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Did you know successful law practice comes down to knowing your primary colors? I've had the privilege of working with estate planning lawyers across America since 2000. One of the biggest struggles I find with attorneys is their understanding of how to run their law practice like a business. Many have read “The E-Myth” by Michael Gerber, but few have implemented it. I was first introduced to “The E-Myth” in 2000, but after reading it I did what few others do: I began living it! I began creating systems and processes to run my practice like a business, and within a year of doing so I was cited by national industry leaders and asked to step on their stage to show their members how to run their practice like a business.

Fast forward 16 years – after having made thousands of lawyers more successful, I'm happy to say true success in your law firm business really comes down to understanding three primary colors: yellow, blue and green.

In the Lawyers with Purpose Practice Management system, all lawyers are trained to pay attention to how they spend their time. To create a successful business, you must spend your time in three keys areas. First, you must, as Michael Gerber says, work "in your business." That means you must schedule time on your calendar when you are not working on clients, marketing or paying bills, but rather are working on your business and identifying your future goals, wants and needs. In LWP we call this “yellow time.” This is the time when you are focusing on your business, building systems, streamlining work and doing things that over the long term will make you more efficient and profitable.

Second, to have a successful law firm practice, it is critically important that you market your firm. If nobody knows you're there, what services you provide or how you can help them, then no one will hire you. In Lawyers with Purpose we have three primary methodologies of marketing: wholesale, retail, and branding. Wholesale marketing is working with “allied professionals,” or those who serve your target market. The typical wholesale relationship will be with financial advisors, bankers, accountants, nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and the like. Using the Lawyers with Purpose Relationship Management System and our Synergy Meetings often leads to referrals from these allied professionals that generate revenue in excess of $10,000 within one to two weeks of your meeting them. In Lawyers with Purpose this has become known as the $10,000 breakfast.

Retail marketing is also important and is your way to identify yourself in the marketplace so people know where to find you when they need you. Chet Holmes International did a multimillion-dollar study that identified an interesting idea: At any point in time, 3 percent of the people need what you're selling right now, and there's another 7 percent who will need it in the very near future. Retail marketing is a great way to reach that 10 percent of the public, so they "know who to call" to solve the problems you fix.

Retail marketing is also important because it helps establish your brand. Branding is what people think about you when they hear your name. Branding is a product of your wholesale marketing, retail marketing and who you are with your clients. What clients experience when they work with you or your firm becomes your brand. Your brochure, logo and written material also become part of your brand. When utilizing wholesale, retail and branding methodologies within the proper context, your marketing time can be maximized.

In Lawyers with Purpose, marketing time is “blue time,” and we differentiate between light blue and dark blue marketing time. Light blue marketing time is general marketing, where you are creating relationships and getting individuals to identify whether you might be able to help them. Dark blue times are specific meetings where clients will or will not hire you. The significance of dark blue is that, although light blue time is used to generate and develop relationships, dark blue time is spent converting those relationships into active clients! Therefore, in the Lawyers with Purpose Relationship Management system and Client Enrollment System, it is essential to distinguish your light blue appointments from your dark blue appointments to ensure that you will get hired. In Lawyers with Purpose, we call getting hired our “green time.”

Anyone who took art class in elementary school learned that combining yellow and blue results in green. The same is true in your business. When you work on your business (yellow time) and have an effective marketing strategy (blue time), people will hire you. Green, in the Lawyers with Purpose system, is money time. This is time in your calendar when you are working on things that generate revenue – not marketing, but rather working on client work or things that cause clients to actually write you a check.

Many lawyers’ cash flow suffers merely because they fail to get the work done. Doing timely work is essential to having consistent cash flow and profitability. In Lawyers with Purpose, one of our first priorities with members is to ensure that their time template for the week has all the necessary yellow and blue time to generate green time.

Most lawyers have all blue time and then all green time; that's why they ride a cash flow rollercoaster, , because they market, market, market, then they stop marketing to get all the work done, and then by the time they get all the work done, there's no more work and they have to go out and market again. This leads to inconsistent cash flow. The Lawyers with Purpose cash flow calendaring system is color-coded to ensure that not only you but your entire team utilizes yellow time, blue time and green time sufficiently to ensure that your cash flow is consistent and you operate your firm like a business. Our members have said it is the most empowering thing they've experienced – having consistent cash flow, being able to take vacations without worry, and having the relationships and marketing that lead to consistent cash flow. More importantly, it enables them to spend the time on their business to ensure that it continually grows to the next level.

So, do you know your primary colors? Are you living them? Come join Lawyers with Purpose in the room in Houston the week of October 26th – 28th. Click here to reserve your seat today, and let us show you how to use yellow and blue time to produce green time, so you can have the practice you've always dreamed of.

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

Those of you who know me well, know that I am an avid University of Georgia fan (or perhaps fanatic). I arrive at football games at 6 a.m. to set up my tent. I will stand in the 100-degree sun, downpours, 90,000-person adversarial crowds and whatever else is thrown at me to support the Red & Black.

As any true Bulldog should, I refuse to wear or own anything orange. Working for a Syracuse company owned and dominated by graduates thereof, this is not an easy feat. Kyle, our Brand Development Specialist, continually tries to present me with orange apparel, cards and business accessories I will neither use nor touch.   So, until the untimely death of Patricia Summitt earlier this week, it was hard to imagine any circumstance under which I would say anything positive about any orange team, much less our bitter rival, the Big Orange of Tennessee.

But Coach Pat Summitt may have softened my perspective on that. I have watched Coach Summitt many times from the stands as she and her orange-clad teams continually dominated women’s college basketball. She appeared loud and strong, and seemed to tower with confidence over a group of women all averaging 6 feet tall and half her age.

However, I only once had the privilege of meeting Pat Summitt in person – at the 2012 National Alzheimer’s Association dinner, where she was being honored for her work for the association. There, she stayed close behind her son the entire night as he guided her through the room. When they took the stage, he held her hand, took her speech and read it. She stood silent with a look of slight discomfort and confusion. Yet there she stood on stage in Washington D.C. in front of advocates, celebrities and Congress members from every state. For me, in that moment, Patricia Summitt of Clarksville, Tennessee redefined bravery and heroism.

Coach Summitt made a conscious choice after her diagnosis to champion Alzheimer’s awareness. As she struggled with early onset and discovered the lack of information and research on the subject, it is said that she made her son promise to help her bring the awareness to the cause necessary to make change. She and her son Tyler did just that until the day she left us. She taught us that Alzheimer’s does not discriminate based on physical fitness level, race, gender, age or wealth. She showed the world that even the strongest among us with the best resources will buckle to this disease if we do not continue to fight together for a cure.  

Pat Summitt once said, “It is what it is, but it will be what you make it.” Through her powerful example, Coach Summitt put Alzheimer’s on a national stage and led a growing team of advocates, caregivers, families and sufferers across our country to fight for funding, research and reform. In my mind, that will always be her greatest coaching feat. Therefore, in honor of Patricia Summitt, I will say (just this one time), GO BIG ORANGE!

If you want to learn more about becoming a Lawyers With Purpose member, join our FREE webinar on Wednesday, July 27th at 8 EST. Click here to reserve your spot today!

Kimberly Brannon, Legal-Technical & Software Trainer

Chances are you or someone you love has been touched by Alzheimer’s Disease.

We’ve sent you communication before about how it has rocked our own families. 

Now, this June, we are collectively doing something about it as a community – and we invite you to participate or sponsor us as we take part in The Longest Day event during our Tri-Annual Practice Enhancement Retreat in San Diego.

(You can participate live or virtually! Skip ahead to join the team!)

The Longest Day is a team event to raise funds and awareness for the Alzheimer's Association®. Held annually on the summer solstice, the duration of this sunrise-to-sunset event symbolizes the challenging journey of those living with the disease and their caregivers. Teams are encouraged to create their own experience as they fundraise and participate in an activity they love to honor someone facing the disease.

You can live anywhere and participate in The Longest Day. Join with friends and family across the country – or even the world – and form a team that is active from multiple locations.

If you are attending the LWP retreat, the easiest way to get involved is to join our team in memory of Kimberly’s Mee-Maw:

Our LWP team will be holding numerous events through the day to help you get out and get moving, including a.m. and p.m. yoga with Molly, stretching with purple bands in the room at every break, or rocking a purple t-shirt as you support our walking team led by Kimberly, Roz and Molly.

If you CAN’T participate with us in person, please go here to sponsor our team virtually and commit to doing a Longest Day activity, wherever you are.

After you register, simply decide what your law firm will do in honor of The Longest Day. You can find many ideas on the association’s website, or go the extra mile in the quest for a cure by hosting a themed event in YOUR COMMUNITY. You likely have many referral sources, past clients and prospects who would be interested to join and support you in this important endeavor.

No matter what option you choose, please do something.

Finally, don’t forget to WEAR PURPLE to spread the word … and get your entire office team involved! Post pictures of your purple themes on social media, email them to your friends and family, send the pictures into your local paper … whatever! Do what you can to spread the word about Alzheimer’s Disease this June.

Dedicated to finding a cure,

The LWP Team

Over the last 25 years of dealing with the buying and selling of small businesses, I have become accustomed to lawyers and clients believing that creating an LLC or a corporation is the best way to protect their assets. While this is an effective start, creating an LLC or a corporation is far from effective in protecting your assets.

I always use the example of John’s Backhoe Service. John is a small contractor who bought a backhoe to install plumbing and other underground improvements. John starts small and, little by little, his business grows. The advice he is quick to receive from his lawyer and anyone else with an opinion is, “John, you’d better incorporate or do an LLC.” They assure John that creating an LLC or corporation will protect him from the liability of that business. If John owns the business himself, and is using the backhoe and hurts a little boy who is standing nearby watching him, John will be personally liable and all of his assets will be at risk to any lawsuit that comes from his actions in the business.

Creating an LLC or a corporation ensures that the liability for John’s actions will be limited to the assets of the LLC or corporation. At LWP we call LLCs and corporations a bubble; so if John’s backhoe suddenly becomes John’s Backhoe Service, LLC or Inc., then the only thing at risk of being lost if John were to hurt someone with the backhoe would be those things that are owned “inside the bubble.” Assets owned inside the LLC typically would consist of the backhoe and any cash accounts or other business assets. Unfortunately, that is not complete protection; it is only protection from the inside out!

Having an LLC or corporation protects John’s personal assets from all liabilities created by his business – and that’s where most people end, which is a mistake. Although an LLC or corporation protects John’s personal assets from the liabilities of his business, John’s business itself and his other assets are not protected from John’s personal liability. At Lawyers with Purpose, we say John’s assets, while protected from the inside out, are not protected from the outside in! If John buys his 16‑year-old child a new car and they go out and kill someone with it, John can be sued. Since John owns an LLC or the corporation, it can be taken from him as a general asset. Although some states provide protections from creditors getting inside the assets of an LLC, it is not always so. Many states require that there be more than one owner of the LLC for it to be protected. Others, while not allowing access even as a single-member LLC to the company assets, consider John’s interest in the company itself to be an asset that is subject to risk from third-party creditors and predators.

Perhaps the greatest creditor and predator to John is in fact not a lawsuit at all, but rather a nursing home or other long-term care costs. If John were to enter a nursing home, the full value of his business and all of the income it produces would be considered available in determining his eligibility for Medicaid or other needs-based benefits. This could be catastrophic, since small businesses rarely produce enough income to support the monthly cost of a nursing home stay. That’s why it’s absolutely essential: If John wants to protect his assets from the inside out and outside in, he needs to utilize an IPUG® protection trust. IPUG trusts ensure not only that John’s assets are protected from the inside out – that is, his personal assets will be protected from the liabilities of the business – but also that his assets will be protected from the outside in – John’s business and other assets will not be within reach of general creditors and predators (i.e. the kid’s car accident or a nursing home pay out).

So get really clear on how to protect people. That’s what we do at Lawyers with Purpose. Contact Lawyers with Purpose now to see how you can be effective at utilizing IPUG protection trusts to ensure asset protection for all of your client’s assets.  If you want to learn more about becoming a Lawyers With Purpose member, consider joining our FREE Webinar "Four Essentials For A Profitable Practice" on April 21st at 8 EST.  

The lifeblood of any good business or practice is the ability to attract a consistent flow of clients through the doors. In order to do this, you need to keep evolving your practice to offer not only what your clients want, but what they need. Attorney Julieanne Steinbacher, President of The Million Dollar Solution, is here to tell you why you need to be offering financial products with your repertoire.

Up until now, financial products have been largely unchartered territory, but that’s true no longer. We have cracked the code to practice success in the financial services arena, and we want to share it with you. A lot of attorneys believe they shouldn’t be involved in any way with financial services, thinking it is unseemly or not lawyerly, and they believe it takes away their ability to advise their clients in an unbiased manner. That’s what we thought, too — but we were wrong. Instead, we found that we were doing our clients a disservice by not becoming educated about the role financial solutions can play in helping protect our clients. Incorporating financial products into your firm could be the key to the success that you so desire.

The Million Dollar Solution, home to Leading Lawyers on Estate and Long Term Care Planning, and the Senior Estate Planning Institute, is dedicated to assisting elder law and estate planning attorneys build a profitable practice while most efficiently and effectively serving their clients. Through conferences, mastermind sessions, testing ideas, their website, www.planningandprotecting.com, and a multitude of other resources, The Million Dollar Solution has helped leading attorneys in this field transform not only their practices, but their lives and will be sponsoring the Lawyers With Purpose Tri-Annual Practice Enhancement Retreat.  If you'll be there next week make sure you join us for lunch on Friday, February 26th!

Over two years, Congress introduced legislation to protect veterans from “pension poachers” by actually penalizing veterans for making transfers of assets. Those bills were S. 3270/H.R. 6171 (112^th Congress) and S. 748/H.R. 2341 (113^th Congress). Both bills died in Congress. The Veterans Administration drafted and issued proposed law changes, without Congressional approval, on January 23, 2015: Federal Register Vol. 80, No. 15, Part IV, 38 CFR Part 3, Net Worth, Asset Transfers, and Income Exclusions for Needs-Based Benefits. Over 900 public comments were submitted to the VA overwhelmingly in opposition to the proposed changes. One specific argument was that the VA did not have independent authority to make such changes and needed Congressional approval.

Apparently the VA agrees, so it secured the support of a few senators to craft a bare-bones House Resolution 4351. That resolution, called the “Veterans Care Financial Protection Act of 2016,” would carte blanche approve any “standards” developed and implemented by the Veterans Administration “that protect individuals from dishonest, predatory, or otherwise unlawful practices relating to increased pension available … on the basis of need for regular aid and attendance.”

Should this resolution pass, all of the proposed changes to Title 38 of the Code of Federal Register, as drafted by the Veterans Administration, affecting veterans, imposing transfer penalties of up to 10 years, would become law.

One glaring problem, as I see it, is that neither the bill nor the proposed changes in Title 38 define “dishonest, predatory, or otherwise unlawful practices.”  A financial advisor who sells a product is within his right to do so if it meets financial goals and the federal suitability requirements. Lawyers who draft estate planning documents, licensed to do so in the state where the client resides, are acting lawfully.  Certainly, misrepresentation that a trust or an annuity is required in order to get VA benefits is dishonest.  But making transfers of assets to trusts and the purchase of an annuity itself are not unlawful.  Holding educational seminars is not predatory. 

This is yet another example of a poorly drafted piece of legislation designed to appeal to the emotions of the ignorant, and it purposely does not adequately explain the consequences for or against the cause.

Veterans are being harmed by the changes in the laws, not protected. If the VA and the select few Congressional members truly wanted to protect veterans, they would leave the VA pension plan rules as they are and sanction the advisors who are using unethical practices or committing illegal acts. If the VA and Congress wanted to protect veterans, they would allocate their time and resources to making the application and appeals process, and healthcare system, efficient and consumer friendly instead of making it harder for veterans to qualify for deserved benefits.

Let your representatives know the real issues behind the reason for this new resolution. Urge them not to pass this blindly – know what the proposed rules are that affect pension benefits and veterans.  

Did you know Lawyers With Purpose has a Cloud Based Workflow System specifically to support your estate or elder law practice?  If you aren't a Lawyers With Purpose member and want to know more about our LWP Platform just join us on Thursday, February 26th at 2EST for a complete live demo on how it all works!  Click here to register for our Live Law Firm CRM Workflow System Demo for estate planning and elder law attorneys.  

Victoria L. Collier, Co-Founder, Lawyers with Purpose, LLC, www.LawyersWithPurpose.com; Certified Elder Law Attorney through the National Elder Law Foundation; Fellow of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys; Founder and Managing Attorney of The Elder & Disability Law Firm of Victoria L. Collier, PC, www.ElderLawGeorgia.com; Co-Founder of Veterans Advocates Group of America; Entrepreneur; Author; and nationally renowned Presenter.

Dave Zumpano

“[My faith] lets me know there is a reason and a place and a God who ensures that I'm never given more than I can handle.”

It's that time of the year when we look back on what has occurred over the year and begin to get hopeful for next year. As I think about 2015, there are so many things I am grateful for. I have made tremendous progress in my business, continued to develop great relationships with family and friends and built a phenomenal team of individuals who are committed to going beyond their comfort level to help others. Underlying all of this progress is the faith that my parents gave me and that I continue to treasure. It lets me know there is a reason and a place and a God who ensures that I'm never given more than I can handle. My family is a blessing of unconditional love, continuous fun and outward contribution to all those we come in contact with. All of this is made possible by the selfless team that comes to work each day to help carry out the dream we have envisioned, one that others add upon to have impact on the world and help those we can to move them forward to fulfill their needs.

As I look back, there are plenty of challenges in my life over the past year as well, but what I'm most grateful for is that through each one, I was able to grow and learn and enhance relationships necessary along the way. I'm grateful for my business partners, who provide respectful pushback and unique insights. I'm grateful for my spouse, who smiles and supports me in all my endeavors, even those that may seem “out there.” I'm grateful for the community of family and friends and the joy derived by day-to-day interactions and living in the present with all of them.

I'm also grateful for those of you who take the time to open my blog posts and read them. As you look back on 2015 and look forward to 2016, I hope you can find all the things you are grateful for and identify how you want to make your mark on the world in 2016. Happy Holidays, whatever your holiday is, and may your best day of 2015 be your worst day of the New Year.

Victoria Collier

“I have the perfect insider’s view of what my life could be.”

As an estate and elder care attorney, I have the privilege of being invited into the lives of others.  Many of them have lived glorious days, while others are still trying to create a plan to survive.  While learning about their immediate needs, I also get to see what their family is like, what they have achieved or haven’t, and their attitudes about aging.  I have the perfect insider’s view of what my life could be.  And for that, I am truly grateful for my spouse, who has supported me through 19 years of life experiences and business ventures, and my children, who make my heart melt just with a smile.  I am grateful that we all have good health and good attitudes about learning and living. In full circle, helping families create estate and long-term care plans helps me to be aware of and to be able to help so many more seniors and veterans maintain quality of life as they age, as we all age. 

Molly Hall

“The eight-plus hours a day I spend outside my family, sleep and yoga time feels like a daily, hourly purpose-driven mission.”

• Family – I know this one can land like it's rather “rogue.” Every award acknowledgment, sporting event and gratitude exercise begins with some rendition of thanking family. Without truly enjoying my family, our time together and all the hobbies and interests we have together, my personality would allow for me to be a workaholic. I know all too many people who hide out in the “busy and important” parts of their work because being intoxicated in work, “overwhelmed and stressed” sounds much more attractive than spending time with their family. I know it sounds horrifying, but it is sadly true. I am so grateful for my family and the amazing year we had: camping, swim team, golf team, lacrosse, softball, hiking, Mexico, skiing, snowshoeing, dinners with friends, and belly laughing at many movies. This year in particular, I don't take for granted the uniqueness of our quality family time and the absolute fun we have together. 

• Health – Every time I open my smartphone and see a group text from my siblings and/or load Facebook, I would be losing if I didn't silently say a quick prayer this year. It felt like everywhere I turned there was an update with another friend, family member, neighbor or colleague who was faced with some version of an illness, health scare or death. There is a part of me that is in denial around “we're at that age,” but this year in particular it seemed like it was everywhere – young, old and in between. This year I am deeply grateful for my health and my children's health and that we are alive and well. That really felt like an enormous victory this year. I'm already creating and planning for our 2016 health goals and ways we can proactively create up-leveled conscious health goals.

• Purpose – What I get to do day in and day out is not “work.” The eight-plus hours a day I spend outside my family, sleep and yoga time feels like a daily, hourly purpose-driven mission. Whether it's in writing, coaching, teaching a webinar, partners meetings, creating marketing content or leading a demonstration for prospective members craving a new way of life and practice, I don't take my part lightly. I owe it to each piece to be fully present and fully coming from a place of passion, purpose and difference-making. 

We want to take this moment to say THANK YOU to all our members, their team, our power partners and speakers for a most wonderful and blessed 2015.  We look forward to locking arms with you all again in 2016 and making it the best year yet!

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

Our revenues have grown each year since joining. I was very satisfied with my income in 2014, but this year we’re on track to double our revenues.

• What is your favorite LWP tool? I’m most pleased with the system, rather than an individual tool.

It’s everything LWP provides that has made us successful – the software, the initial and periodic training, the coaching, the webinars, the marketing materials and “the process.” Everything works together in an integrated fashion so that our clients get good results in a timely manner.

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

We’re “on the same page” with how things should be done. We’re much more efficient and effective because we don’t have to spend additional time on decision making and communication. We do those things, of course, but we’ve already reached agreement on many issues and know what to expect.

Seems like everywhere you turn, there’s an article or recommendation to convert your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.  Why?  It’s simple: unlike a traditional IRA, wherein you can take a tax deduction against your ordinary income for the amount contributed to it and it grows income tax free, a time eventually comes when you have to pay the piper. 

Typically, at the latest, this happens at age 70½, when a minimum distribution is required from your IRA.  All withdrawals from your traditional IRA are then taxed at your then income tax rate.  On the flipside, a Roth IRA permits you to put money into a Roth now, without receiving any income tax deduction now, but as the Roth proceeds grow income tax free, they are also income tax free when you take your Roth IRA proceeds.  This is very appealing to people who want to minimize their taxes later in life.  In my experience, however, most people who do Roth IRAs are not doing them for themselves, but merely to have the protection of an IRA, and to be able to pass the assets to their beneficiaries without having to pay income tax.  So what's the downside? Sadly, most promoters of Roth IRAs are not aware of the downside.

The primary risk of investing in a Roth IRA is the possibility of it being lost should the need for long-term care arise.  The question that centers the risk is whether an IRA is included as an available resource in determining an individual’s eligibility for Medicaid benefits to pay for long-term care.  Federal law is clear: an IRA is an available resource in determining eligibility for Medicaid unless it is “annuitized.”  Federal law permits states to enforce the federal law as they determine, as long as it’s not “more restrictive” than the federal law.  Many states exempt an IRA from being considered available as long as it is in “payout status.”  Accordingly, payout status has been interpreted as the IRA owner is receiving regular payouts equal to the required minimum distribution.  The greatest risk, however, is that the less restrictive approach is merely a “policy” decision, and the state medical department can change its policy to the more restrictive federal law at any time without notice.  There has been a trend in that several states have done this over the past few years.  Will your state be next?

Another risk of a Roth IRA is that in many states, it is treated like a regular investment account and is considered “available” because there is no required minimum distribution.  As an available resource, it must be spent down to qualify for Medicaid benefits.  This obviously is counterproductive to the original intention of creating the Roth IRA.  Instead of being able to accumulate assets income tax free, seniors are forced to liquidate them to pay for their long-term care cost, which is not ideal because there is no tax advantage to doing so.  If a traditional IRA is used to pay for long-term care costs, the offsetting Medicaid tax deduction enables 98 percent of the IRA to be utilized by the IRA owner when used to pay for long-term care costs, rather than the typical 70 percent after the benefit.  Not so with a Roth.  So what is one to do?  It’s easy – use an IPug®. 

IPug is an irrevocable pure grantor trust that allows the grantor to maintain control of the trust assets as trustee and modify the trust as to the timing, manner and method of distribution and as to the beneficiary.  The one exception is that the grantor could never change ownership of the assets or permit principal back to themselves, which acts to protect the trust proceeds from predators and creditors, similar to an IRA. An IPug, however, also has the distinction in that its trust assets are not considered available in determining the grantor’s Medicaid eligibility.

An IPug trust essentially works like a combination of a Roth and a traditional IRA, but better.  Once you put money into an IPug, if you invest in long-term growth assets, those assets are not taxed until you withdraw them.  But, unlike a traditional IRA, if withdrawn, they are taxed at the preferred capital gains tax rate, rather than at the ordinary income tax rate.  Most importantly, for most people who never intend to withdraw from their Roth prior to death, the IPug provides the same benefit as a Roth of providing the assets a full “step up” in basis. The primary advantage of an IPug, however, is that the trust assets are passed onto your heirs income tax free and fully asset protected for the rest of their lives. 

The predominant benefit of an IPug over a Roth, however, is that it is protected from the nursing home during the grantor’s life!  That’s a substantial difference that a Roth cannot provide.  So, IPug or Roth, you decide – but it’s a great option to offer your clients.  

Have you been considering becoming a Lawyers With Purpose member?  Did you know one of the benefits of being a member is exclusive members only opportunities?  One example is to co-author a book with Victoria and I.  If you want to learn more about this opportunity consider participating in our FREE WEBINAR "Writing Your Way To Success" TOMORROW, Friday, November 20th at 12 EST. 

There is no better tool that says, "I am the expert" than a book with your name on it. Two LWP members attended Victoria's "How to Write a Book Training" in 2010, went on to write a book and saw their practices surge because of it. Even if you don’t enjoy writing or think you can't write, attend this session to see how easy it can be.  And learn how to market your book as well!  Click here to reserve your spot for this webinar. If you're not a member, you can still join and shoot us an email after to let us know what you think to: info@lawyerswithpurpose.com 

If you're a member and are already joining us – we'll see you there!

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