# Demand letter — unpaid invoice

Drafts a first demand letter for an unpaid commercial invoice or account balance. Reach for it when a client wants payment without filing suit yet.

## Prompt

## Context
You are drafting correspondence for [ATTORNEY NAME], a [JURISDICTION] attorney representing [CLIENT NAME], a [CLIENT BUSINESS TYPE]. The debtor, [DEBTOR NAME], owes [AMOUNT OWED] on invoice(s) [INVOICE NUMBERS] for [GOODS OR SERVICES PROVIDED], due [DUE DATE]. Prior collection attempts: [PRIOR ATTEMPTS]. Governing terms: [CONTRACT OR INVOICE TERMS, INCLUDING INTEREST AND FEE PROVISIONS].

## Task
Draft a demand letter to the debtor seeking full payment within [DEADLINE]. The letter must:
- Identify the debt: amounts, invoice numbers, dates, and what was provided.
- State the contractual basis for the obligation.
- Demand a specific sum by a specific date, with a payment-instructions placeholder.
- Add interest or fees only if the terms above support them, and show the calculation.
- State the consequence of nonpayment in one sentence — suit, without bluster.
- Reserve all rights and remedies.

## Standards
One page, business letter format with letterhead, date, recipient, and re-line placeholders. Firm and professional. No threats beyond stating available civil remedies. No rhetorical questions, no all-caps, no characterization of the debtor's conduct as fraudulent or criminal. Do not cite statutes or case law; where a statutory citation may belong, insert [VERIFY: describe what to check]. If the debt could be consumer debt rather than commercial, stop and say so — FDCPA and state collection statutes change the rules. If any required fact is missing or unclear, ask before drafting.

## Input checklist

- [ ] Invoice copies with numbers, amounts, and due dates.
- [ ] The contract or credit terms that set interest, late fees, or attorney-fee recovery.
- [ ] Dates and substance of prior payment demands.
- [ ] Confirmation the debt is commercial, not consumer — FDCPA and state collection statutes change what you can say.
- [ ] Remove client-identifying details, or confirm your AI tool sits under your firm's confidentiality and bar guidance before pasting client data.

## Verification checklist

- [ ] Every dollar figure matches the invoices. Re-run the math yourself, including interest.
- [ ] Interest and fee demands trace to a contract clause or a statute you verified in the official code — never demand what the terms do not give you.
- [ ] The payment deadline is a real business day and satisfies any notice period the contract requires.
- [ ] No language that could read as a threat of criminal referral — check your state's rule against threatening prosecution to gain advantage in a civil matter.
- [ ] If the debtor is an individual, confirm FDCPA and your state collection-practices act do not apply before sending.
- [ ] All placeholders — letterhead, recipient address, payment instructions, re-line — are replaced.
- [ ] The letter does not waive or undercut acceleration, default, or fee-shifting rights in the underlying contract.

## Customization notes

For consumer debtors this prompt is not enough — add FDCPA validation language and check your state act before adapting it. Adjust the payment window to local custom; 10 to 30 days is typical. Add a personal-guaranty paragraph when a principal signed one. Collection-heavy practices can save the filled Context block as a reusable template per client.

---

From The Solo Attorney's AI Practice Library — vetslearn.com/libraries/attorney