan cost?

We publish our prices, so there are no surprises. Our trust package is $5,000 for a couple ($3,900 single) and includes the trust, wills, powers of attorney, medical directives, the deed moving your home into the trust, and a funding session. For simpler situations, a will-based plan may be a better fit — we'll tell you honestly on a free 20-minute call.

What's the difference between a muniment of title and full probate?

A muniment of title is Texas's shortcut: if there's a valid will, a home, and no significant debts, the court can recognize the will directly — one filing, one hearing, and the property can transfer. Our muniment fee is $3,500 flat plus costs. Full independent administration is for estates with no will, debts to settle, or property to sell, and starts at $6,500. We'll tell you which one fits on the first call.

Do you really charge flat fees, or is that just for the first meeting?

Flat fees, for the whole matter — quoted before we begin any work, published right on our website. You'll know the number before you decide to hire us, not after. If your situation turns out to need something outside the quoted scope, we tell you the flat cost of that before doing it, never after the fact.

Do I need a trust, or is a will enough?

It depends on your situation, and we'll give you a straight answer for free. The short version: a will still goes through probate court, which takes months and becomes a public process. A properly funded trust keeps your home and accounts out of court entirely. For a homeowner with kids, that's often the deciding factor — but not always, and we won't sell you a trust you don't need.

What areas do you serve?

We serve Travis, Williamson, and Hays counties for estate planning, probate, and business matters. For probate specifically, we also help out-of-state heirs dealing with Texas property, since most of that work can be handled remotely.

Texas ridgeline
Free Consultation

Tell us what
you're dealing with.
We'll take it from there.

The first conversation is free. We'll tell you exactly what it costs before we do a single hour of work — no obligation, no pressure.

Prefer to skip the form? Grab a time directly:

Book a Free 20-Minute Call

We typically respond within one business day.

Flat-rate estimate before any work begins — guaranteed.

Licensed attorney reviews every matter personally.

Not the right fit? We'll tell you — and point you to the right attorney.

Submitting this form does not create an attorney-client relationship.

We've got it.

Expect to hear from us within one business day. In the meantime, you won't be billed for anything — we'll reach out with a flat-rate estimate before any work begins.