See what you'd sign, before you sign it
Every engagement begins with a concise letter of agreement. Below is the full specimen — the formal version is completed with your specific scope and fee, but the skeleton is exactly this. No part of it is held back.
Specimen
Letter of Engagement
Between: ______________ and Lucid Financial Planning · Date: ______________
1. Scope
This engagement is limited to the service tier and specific matters confirmed in writing (e.g., Structural Diagnostic / Full Plan), itemized before work begins. Matters outside the scope begin only after a further written agreement — nothing extends by default.
2. Stages and gates
Work proceeds in stages (e.g., document organization → analysis → recommendations → walkthrough). At the end of each stage, we confirm its output to you in writing; the next stage begins only after your confirmation. You may stop at any gate — completed and confirmed stages stand, and stages not yet begun incur no fee.
3. Fees
Fees are fixed, confirmed in writing before work begins, and independent of hours spent. Full plans are paid in two parts: half payable at the start, with the balance due on delivery. Fees for a second opinion or diagnostic are fully credited if you proceed to a full plan. Fees are never waived or discounted for the purchase of any product.
4. What we will not do
Within this planning engagement we sell no products and earn no commissions; the planning fee is the only compensation under this agreement. If you later choose to have us assist with implementing an insurance recommendation, that is a separate insurance implementation engagement, compensated through a disclosed coordination fee and insurer-paid commission — the two are independent, and both are set out in writing in that agreement before it begins. We currently have no referral-fee arrangements with any third party; if one ever exists — whether received or paid — its existence, nature, and amount will be disclosed to you in writing before any referral involving you takes place. We do not provide discretionary investment management and do not operate accounts on your behalf.
5. Conflicts of interest
As of signing, we are aware of no conflict of interest affecting this engagement (the existence of an insurance licence, and how it is handled, is set out in section 4). If an actual or potential conflict arises during the engagement, we will notify you in writing and resolve it in your favour; where it cannot be properly resolved, you may end the engagement at any gate.
6. Confidentiality
Information you provide is used solely for this planning work and is protected by professional confidentiality obligations and privacy law. Nothing is disclosed to any third party without your written consent; coordination with your accountant, lawyer, or other advisors happens only within the bounds you set. In a joint engagement of spouses or family members, information provided by one client may be shared with the other; if one of you asks us to keep information from the other, we may be unable to continue the joint engagement. Documents containing confidential information are sent to the email address you confirm in this agreement.
7. Trusted contact person
We will recommend that you name a Trusted Contact Person: someone we may reach if we ever have concerns about your health, safety, or financial interests. Whether to name one is entirely your decision; your decision, the contact's details, and the scope of consent are recorded in writing and may be changed in writing at any time.
8. Your part
The quality of the plan depends on the completeness of the information. You agree to provide the materials the work requires (typically three to four hours up front, part of which we complete together in a guided organization session), and to ensure the household's actual decision-maker takes part in key discussions.
9. Assumptions
Analysis and recommendations rest on assumptions set out in writing — rates of return, inflation, life expectancy, retirement age, tax rates. Economic assumptions for long-term projections follow published professional guidelines, and every assumption appears in the plan report. Legislation and economic conditions change, and assumptions change with them — which is why a plan needs periodic review.
10. Ending the engagement
Either party may end the engagement in writing at any stage gate, without cause and without penalty. On termination: stages confirmed complete are payable and their outputs are yours; a stage in progress is settled for the portion completed; stages not begun are not charged.
11. Nature of the work
What we deliver is analysis, judgment, and recommendations — not a guarantee of any investment, tax, or legal outcome. Final execution of tax and legal matters is confirmed with your accountant and lawyer.
12. Professional standards and complaints
Our planner is a CFP® professional bound by FP Canada's Standards of Professional Responsibility, including the obligation to place your interests ahead of our own. If you are ever dissatisfied, please raise it with us directly first — we will work to put it right; you always retain the right to file a complaint with FP Canada (fpcanada.ca/complaints).
Client signature
______________________
Lucinda Xue, CFP® · Lucid Financial Planning
______________________
This page is a specimen, published so you can understand the structure of an engagement before deciding. It is not an offer. The formal letter is completed per engagement and takes effect when signed by both parties.