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Uncovering “Hidden” Pre-Planning Opportunities with the Asset-to-Income Ratio

by with No Comment Estate Planning Drafting SoftwareLegal MarketingSystems & Processes

Uncovering “Hidden” Pre-Planning Opportunities is one of the biggest shocks from attendees at our Medicaid training is when they learn about the asset-to-income rule to qualify clients for Medicaid sooner. The Medicaid law states that, when the income of the community spouse of a Medicaid applicant is less than the minimum monthly maintenance needs allowance, then the community spouse may exempt additional assets needed to attain the minimum monthly maintenance needs allowance.

Bigstock-Five-years-old-little-cute-boy-41670169Said simpler, if the community spouse doesn't have enough income, they can exempt additional assets to ensure the necessary income is produced. This situation happens all the time, but the exemption is rarely used.

That's why Monday October 20-22nd we are hosting a 3 Day Asset Protection, Medicaid and VA CLE Program.

In this event we will be sharing crucial information such as:

 

●       Why clients don't care how much you know, and what they want from you.

●       There's no such thing as crisis Medicaid planning, and the preplanning you are missing out on is right in front of you.

●       The key features and provisions of grantor, non-grantor, and pure grantor trusts and when to use each for asset protection, Medicaid and VA planning.

●       The newest forms and procedures to file VA apps and appeals and receive timely decisions.

●       Why annuities are often the "lazy-attorney" approach to Medicaid planning and what that method fails to consider.

●       How to calculate whether an IRA should be liquidated and when not to use personal service contracts when Medicaid planning.

At a recent two-day summit we hosted with national veterans expert Victoria Collier, these were the biggest issues raised by your colleagues who attended. Are you prepared? Is your level of understanding in these areas sufficient to serve this growing marketplace? Here is what a few attendees said was the most useful to them:

"The most valuable thing about Day 1 was learning about asset to income rule."

— Carl, Baton Rouge, LA

"The worksheets and having a way to explain Medicaid planning to clients on their level was the most valuable part."

— Susan, Cypress, TX

"Was thrilled to learn there is no such thing as crisis planning and now I have so many more pre-planning opportunities I didn't see before."

— Lisa, West Palm Beach, FL

The asset-to-income rule is just one of several overlooked rules that are overlooked or not fully utilizes to help clients qualify for Medicaid. Feel confident using them in your practice! Click here to to join this must attend event to get the essential strategies you need to protect your clients.

See you there!

David J. Zumpano, Esq, CPA, Co-founder Lawyers With Purpose, Founder and Senior Partner of Estate Planning Law Center

Bellomo

Being A Competent Attorney Is Only Half The Battle

by with No Comment Asset ProtectionEstate Planning Drafting SoftwareLegal MarketingSystems & ProcessesVA

I've always thought of myself as an excellent attorney — well-versed in all of the strategies that we use on a daily basis to protect our clients, their loved ones, and their legacies.

BellomoIt wasn't until several years ago, however, that I really began to understand that a thriving practice is built on more than just being a great attorney — it requires systems to handle your marketing, to generate a steady flow of referrals to your door, and a tried and true method to increase your closing rate.

I invite you to take 90 seconds and check out the video – it's all about the systems I've put into place in my office, and how you can do the same in yours. Take your practice to the next level!  

Click here if you'd like to look at the agenda and all you'll learn at the Lawyers With Purpose Practice With Purpose Program in Phoenix October 20-22nd.

Warmly,

Jeff Bellomo, Esq., Certified Elder Law Attorney, Bellomo & Associates, LLC 

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Hidden Dangers of Medicaid Qualifying Annuities

by with No Comment Asset ProtectionEstate Planning Drafting SoftwareMedicaidSystems & ProcessesVA

Today, many elder law attorneys rely on Medicaid qualifying annuities to get their clients qualified to receive Medicaid benefits. They're also used when clients seek VA pension benefits.

While Medicaid qualifying annuities have become the default solution, they are not without risk. One challenge is that MQA's do not work well for single individuals. Second, even when used in married planning, there is no assurance the amount placed in the Medicaid qualifying annuity will actually be preserved. In fact, it could all be lost with the subsequent disability or death of the community spouse.

Bigstock-Problem-And-Difficulty-Concept-51429601These are just some of the issues (not to mention the Veterans Administration's changing position on annuities when applying for veteran pension benefits) that we will be discussing at the Asset Protection, Medicaid and VA Practice With Purpose Program October 20-22nd  in Phoenix, AZ.

National Asset Protection, Medicaid and VA experts and dozens of attorneys like you will be collaborating to identify the hidden risks in the different Medicaid and veterans' benefits strategies. This program promises to be the hands-on strategic solving many lawyers crave in their practice. Click here to get a full outline and to register for the program.

In these three days here is just some of what we will cover:

ASSET PROTECTION:

  • Recent updates to asset protection and Medicaid compliant strategies.
  • The new asset protection strategies dominating the marketplace.
  • The death of DAPT'S, FLP'S, GRATS, GRUTS, and tax planning, and what's replaced them.
  • The five essential trusts and key drafting needs to serve 99.7% of clients.
  • The Power of Powers of Appointment, in the right places.
  • Four "must have" drafting considerations and three "most forgotten" powers in trust.

MEDICAID:

  • Four steps to Medicaid eligibility for any client.
  • How to calculate the "breakeven" to ensure the proper filing date for the shortest penalty period.
  • Medicaid Qualifying Annuities: Hidden risks and how to properly disclose them to clients or protect from them.
  • The seven key factors to calculate any Medicaid case in seven minutes (or less!).
  • IRA's: Exemption versus taxes, how to calculate if IRA's should be liquidated or exempted in Medicaid and VA cases.

VETERANS' BENEFITS:

  • New fully developed claims process for veterans and widows.
  • Qualifying assisted living facilities as UME's.
  • Key language to complete the physician affidavit for more timely approvals.
  • Update on three year look back for VA benefits.
  • The key reports no longer required for VA applications.
  • Dangers of annuities in VA benefits planning.
  • The effects of the Supreme Court decision on DOMA related to veterans' benefits.

HERE'S WHAT YOUR PEERS HAD TO SAY ABOUT THE PROGRAM:

  • "It will change your practice and your life!" –John Koenig
  • "Great way to grow into a real firm and help one's community." –Antoinette Middleton
  • "Go to the training session and consider and evaluate upgrading your delivery of services, for me it's modernizing what I can offer." –Wally Kelleman

Are you going to miss or attend the most important event of the year? Click here now to join some of your most successful colleagues and leave confident in the strategies you provide to your clients every day. 

David J. Zumpano, Esq, CPA, Co-founder Lawyers With Purpose, Founder and Senior Partner of Estate Planning Law Center

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How Efficient Is Your Law Firm?

by with No Comment Asset ProtectionEstate Planning Drafting SoftwareLegal MarketingMedicaidVA

Tom was making the same colossal mental mistake most attorney practitioners make, thinking he was doing everything he could to eke out a respectable living.  He certainly was working hard enough.

Bigstock-Stop-Doing-What-Doesn-t-Work-52434685Tom and his partner Richard started their practice together a few years ago.  They both thought they could earn a better living than working for their respective law firms.

It didn't take long for reality to set in. Their hours were longer and they earned far less per hour than they had when they had employers.

They hired an admin, Sally, about a year ago.  It definitely helped but there were still problems.

After Tom read the intro to the Revenue Focuser Workbook, he was definitely intrigued.

He coordinated two hours for himself, his partner, and their admin to watch the video and work through the workbook.

Tom and Richard thought about how much they really wanted to pay themselves every month.  Since they'd opened their doors, they had never been able to pay themselves that magic number.

They also recognized that, for some reason, their marketing efforts were unfocused and never attracted the right clientele. They could only help a small percentage of the prospects who called them.

Together the three identified their key revenue-generating services.  They added up the hours they spent delivering each service.

Tom and Richard also looked at the total hours they spent in the office each week.  They felt a knot in the pit of their stomachs when they discovered their office was operating at less than 20% of efficiency.  In fact, they barely operated at 19% efficiency.

Tom and Richard realized it was time to figure out how to retool their processes so they could handle their clients more efficiently; they also needed to determine how to attract the right clientele.

If you haven't worked through your Revenue Focuser, it could be the most important hour you spend.  When you decide it's time to eliminate the long hours and the feeling of being overwhelmed,take 1 hour and Complete the Lawyers With Purpose Revenue Focuser.

The income you want to earn and the ease you want to experience is within your reach.

If you have any questions about your Revenue Focuser results, send us your questions on the form on our contact page. Just send an email to info@lawyerswithpurpose.com.

And, if you're interested in learning more about Lawyers With Purpose, please click here and register today to attend our Practice With Purpose Program in Phoenix, AZ, October 20-22nd.  We'll see you then!

To your success,

Dave Zumpano 
Lawyers With Purpose

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The Five Key Trusts You Must Know

by with No Comment Asset ProtectionEstate Planning Drafting SoftwareLegal MarketingMedicaidVA

Did you know that when it comes down to it there are only *five* trusts that serve 99.7% of all client needs? These include:

  1. The revocable living trust;
  2. The income only irrevocable trust;
  3. The control only irrevocable trust;
  4. The third party irrevocable trust; and
  5. The completed gift irrevocable trust.

Bigstock-Old-Keys-42114148This is all you need to serve 99.7% of all clients. The overindulgence in conversation about DAPT'S, GRATS, GRUTS, FLPs, and other advanced tax planning strategies are for mental exercise only and apply to less than 3 in 1,000 Americans.

The correct trust choice for clients when designing planning to protect their businesses, ensure they qualify for Medicaid, if the need for long-term care occurs, or the preservation and maximization of veteran's benefits, trust choice is critical. But more important than trust choice however, is the drafting utilized inside the trust chosen.

That's why the national Medicaid and VA experts are hosting a three day program to bring you together with your colleagues to show you the solution they have created to these often misused trusts. Click here for the course outline and to register. This three day program will not only address trust drafting and trust use, but also address all of the core elements in today's Asset Protection, Medicaid, and VA Benefits environment.

In just three days, we will show you…

ASSET PROTECTION:

  • Recent updates to asset protection and Medicaid compliant strategies.
  • The new asset protection strategies dominating the marketplace.
  • The death of DAPT'S, FLP'S, GRATS, GRUTS, and tax planning, and what's replaced them.
  • The five essential trusts and key drafting needs to serve 99.7% of clients.
  • Four "must have" drafting considerations and three "most forgotten" powers in trust.

MEDICAID:

  • Four steps to Medicaid eligibility for any client.
  • How to calculate the "breakeven" to ensure the proper filing date for the shortest penalty period.
  • Medicaid Qualifying Annuities: Hidden risks and how to properly disclose them to clients or protect from them.
  • The seven key factors to calculate any Medicaid case in seven minutes (or less!).
  • IRA's: Exemption versus taxes, how to calculate if IRA's should be liquidated or exempted in Medicaid and VA cases.

VETERANS' BENEFITS:

  • New claims process for veterans and widows.
  • Qualifying assisted living facilities as UME's.
  • Key choices to complete the physician affidavit for more timely approvals.
  • Update on three year look back for VA benefits.
  • The key reports no longer required for VA applications.
  • Dangers of annuities in VA benefits planning.
  • The effects of the Supreme Court decision on DOMA related to veterans benefits.

ALL PARTICIPANTS IN THIS SUMMIT WILL RECEIVE:

  • Asset Protection, Medicaid and VA Practice Kit which includes:
  • 50 state Medicaid Reference Resource Guide (summarized in 3 pages)
  • 50 state Estate Recovery Article and updated state by state summary.
  • Grantor Trust Summary and use tool.

HERE'S WHAT YOUR PEERS HAD TO SAY ABOUT THE PROGRAM:

“You don't know what you don't know. Come learn how to best serve your clients.” –Matthew Donald

“I would consider this mandatory training for any elder law/estate planning attorney. If not, they should plan for a mediocre practice at best.” –Tim Jarvis

“Just do it. The tools and training will absolutely be worth it!” –Rod Halstead

If you are ready for strategic solutions that you can see, touch, and feel, this is not an event you will want to miss. Click here now to begin your strategic approach to solving your clients' trust needs.

To Your Success,

Dave Zumpano
Co-Founder, Lawyers With Purpose
Practicing Attorney, Just Like You! 

 

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Congratulations to Peggy Timmel, LWP Member Of The Month

by with No Comment Asset ProtectionEstate Planning Drafting SoftwareLegal MarketingMedicaidSNTVA

What is the greatest success you’ve had since joining LWP? 

Organization + Confidence = Increasing Success.  That’s the formula we now have in place.  Sure, we still are working through some of the processes, making them our own and getting the kinks worked out when and as needed.  Not all clients initially expect the process to be as involved, but there is no doubt that our efforts are appreciated. 

PhotoWhat is your favorite LWP tool?

LWP Meeting Focuser (the green sheet) – it may sound strange to some members, but that sheet is reviewed at the end of client meetings so that tasks are delegated and the next meeting with the client put on the calendar.  I’ve been using it for cases that are pre-LWP or non-LWP, like guardianships.  It keeps our team more focused and allows us to move our clients through the entire process more smoothly.

How has being part of LWP impacted your team and your practice? 

We get to travel three times a year and always come back with something to improve our practice.  It has been incredibly helpful to have the support system that LWP provides.  The members provide a great community of support and the LWP systems and processes give us a great foundation to continually improve our practice.

The IPug™ Protection Trust

by with No Comment Asset ProtectionEstate Planning Drafting Software

The Lawyers With Purpose Client Centered Software has different genres of trusts.  And it's important to distinguish the iPug protection trust.  Many other national organizations try to compare themselves to it, but they can't.  The iPug is trademarked and even has some patent-pending features to it.

I've had the ability to look at all the softwares in the industry, and they all have features that match some of the features in an iPug trust.  But an iPug trust is a series of features that are unique all in one place that gets a variety of results.  What are some of the results?

For example, an iPug trust can be used for several facets.  One facet it is traditionally used for is Medicaid eligibility.  And there's variations of Medicaid compliance, so we have the income-only versions, we have the control-only versions, and we have the third-party versions, otherwise known in the Lawyers With Purpose community as the MIT, the FIT, and the KIT.  These are our trademarked terms.  You cannot have a MIT, FIT, and KIT unless you have our iPug software.

It is a very unique series of features and functionalities that work together to get results that apply not only to the Medicaid client, but also has uses in VA eligibility and in asset protection, far beyond Medicaid.  For non-taxable estates – ten and a half million dollars or less for a married couple – five and a quarter million dollars currently for a single person – there's a lot of functionality for asset protection.  You can use it for business owners quite commonly and I have a client that just had five of them for his multiple real estate holdings.

So these trusts have multiple, multiple applications far beyond the Medicaid, but also they're user friendly.  Clients like them because they're able to be in control of the trust or able to change them.  They're actually able to even have some uses and benefits from them with some restrictions that we provide training on.  They are very unique and very exciting!  And once you get it, it's hard to go back to anything else.

 

If you are intested in learning more about the Lawyers With Purpose software and want to spend 2 and 1/2 days with us learning about Asset Protection, Medicaid & VA, register for our Practice With Purpose Program today and reserve your spot.  If you are an existing LWP member and would like to attend please contact acrowther@lawyerswithpurpose.com for registration information.

David J. Zumpano, Esq, CPA, Co-founder Lawyers With Purpose, Founder and Senior Partner of Estate Planning Law Center

The VA Benefits Software

by with One Comment Estate Planning Drafting SoftwareLegal MarketingVA

Our VA software is very unique.  With Victoria L. Collier, the number one V. A. expert in the country, helping develop and create the software. 

 

Many people don't know the eligibility standards around VA benefits.  They know that there is a certain amount of assets and income, but you don't know the amount of assets you can have.  In many cases, you can have assets in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and still be eligible.  We have the software that uses the VA's own formulas in making these determinations.

In addition, our software is very unique in that you could enter client information and it will generate the necessary documents for the application.  We have a complete application process that is tracked through a client management system which gives you reporting, so you're very familiar with where each case stands and what step of the process it's in, the forms that have been completed, which ones are done by clients, which ones are done by the office, and the software will generates those forms. 

Very unique and different, unparalleled in the industry.  Very user friendly for any law practice that's experienced, or doing veteran benefits for the first time, they can confidently ensure that their paraprofessionals are able to handle a large majority of this work.  And they can keep tabs on it with the reporting to be confident that they're not missing any major deadlines.

It’s great technology to help any practitioner be confident that they're not missing anything!

If your interested in learning more about the LWP-CCS drafting software, join us in Phoenix October 20-22nd at our Asset Protection, Medicaid and VA Practice With Purpose program.  Click here to register today!  Existing members who would like to participate can contact Angela at acrowther@lawyerswithpurpose.com

David J. Zumpano, Esq, CPA, Co-founder Lawyers With Purpose, Founder and Senior Partner of Estate Planning Law Center

 

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The Medicaid Aspects In The Estate Planning Drafting Software

by with No Comment Asset ProtectionEstate Planning Drafting SoftwareMedicaid

Our Medicaid software is industry-changing. We've designed software with artificial intelligence – it knows the applicable laws and exemptions as you enter clients' information. Not only does it tell you the plan of action to take, but it also designs the funding plan and drafts an opinion letter for you to give to clients.

Click this link to watch the video of Dave discussing the unique Medicaid aspects of the software.

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Who Is The LWP-CCS Drafting Software Designed For?

by with One Comment Estate Planning Drafting Software

In this short, less than 2 minute video, Dave explains how seasoned estate planning attorneys appreciate the flexibility of being able to go beyond fundamental estate planning to help their client families with VA, Medicaid, Asset Protection and even Tax Planning using the Lawyers With Purpose estate planning drafting software.

Bigstock-Play-button-53748670Newer attorneys also appreciate the confidence-building safety of the software that prevents mistakes. Asset protection attorneys who are used to domestic asset protection trusts find that the iPug trusts affords the same benefits without any complications.

Watch the video and listen to Dave explain more of the benefits.