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Think “Differently” About Your Time & You’ll Get More Done

March 10, 2015

by David Zumpano with No Comment Estate Planning Drafting Software Legal Marketing Legal Technical

In a speech, Steve Jobs said, “You must think differently about what you do.” In fact, it has become the brand of Apple – Think Differently. So I ask, “What are you doing to think differently about how you spend time in your practice?” Are you frustrated that your growth is stagnant or not at the rate you'd like? If you continue doing what you've always done you will always get what you've always gotten.

That's why you must think differently, and that's why on Thursday March 12^th at 4PM EST and then again at 7 PM EST I am hosting a one-hour webinar entitled, “Having the Time to Have it All – Three Time Strategies to Have a Practice with Purpose and Profit”.

In this webinar you will think differently about how you utilize your time. You will re-examine the best use of your time and how to use your strengths and abilities to ensure marketing time, client time, and planning time you need, is achieved. I will also show you how to ensure your time provides consistent cash flow while being able to help more people.

Jeff Bellomo of York, Pennsylvania recently declared, “I was doing it all already, I just wasn't utilizing it in the right way. Just a few of the concepts you have opened me up to have allowed me to help more people, make more money, and have a greater impact on my community.” You can begin to think differently about your practice. I look forward to sharing with you.

Click here to register now and discover how to have the time to have it all.

If you have a great work ethic, a passion for helping people, are a lifetime learner, and value relationships; this webinar will get you thinking differently about how to actually get what you've always hoped for in the same time you have now.

If you are an existing Lawyers With Purpose member, you already have access to this valuable information. Simply reach out to us and we'll tell you how to access it on the members section of the website.

Cheers to helping people,

David J. Zumpano, CPA, Esq., Practicing Attorney, just like you & Founder of Estate Planning Law Center & Lawyers with Purpose LLC

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Conduit Or Accumulation Trust

March 4, 2015

by David Zumpano with No Comment Asset Protection Estate Planning Drafting Software

The question of whether an attorney uses a conduit or accumulation trust in regards to an inherited IRA is a question of simplicity versus protection. Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court in Clark v. Remeker, ruled an inherited IRA is not "protected" from the reach of creditors.

As practitioners, we can still protect an inherited IRA by ensuring the beneficiary is a trust, not an individual. They key question when utilizing a trust is whether to make it a conduit trust or an accumulation trust. What factors should you consider? If the practitioner wants simple for both himself and the client, a conduit trust is the answer. Conduit trusts provide that any and all distributions that come into the trust on an annual basis must be distributed out in the same year to the rightful beneficiary.

Therefore, the trust is merely a "conduit" to hold the IRA for the benefit of the beneficiary. While this provides asset protection of the underlying principal of the IRA, it does not provide any protection of the required distributions from the trust to the beneficiary.

Alternatively, practitioners can elect to provide for an accumulation trust. In an accumulation trust, the RMD (or other IRA distributions) is distributed from the IRA to the trust, but, the trustee has the option to "hold" the distribution and accumulate it with the principal of the trust. The major downside to an accumulation trust is if the RMD is held and accumulated, the trust must pay the tax on the income from the IRA and trusts are traditionally taxed at a much higher rate than individuals.

Why would one do this?

If the beneficiary is in the middle of a lawsuit or becomes subject to alimony or other liabilities, any income distributed to the beneficiary would be lost. So the question becomes what is the bigger loss, a potential twenty-five to forty percent income tax, or a 100 percent loss creditors or other legal obligation. An accumulation trust can also serve to protect a beneficiary from themselves. In addition to protecting the income and assets "for" the beneficiary. A properly drawn accumulation trust also protects the IRA and distributions "from" the beneficiary. Many of us are aware of individuals with children who inherit IRAs and their first item to purchase is a fancy new sports car that costs $50,000.00. To do this, requires the beneficiary has to withdraw $71,500.00 assuming a 30% tax rate which leaves $50,000.00 to purchase the car that's worth $40,000.00 when they drive it off the lot. Great way to turn $71,500.00 into $40,000.00 in a single act! In cases of spendthrift or other concerns, a accumulation trust provides the greatest option.

Perhaps the greatest advantage of an accumulation trust is you can have the best of both worlds, that is if you choose to distribute all RMD out in the year received to have it operate like a conduit trust. A conduit trust, however cannot hold money to be protected or distributed later like a accumulation trust. Accumulation trust also is a better choice if the beneficiary is in the maximum tax bracket, so any accumulation would not create any additional tax loss. When properly drawn both conduit and accumulation trusts can provide for all of the RMD be calculated on the age of one beneficiary, but the distributions of the RMD can be distributed out to other beneficiaries who are in a lower tax bracket (i.e. the children of the beneficiary).

So determining whether to use a conduit or accumulation trust is deciding whether simple is the goal or ultimate protection is the goal. It is critical that you properly educate your client so they can advise you of what's most important.

If you would like to know more about Lawyers With Purpose and discover three tried and tested time strategies to get a practice that allows you to help more people and be profitable join us on Thursday, March 12th for our "Having the Time to Have it All…Three Time Strategies to Have a Practice with Profit and Purpose" webinar.

Here's just some of what you'll discover in this practice-transforming event…

How to effectively utilize your time to enroll your team to help as many people as you choose and profit from it too
To work effectively with your team
How to balance your work life and your personal life to ensure you are able to create the maximum amount of value in both
How to have sufficient time to market consistently which will ensure consistent cash flow and free up the time you're currently spending chasing dollars.

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

Congratulations To Sergio A. White, Lawyers With Purpose Member Of The Month

March 2, 2015

by Lawyers With Purpose with No Comment Coaching & Implementation Estate Planning Drafting Software Systems & Processes Team Building

What is the greatest success you’ve had since joining Lawyers With Purpose?

Thanks to the Lawyers With Purpose systems and processes, our biggest success has been being able to get up to speed very quickly in an area of law that is so important. The support from Lawyers With Purpose in the form of the Live ListServ for any practice related questions; and and the webinars designed to keep us abreast of changes in the area of elder law and estate planning have made the transition back into full time practice smooth for me and beneficial for my clients.

What is your favorite Lawyers With Purpose tool?

My Favorite Lawyers With Purpose tool is by far the LWP-CCS (estate planning drafting software). I really enjoy sitting down in front of the computer and punching in the numbers to help come up with a Medicaid-Qualification strategy for my clients. Then going through the client questionnaire to build the trust and other estate documents is also something I enjoy doing very much.

How has being part of Lawyers With Purpose impacted your team and your practice?

Being a part of the Lawyers With Purpose team for me has been transformative. Having returned to practicing law after several years in education, I have found in Lawyers With Purpose a family of likeminded individuals who truly care about the work they are doing and the clients they serve. It is very satisfying to me to be able to help a family in crisis preserve the legacy that they worked so hard to build, and ensure that it will be there for their family. Through Lawyers With Purpose, I have met and befriended many people who will be part of my life for many years to come.

What You Need To Know About Using Personal Care Plans

February 25, 2015

by David Zumpano with No Comment Estate Planning Drafting Software Legal Technical

How does a personal care plan differ from a healthcare proxy, healthcare power of attorney or a living will? There are two distinctions between the various healthcare directives offered; One, grants authority, expression of personal wishes. A healthcare proxy or healthcare power of attorney grants legal authority to someone else to make medical and healthcare decisions on one’s behalf. A living will and personal care plan, on the other hand, are a mere expression of the wishes one would like to have happen in the event of their inability to make their own healthcare or medical decisions but does not grant authority to anyone to do anything. It is also important to further distinguish the difference between a living will and personal care plan. A living will traditionally identifies as want end of life healthcare preferences. Typically these relate to resuscitation, blood transfusions, incubation, and the like. Typically one initials each treatment you do not want or signs an overall statement states none be performed. The shortfall of a living will is it only deals with "end of life" medical decisions. A personal care plan, on the other hand, identifies your preference regarding lifetime care, after one becomes unable to make their own decisions.

The LWP™ client centered personal care plan allows clients to identify how often they would like their hair done, the maintenance of their oral hygiene, what they would like to do for entertainment, and hobbies, what to watch on TV, favorite books or authors, foods they commonly eat or do not like to eat, drinks, or continuation of habitual patterns accustomed to (i.e., a glass of wine at night with dinner).

A personal care plan also expresses wishes for attending family events and the terms and conditions of attending them. Most provide that, in attending family events, they are not a "burden" to their loved ones and are able to "derive enjoyment" from it. A personal care plan also provides instructions regarding end of life and integrates all wishes expressed with the authorities granted in the healthcare proxy or healthcare power of attorney. A properly drafted personal care plan also addresses the client's feelings on organ donation, and even funeral and burial instructions. Another great use of personal care plans are for disabled children, created by their parent or guardian to ensure their needs are provided after the parent’s ability to do so.

Now that we are clear on what a personal plan is, is it enforceable? Most states have laws providing that written expression of wishes shall be considered in the care of those who write them. The real question is can you ensure someone will do it? The best way to ensure the plan is followed is to integrate the personal care plan with the clients trust to require the trustee to carry out all of its terms set out in the personal care plan. Allowing the trustee to utilize the assets of the trust, can ensure one’s wishes are maintained. But on a more practical level, a personal care plan serves as a set of instructions for the family so they feel helpful in the care provided for their loved one. A properly drawn personal care plan is a great tool to ensure the client is receiving the care designed as outlined in the personal care plan and more importantly alleviates the stress and guilt for those that love the individual to help provide them what the individual had hoped. Having a personal care plan, clearly beats hanging out in a wheelchair all day in front of a TV.

Don't you agree?

If you want to learn more about Lawyers With Purpose and what we have to offer, join our Thursday, March 12th at 4EST or 7EST for our "Having The Time To Have It All… 3 Time Strategies To Have A Practice With Profit And Purpose".

If you're a Lawyers With Purpose member you already have access to this information on the members website!

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

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Knowing The Breakeven Point… A Must When Pre-Planning!

February 18, 2015

by David Zumpano with No Comment Asset Protection Estate Planning Drafting Software

When Medicaid planning, many practitioners focus on the look back date and the penalty period to identify the best strategy to ensure Medicaid eligibility in the shortest period of time. While that may be true for crisis planning, when preplanning for Medicaid benefits, the look forward period and the breakeven date are critical factors to become eligible in the shortest period of time.

When pre‑planning, practitioners must strategize on two premises; (1) what the worst case scenario would be (if the client fell ill the day after pre‑planning is completed) and compare that to (2) the best case scenario, which occurs when the client stays healthy for 60 months. While crisis practitioners focus on the look back date and review of financial records for the previous 60 months, pre‑planning practitioners must focus on the date of a conveyance (uncompensated transfer) and "look forward" 60 months to determine the timeframe in which the the transfer will be in the purview of a future Medicaid application. Understanding the distinction between the look-back period and the look forward period is critical in determining the breakeven date when preplanning for future Medicaid benefits.

So, what is the breakeven date? It is the date, when pre-planning, that if it is reached, it will be better to wait out the 60 months from the original conveyance date than to convert to a crisis case. The breakeven date is calculated by determining the worst case scenario and comparing it to the best case scenario. The worst case scenario is if the client fell ill the day after pre‑planning was completed. What would be the best case scenario in such an event? To determine that, you would calculate as if it were a crisis case, and determine the "minimum months to qualify", the soonest period in which you would be able to get the client eligible for Medicaid if they came in in crisis. Once you have calculated the minimum months to qualify, and then compare it to the best case scenario, if the client had stayed healthy for sixty months. The breakeven point is simply the best case minus the worst case. Restated the best case is remaining healthy 60 months (the entire look forward period) and the worst case is if it were a crisis case and you calculate the minimum months to qualify.

Let's give an example. Assume a client came into you in crisis and after doing your calculations you are able to determine that you can get them qualified for Medicaid in 23 months. This is done by transferring assets and reserving enough assets to pay through the 23 month ineligibility period. It's pretty straightforward in a crisis case. Assume now the same exact client came in, but was healthy. In preplanning case you would calculate what would happen if the client were in crisis (like we just presumed) and then compare it to the best case scenario (they stay healthy 60 months). In this pre‑planning case the breakeven date would be 37 months (60 minus the minimum months to qualify of 23 months) from when the preplanning was completed.

Therefore in a pre‑planning case if the need for nursing home care occurred within 37 months, you would convert the pre‑planning case to a crisis case at that time and get them qualified in 23 months. If however, the client's need for nursing home care occurred after month 37 (the breakeven point), then instead of converting to a crisis case, you would privately pay until the 60^th month after the original transfer (look forward date). Sounds confusing, but it's really quite simple once you understand these new terms.

To learn about these key terms join our FREE Webinar February 24th on Simplifying Medicaid Eligibility & & Qualified Transfers.

Here's just some of what you'll discover…

Understanding the 12 Key terms of Medicaid
Learn the Qualification Standards: Does Client Meet Needs Tests?
Learn the Medicaid Terms of Art
Learn the Snap Shot, Look Back/Look Forward Distinction: And how to put it all together
At the end of the event receive an ALL STATES Medicaid Planning Resource Guide
…and much, much more!

Just click here to register to reserve your seat… it's 100% FREE!

And you can learn how the LWP-CCS™ Medicaid software can calculate both crisis and preplanning strategies optimal to every client fact pattern: and simplify this otherwise confusing planning opportunity!

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

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First Four Memberships FREE For Joining This DocuBank Webinar!

February 15, 2015

by Lawyers With Purpose with No Comment Estate Planning Drafting Software

Sign up for this exclusive LWP webinar to learn about how you can enhance your firm and protect your clients with DocuBank.

When you attend this webinar, your first four memberships will be FREE. Lawyers With Purpose members enjoy a substantial discount, waived setup fee, and turnkey implementation thanks to LWP software integration.

DocuBank is the leading document-access solution utilized by thousands of estate planning professionals across the country. Clients receive an Emergency Card for 24/7/365 access to their advance directives and an online SAFE for convenient access to their entire estate plan.

You'll also learn about the numerous integrated marketing features for your firm including ongoing touches with your clients that help solidify your lasting client relationships.

Join us Tuesday, February 17th at 2:00 EST. Click here to register now.

Roslyn Drotar, Coaching, Consulting & Implementation – Lawyers With Purpose

The Veterans Administration Proposes 3 Year Look Back On Gifts

January 28, 2015

by Lawyers With Purpose with 3 Comments Asset Protection Estate Planning Drafting Software Legal Technical VA

On Friday, January 23, 2015, the VA issued proposed new Veterans Administration regulations that would penalize wartime veterans up to ten years for making gifts of assets for less than fair market value. The VA is trying to stop what they perceive as lawyers and financial advisors “taking advantage of veterans” when helping them strategically plan to preserve assets and qualify for the Improved Pension benefit.

The proposed changes in regulations would:

Establish a 3 year look back for gifts
Impose penalties for up to 10 years
Create a bright-line net worth standard of $119,220, which includes annual income
Deny any expenses related to independent living facilities as care costs
Require Veterans to sell their home place property if the lot coverage exceeds 2 acres.

How will this work? When a veteran or widow of a veteran applies for the Improved Pension with Aid and Attendance, the VA will ask if any transfers of assets for less than fair market value have been made in the three years prior to the application. If so, the VA will presume it was for the purpose of meeting the VA eligibility standards.

Penalized gifts include gifts of money or assets to children or others, establishing estate plans with the use of trusts, and establishing retirement plans through the use of annuities which can provide a life time income stream.

When a gift has been determined to have happened during the look back period, the VA will calculate the penalty by dividing the value of the gift by the claimant’s pension rate with aid and attendance. Each classification of claimant varies, thus, the penalty periods will be different depending on who makes the claim. The pension rates with aid and attendance are as follows:

(1) Married veteran = $2,120

(2) Single veteran = $1,788

(3) Widow = $1,149

Thus, if a married veteran gives away $15,000 and a widow gives away $15,000, the widow is penalized almost double that of the veteran. (Married veteran $15,000 divided by $2,120 = 7 month penalty; widow $15,000 divided by $1,149 = 13 month penalty.)

Also, because the “net worth” standard will include income, high income earners will be allowed to have low to no savings for emergency items; whereas, very low income earners will be permitted to keep much more in savings. Because of the strict ruling on how the VA plans to define “medical care,” veterans who have dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease or other degenerative diseases and live in independent living facilities because they no longer drive and need a safe environment in which to live, will not be eligible for the benefits because they may not yet the hands on care for bathing, dressing, eating, toileting or transferring (ADLs). Although they are unsafe to live at home due to their health care condition of cognitive decline, the VA refuses to consider any expenses of care for a facility as deductible from the claimant’s income unless the claimant needs assistance with no less than 2 ADLs.

Between 2012 and 2014, Congress introduced two different bills, each imposing a three year look back penalty. Both bills were died. Nevertheless, the VA is moving forward on their own to create the look back and penalties. These changes will not only hurt wartime veterans, specifically WWII and Korean war vets, but it will further exacerbate the enormous claims back logs that already exist.

To fight this from happening, everyone who cares about a veteran must respond. Public comments must be received no later than March 24, 2015 and can be sent through http://www.regulations.gov or by mail or hand-delivery to: Director, Regulation Policy and Management (02REG), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Ave. NW., Room 1068, Washington, DC 20420; or by fax to (202) 273-9026. Comments must include that they are in response to “RIN 2900-AO73, Net Worth, Asset Transfers, and Income Exclusions for Needs-Based Benefits.”

Victoria L. Collier, Veteran of the United States Air Force, 1989-1995 and United States Army Reserves, 2001-2004. Victoria is a Certified Elder Law Attorney through the National Elder Law Foundation, Author of 47 Secret Veterans Benefits for Seniors, Author of Paying for Long Term Care: Financial Help for Wartime Veterans: The VA Aid & Attendance Benefit, Founder of The Elder & Disability Law Firm of Victoria L. Collier, PC, Co-Founder of Lawyers for Wartime Veterans, Co-Founder of Veterans Advocate Group of America.

If are in the Charlotte NC, area, or will be attending our Practice With Purpose Program or our Tri Annual Practice Enhancement Retreat, consider joining Victoria for her Specialty Program on Wednesday, February 4th, and get your initial VA Accreditation through the VA. If you provide legal advice to Veterans about specific VA claims, to include drafting asset protection trusts for VA Benefit qualifications, you MUST be accredited by the VA. Contact Molly Hall at mhall@lawyerswithpurpose.com for registration information.

** Before attending this course, you must have submitted an Application for Accreditation, VA Form 21a, to the Office of General Counsel and received approval.

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Medicaid Planning For Previously Transferred Assets

January 20, 2015

by David Zumpano with No Comment Asset Protection Estate Planning Drafting Software Legal Technical

Many clients who come into my office in search of "qualifying for Medicaid" are concerned about losing their assets. Unfortunately, in many instances they got advice at the beauty shop or coffee shop (and sometimes a lawyer) to give their assets away so that they could be protected if sixty months goes by.

As we know, there is no rule that says a client has to wait 60 months, even if they transferred assets, and we are typically able to get clients qualified in much shorter periods of time, even in crisis. When preplanning, we are also able to protect between fifty and one hundred percent of assets immediately with the proper facts and planning. Understanding this level of planning requires a complete and thorough understanding of the 12 key Medicaid rules and how they apply to each client differently. For a demonstration of how the LWP industry exclusive software documents tally in minutes for any client fact pattern go to https://www.lawyerswithpurpose.com/Estate-Planning-Drafting-Software.php to schedule a software demo.

A key challenge for many clients who have already transferred assets is, how does it figure in in determining their eligibility now, in crisis, or later if they are preplanning. (The answer comes down to two distinctions.)

First, has the transfer been within the sixty months of when they come to see you? If so, the amount of the transfer should be added back to the client's assets as if they still owned them. That is the practical result when applying for Medicaid if within the sixty months of the application. Re-including the assets provides a proper picture of all assets of clients that have to be considered in determining how much can be protected and how much would be lost if the client is in crisis or will require long-term care within sixty months of the transfer.

After re-including the transferred assets, you must then calculate the amount of assets that will be protected and those that will be needed for care (in a crisis case), or, could be needed in a preplanning case, (if care is within sixty months). The key distinction actually comes down to funding. Pre‑transferred assets are a funding issue, not a calculation issue. After adding back the transferred assets and completing the calculations to determine the amount protected, then the first funding task is to allocate the previous transfer to the amount protected and then you only have to fund the balance. If the previous transfers are more than the amount of assets that could be protected, the family must make up for the excess transfer by giving it back (cure). If the amount previously transferred is less than the amount protected then the balance of the assets that can be protected, are thereafter transferred pursuant to the asset protection plan created by the attorney.

While complicated in the written word, with a proper understanding of the law and how to apply it to each client and when you have the software that calculates and supports the law and provides calculations in real time utilizing the Medicaid laws, you are able to confidently help your client protect their assets.

If you are interested in learning more about becoming a Lawyers With Purpose member, consider joining us for our Practice With Purpose Program in Charlotte, NC, February 3rd – 5th. We are almost at capacity and there are only a few seats left so register today!

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

VA Pension Rates Finally Published

January 14, 2015

by Lawyers With Purpose with No Comment Estate Planning Drafting Software Legal Technical VA

Each year, with Congressional approval, Social Security and Veterans Benefits increase incrementally based on a cost of living adjustment increase. For 2015, that amount was 1.7%. For VA benefits, the effective date is December 1, 2014.

Even though those already getting the benefit received their increases, it was impossible for practitioners to advise applicants as to what rate to expect upon approval of a new application because the rates had not been published. As of January 12, 2015, the VA rates can be found at:

http://www.benefits.va.gov/pension/current_rates_veteran_pen.asp for veterans and http://www.benefits.va.gov/pension/current_rates_survivor_pen.asp for survivors (spouses and children).

For a quick breakdown, see below for both the annual and monthly amounts:

2015 VA Pension Rates – Effective 12/1/14

Veterans

Medical Deduction (5% of Maximum Annual Pension Rate) $643 (single) $842 (with dependent)

ANNUAL MONTHLY

Base Pension (single) $12,868 $1,072

Base Pension (w/ dependent) $16,851 $1,404

Housebound (single) $15,725 $1,310

Housebound (w/ dependent) $19,710 $1,642

A&A (single) $21,466 $1,788

A&A (w/ dependent) $25,448 $2,120

Surviving Spouse

Medical Deduction (5% of Maximum Annual Pension Rate) $431

ANNUAL MONTHLY

Base Pension $8,630 $719

Housebound $10,548 $879

A&A $13,794 $1,149

Two Vets Married to Each Other

ANNUAL MONTHLY

Base Pension $16,851 $1,404

One Housebound $19,710 $1,642

Both Housebound $22,566 $1,880

One A&A $25,448 $2,120

One Housebound and One A&A $28,300 $2,358

Both A&A $34,050 $2,837

Victoria L. Collier, CELA, Elder Care Attorney, Co-Founder of Lawyers for Wartime Veterans and Lawyers with Purpose, Veteran, author of 47 Secret Veterans Benefits for Seniors and most recent book, Paying for Long Term Care: Financial Help for Wartime Veterans: The VA Aid & Attendance Benefit.

If you want to learn more about expanding your VA practice, or starting a VA practice, Victoria Collier will be offering a LIVE VA Accreditation Course. She'll be teaching the necessary information for accreditation but also providing updates and practice tips based on current VA practices February 4th in Charlotte, NC. If you provide legal advice to veterans about specific VA claims, you MUST be accredited by the VA. Join us February 4th, where you'll LIVE in the room with Victoria L. Collier for your accreditation. Contact Kyle Russ at kruss@lawyerswithpurpose.com for registration information.

*Before attending the course, you must have submitted an Application for Accreditation, VA form 21a, to the Office of General Counsel, and received approval.

The VAAS™ Difference In VA Benefits Estate Planning Software

January 11, 2015

by David Zumpano with No Comment Estate Planning Drafting Software

I recently read a statistic that indicated one in three seniors are veterans. As estate, elder law and asset protection attorneys, we are often challenged when we encounter seniors in need of care, who are veterans seeking to protect their assets and qualify for Medicaid. The challenge is doing so while ensuring they can also be eligible for the Veterans 'Administration (VA) Aid and Attendance (A&A) benefit without messing up their other planning. Typically, there are three major challenges when doing estate planning, Medicaid planning and VA A&A benefit planning for the same client. First is determining if the veteran is eligible for Aid and Attendance benefits and its impact on the asset protection and Medicaid plan. Second is properly filing the application to ensure benefits are received timely. And third is keeping up the many changes regularly occurring in the VA’s benefits regulations and rules.

To keep up with these critical components of having an Aid and Attendance practice, a practitioner can have the VAAS™ difference to achieve it. VAAS™ is the Lawyers with Purpose Veterans' Administration Application Software. The power of VAAS™ is it takes you through a series of questions that will quickly identify not only if the veteran is eligible for benefits, but also identify the excess assets in planning strategies to make them eligible. It calculates and provides a VA calculation worksheet for you to track your thinking process and the law to support it. Secondly, and critical to the process, is VAAS™ is the only software in the legal industry that completes and prints the Veterans' Aid and Attendance application forms ready for filing.

The interview asks the relevant information on the client and based upon your answers, will properly identify the forms necessary and ask you all the relevant questions to complete them for filing of a benefits claim. And finally, subscribers of VAAS™ software get access to the nation's leading veteran’s benefits attorney, Victoria Collier, who hosts calls three times a month keeping you apprised of the changes in the Veterans' Administration policies affecting Aid and Attendance benefits as they occur as well as provides regular helpful tips and techniques to simplify your A&A practice.

Many of us practicing in the veterans' benefits area understand how complicated it can be when considering the Medicaid and estate planning issues in conjunction with VA benefits planning. That's why it is important to ensure you have the proper internal systems, knowledge and access to industry experts to ensure your VA A&A practice remains cutting edge and gets the results your client wants. For a demo of how the VAAS difference can impact your VA practice click here.

If you want to know more about Lawyers With Purpose, and what it's like to be a member, and part of our community of elder and estate planning attorney's nationally, join us for our Practice With Purpose Program this February 3rd – 5th in Charlotte, NC. But hurry and register today – the hotel cut off is TOMORROW – Monday, January 12th! And we only have 6 spots left!

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