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As College Football comes to an end with Alabama crushing Notre Dame to take the BSC Title Championship, College Basketball is gearing up for March Madness.

Historically, Veterans receiving Pension benefits, to include Aid and Attendance, also experienced a March Madness of their own. On March 1st of each year, the annual Eligibility Verification Report (EVR) was due to the VA to substantiate that the Veteran was rightfully eligible for and receiving tax free income, called Improved Pension, to help offset medical expenses.

This year, the VA decided to dispense with the red tape and is eliminating the need for Veterans to complete an annual EVR. Instead, the VA is implementing a new process for confirming eligibility for benefits. The new process will involve the VA working directly with Social Security and the IRS to verify the Veteran’s annual income.

This will, presumably save the Veteran and the VA a lot of time and money, while allowing the VA to redirect staff to more pressing issues – claim backlogs.

Unfortunately, as a practicing lawyer who assists Veterans with their annual reports, I see a madness of another kind about to happen in March! The EVR did not just verify annual income. It also verified net worth, which now will not be verified. But, more importantly, the EVR provided a means to advise Veterans that they can and should submit an accounting of all unreimbursed medical expenses they pay out of pocket for on a regular basis. Many people would not be eligible for the pension but for the amount of money they personally pay for medical care. Without being prompted to submit this report each year, many Veterans will inadvertently lose their VA pension. This will lead to appeals and more backlog. But, more devastating than that, most Veterans will not seek the advice of counsel to see how they can get benefits reinstated. Instead, sacrificing medical care they no longer can afford.

For information on how you, as an attorney, can help, contact Lawyers with Purpose.

By Victoria L. Collier, CELA

I speak with so many lawyers who crave their document creation software. As a practicing estate and elder law attorney I couldn't agree more, but, it's really a false sense of security. In reality what lawyers really crave is the confidence that the trust they provide their clients is legally correct.

As a result many attorneys settle for a short-term solution in trying to solve their long-term needs which is being effective for clients. The problem with most document creation software today is that it is so attorney dependent. While that sounds good, the reality is the result is that lawyers are working 60‑plus hours a week.

A good document creation software should have the legal technical sufficient to provide the client what they need, but more importantly, should be able to be generated by someone other than the lawyer. For example, a good document creation software should have a design template which allows the attorney to customize the estate plan they want for the client, without having to physically enter the software to do it. This is something that I have become very comfortable with in the legal document creation software that I utilize because it allows me to be creative and create a custom plan for each client, without having to physically open up the software.

Instead, I can document my wishes on a design template and provide that information to a key member who can generate the trust just as I designed it! The distinction between traditional document creation software and the software I use is systemization. I can identifying the core elements necessary to design an effective and efficient estate plan that allows the client access to all legal avenues, not just the same ones you consistently do.

With most lawyers, if you take a look at the last ten trusts they did, they're all the same with the exception of the names. While the attorney feels good, the reality is the quality of the customization is minimal. Even worse, to customize a plan requires excessive work for the attorney because they have to manually do it in the software.

Bottom line is that good document creation software will not only allow the attorney the freedom to customize each plan, but also will allow them to delegate the drafting confidentially so that he can focus on the real needs of the client not the technical applications of the software. So does your software allow you the freedom? If not it's time to consider changing. Dave Z

The VA Benefits rates have now been Officially Published and can be found at the following links:

Veteran’s Pension: http://www.benefits.va.gov/PENSIONANDFIDUCIARY/pension/rates_veteran_pen12.asp

Widow's Pension: http://www.benefits.va.gov/PENSIONANDFIDUCIARY/pension/rates_survivor DIC: http://www.benefits.va.gov/COMPENSATION/resources_comp03.asp

Compensation: http://www.benefits.va.gov/COMPENSATION/resources_comp01.asp

Special Monthly Compensation: http://www.benefits.va.gov/COMPENSATION/resources_comp02.asp

Parents DIC: http://www.benefits.va.gov/COMPENSATION/resources_comp04.asp

Birth defects: http://www.benefits.va.gov/compensation/sb2012.asp

Automobile, clothing, medal of honor: http://www.benefits.va.gov/compensation/special_Benefit_Allowances_2012.asp

We’re not big fans of January 1. Doesn’t matter what year we’re talking about. The deflation and confidence thievery of January 1st that leaves attorneys in a place of paralysis, is out-and-out unlawful. Its 7 days into the “new year” and collectively our implementation team conducted 13 law firm Implementation calls across the country and then led 1 national marketing roundtable. And the collective energy was frozen. Solid.

In typical LWP fashion we already started New Year Goal setting at our annual practice enhancement retreat, on November 16th. 50 law firms across the country left that retreat with a tremendous amount of intentionality, purpose and very clear monthly gals and how they were getting there. Crystal clear, with team on-board and excited to hit the ground running. In December we conducted follow up calls with folks to start creating the path and plan to get to goal. And who’s doing what to reach goal. People were clamoring to turn the page and start the 2013 books.

Well, the “New Year” is here and that’s no longer the song people are singing from the rooftops. Society, media, etc., have already told them they won’t make it the 1st 10 days. But thankfully for the 13 firms we had the honor of working with today… we provided the safety net. We talked them off the ledge and re-anchor them to the path and plans they created 6 weeks ago. And that’s the beauty of accountability and implementation. Society teaches us that “you-gotta-push thorough” mentality that is destroying business owners.

You don’t have to muscle through and create goals that don’t work for you and that scare you to the point of paralysis. That doesn’t excite you. that you can't find an ounce of joy and ease in. The shelf life of that new year’s plan, resolution, goals…call it what you will….is roughly 10 days.

People are taught they need to get their butt kicked day in and day out. Operate like a pack mule and feel awful when they lay their head on the pillow at night because your plowing through to get to goal. That’s just the way it is for entrepreneurs. But what we know to be true in the LWP Coaching, Consulting and Implementation program is: you should feel better, dare we say excited, at the end of the day than you did at the beginning. And certainly 7 days into a new year. And that’s the name of the game, folks. Goals, resolutions, plans, road maps; etc., etc., are meant to be kept to be very much alive.

Our members are very fortunate that they began their new year on November 16th and were fortunate to start hitting the skids 7 days into the new year, because the path, plan and accountability were already in place to allow for a very safe place to fall, all while providing the safety net to not only catch them but re-anchor them to their goals and how they are getting there.

If you don’t have an consistent, committed accountability structure in place, we would like to invite you to experience the LWP CCI Program and explore if this would be a good fit for you –join us in Dallas,TX January 30,31, February 1st as our guest.

If your interested please email Roslyn at rdrotar@lawyerswithpurpose.com or call 877-299-0326 x 105.

Good morning!

We trust everyone is back to the office now and ready to begin the New Year well prepared for prosperity. To do so, having the right information is powerful. We have been waiting for the Veterans Administration to publish the 2013 Improved Pension rates. As of today, they still have not been formally published. However, below are the rates we expect to see once published (give or take a dollar or two). We will announce the final numbers when formally published.

Pension:

Veteran no dependent – $1,037/month/ 12,448/year
Veteran with 1 dependent – $1,359/ 16,340
Widow of vet no dependent – $696/ 8,357

Pension with HouseBound:

Veteran no dependent – $1,269/ 15,231
Veteran with 1 dependent – $1,590 / 19,091
Widow of vet no dependent – $852 / 10,232

Pension with Aid and Attendance:

Veteran no dependent – $1,731 / 29,793
Veteran with 1 dependent – $2,054 / 24,648
Widow of vet no dependent – $1,113 / 13,360

Two Veterans Married to each other:

BOTH COMBINED – Pension only – $1,350 / $16,322
EITHER HB – $1,590 / $19,091
BOTH HB – $2,049 / $21,858
EITHER A&A – $2,053 / $24,650
1HB & 1 A&A – $2,284 / $27,412
BOTH A&A – $2,675 / $32,113

Thank you for the information Victoria Collier!

We have a book club at Lawyers With Purpose and the team is currently reading Failing Forward by John C. Maxwell. So far my favorite part of the book:

"…[people] allow failure to get the better of them emotionally, and it stops them from achieving their dreams.  …Failure can be very painful–sometimes physically and more often emotionally.  Seeing part of your vision fall flat really hurts. And if people heap ridicule on top of your hurt feelings, you feel even worse.  The first important step in weathering failure is learning not to personalize it — making sure you know that your failure does not make you a failure.   …For many people the pain of failure leads to fear of failure.  …That's when many people get stuck in the fear cycle.  And if fear overcomes you, it's almost impossible to fail forward."  from Failing Forward by John C. Maxwell

When I read that it doesn't make failure seem so bad. For me, it's difficult not to take failure personally. But just reading this paragraph seems to take all that away. In fact I've printed this paragraph out and tacked it onto my cork board for inspiration.

I'm not completely done reading the book but so far, the bottom line for me is … don't let failure deny you of your dreams and the practice you want to have. Yes, we all have have to learn from our mistakes but do not let them prevent you from taking risks. Another great quote is “If you fail to try, you have already failed.” So, I'd have to say that while my definition of failure has definitely changed, so has my definition of success. Because typically people look at success like a path you take that requires training and mentoring along the way. Education or experience. But really, in the big picture, success is being able to handle failure!

Have you ever thought about the amount of time you spend at the office?  Be honest and think about how much time you spend each day, and how many days each week.  Include the weekends!  On the average we see that most attorneys are spending 56 hours OR MORE per week.  With little or no vacation.  If you take that and divide it by your annual income, how much are you making per hour?  Doing the math may be painful but it can also give powerful insight on how important it is for you to be intentional with your time.  We did some calculations and it’s typical for a solo practitioner to be earning roughly $29.28 per hour.

Is this you?  Are you happy?

You have to be proactivein your day with clearly defined goals and a path to get you there.  You need to declare the practice you want to have and you have to create time standards to achieve it.  You've got to think in colors of the rainbow.  Blue, Green and Gold!

BLUE: The Time you spend on Lead Generation and Lead Conversion (commonly referred to as Marketing and Sales). At Lawyers with Purpose™, we call this Relationship Management and Client Enrollment.

GREEN:  The Time you spend on serving your clients to provide the value they hired you for. This requires working with your team utilizing systems and process to create consistent quality and reduce the time required by YOU.

YELLOW:  The time you spend operating your law firm business. While most view this as black time it is actually “Gold” if it’s Proactive!

You can have the practice you’ve always wanted if you are proactive with your time.  We promise, it’s that simple.  You can have staff that will support you in the essential areas to succeed, rather than reacting to everything around you, consistent (and increasing) cash flow and a quality of life for yourself, your family, your clients, and your community will be enhanced!   www.lawyerswithpurpose.com  

Did you ever hear that old saying when you buy a new car you see it everywhere?  That happened to us recently but not because we bought a new car.  Actually 2 weeks ago, we shared the 3 key needs to effectively run a successful law practice  at the LWP Annual Practice Enhancement Retreat.  We discovered  it all comes down to how you spend your time.

Now we see it impacting several practices in their firm marketing meetings. It  is simple … if you just classify your time into 3 categories: (1) Marketing (Lead Generation & Lead Conversion) (2) Money and (3) Operations.  The time you allocate should be 40% marketing, 40% money and 20% operations.  Marketing scares most lawyers but it can be simple if you have a structure to it.  For example, committing to just 2 – one and a half hour meetings a week with allied professionals can lead to a plethora of referrals if the follow-up to the meetings occur timely.  It is much more effective to manage one relationship well and create  a friendship that you enjoy, rather  than to have 5 meetings and poor follow up with any.  With just 2 meetings a week you can manage 10 relationships that meet every 30-45 days and 20 relationships that meet quarterly, semi-annually or annually.  The trick is to be intentional and truly enjoy the person you are working with!

For more information visit our website at www.lawyerswithpurpose.com.  We're happy to help!