The Key Benefits Of Templates

April 22, 2015

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

Recently we had a member complain that our system "didn't work the way he wanted it to”. We later discovered he was on the ListServ of another major estate planning organization and referred to one of our planning templates for designing and drafting our trusts.

Immediately, many people on the ListServ requested a copy of the template, which he kindly obliged. Aside from violating his licensing agreement and being guilty of conversion, he did not even understand and appreciate the value of what he was providing, while those requesting it, did.

So let's examine why templates are so powerful. Typically, templates are used as a guide for us to create legal documents. The challenge is, most documents are lawyer centered and the template is merely a reflection of the document “options” to ensure you know what options to include. I believe a template should be used to guide the attorney to counsel the client on all options available to achieve the client goals, not just the specific provisions allowed or limited in a particular document creation program. That's where properly drawn templates are extremely powerful.

A properly drawn template must match and tie to the software that actually generates the document and must allow the attorney to utilize any design choice the attorney deems appropriate to achieve the client’s goal. Lawyers with Purpose document templates, have unlimited customization ability that integrates 100% with the software to accommodate it. So rather than being restricted to the options in a typical document instead, a properly created template that's integrated with the software will permit true customization at every element of design in the document being created. A proper template will not only allow you to custom design each and every document to the needs to the client, but more importantly, integrates the custom design into all of the different legal documents together with a single entry.

Our templates integrate all legal issues for the client to consider and when used with the software generates all documents to complete the clients plan with the customizations. This is consistent with the way clients think and more importantly, takes each of the custom drafting options of the client and properly integrates them across all different planning documents with one single entry and one single template. This creates not only better plans, but a more efficient way of designing and drafting them to accomplish the clients overall goals.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of a powerful template is when you make choices on it and when it's implemented into the software, it warns you of inconsistent choices that you have made that threatens the overall plan you've selected for the client. This is where the power of artificial intelligence in the LWP client-centered document creation system is so critical. By using the template it guides the attorney to all of the various counseling issues available to a client in each area of their life. Thereafter choosing the options that are most helpful for the client the template is then shared with a paralegal or drafter in your office who will then translate it into the software to create the will, healthcare proxies, powers of attorney, personal care plan, revocable trust, and irrevocable trust, all from a single entry. What's more powerful, are the custom choices the client makes are integrated into each of those documents, with a single client interview and single entry into the software. As further protection, if the attorney chooses to elect different variable in the planning strategy that are inconsistent with the overall goal of the client the software maintains and keeps track of all choices to alert the attorney if he has created a scenario that might put the client's overall objectives and goals at risk.

So how important and effective can templates be? Can you imagine the power of templates when they're properly designed and integrate with the document creation system? Discover the power of templates to you and your clients and how to utilize them to integrate the planning strategy to achieve client’s goals.

To learn more about our templates and our systems and processes to support your estate and elder law practice, join our Practice Enhancement Event in St. Louis in June. You can check out the full agenda here and see all that it has to offer your estate planning and elder law practice and your team. You do not want to miss this event!

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

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Finally! An Intensive Legal Workshop That Trains Your TEAM On Practice Success

April 21, 2015

by Lawyers With Purpose with No Comment Asset Protection Estate Planning Drafting Software Legal Marketing Systems & Processes Team Building

You’re only one person, and if you want to be successful in your practice, you need to be focused on doing ONLY that which makes you the most money—serving clients, networking with key advisors and handling legal matters.

You should not be answering the phone.

You should not be “babysitting” staff members so they stay on track.

You should not have to get too involved selling your services, either (hint: your staff members should be your most profitable evangelists… if they are not, you have a problem).

…Plus so many other things that you may find yourself “stuck” handling on a daily basis.

Your team members really don’t want to let you down or add more work on your plate; they simply don’t understand where they fit in the big vision of your practice or how to move beyond their “9 am to 5 pm, punch a clock” conditioning that they’ve been taught their whole lives.

That’s why at our Tri-Annual Practice Retreat this year in St. Louis, we are devoting two entire days to training your team for practice success mastery (June 4^th and 5^th).

We are going to transform your staff members into the most profitable assets of your practice!

This training includes our Firm Retreat, which is a dedicated, uninterrupted half-day where we will help create YOUR personalized Law Firm “Money Plan™" that will equip each staff member with a step-by-step blueprint to hitting your revenue goals in just four months!

No more “it’s not my job” attitudes. No more “9-5” mentality.

Our team training event will empower your staff members to work your practice as if it were their very own business and their own capital on the line.

Sound good?

Then don’t wait to register for our Tri-Annual Practice Enhancement Retreat. Bring your staff members to this intensive event but don’t wait, doors close in less than 30 days (May 15^th)! To view the full agenda and pricing information, visit: www.retreat.lawyerswithpurpose.com

Molly Hall

P.S. Think about all of the training you’ve attended to learn how to grow your practice and push beyond limiting beliefs and habits. Why shouldn’t your key staff members do the same? They arguably have the most interaction with your clients and help steer your practice ship each day. Make the wise choice to invest in their success to boost your own: www.retreat.lawyerswithpurpose.com

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Train The Trainers: Speakers School

April 19, 2015

by Lawyers With Purpose with No Comment Coaching & Implementation Legal Marketing

People are constantly writing LWP about what a phenomenal speaker Dave Zumpano is, “That guy you brought in to lead that presentation on IRAs was fantastic, I never attended a CLE event that kept me engaged and I actually felt like I had fun!!”

This is not a “Dave” thing.

On the Practice with Purpose™ evaluations the speakers are rated a 10+++. This is not a Victoria, Susan or Jeff thing.

You’ve heard the saying “Some people have it, some don’t.” At LWP we believe “Some people have the formal training, some don’t.”

The Craft of Training is the ultimate train-the-trainer curriculum. Bob Gabor, Co-Founder of Ridge Associates has experience creating world-class facilitators for over 35 years. Bob has taught the Train the Trainers™ program for the LWP speakers and he’s back to do it again and kick off the June Tri-Annual Practice Enhancement Retreat with a Two Day Pre-Cursor Training.

Train the Trainers™ not only offers new trainers a fast ascent up the learning curve of training, it’s also valuable for seasoned trainers who want to learn the secret to creating learning magic in the room.

What you’ll GET…

Learning Goals

The Craft of Training gives trainers the skills to enrich the quality and impact of learning. Participants will practice and get feedback in three performance-critical areas: platform skills, facilitation skills and process skills.

Platform Skills

Organizing and delivering presentations to teach content crisply
Dramatizing their message with effective body language
Preparing and presenting visual aids that drive home key points

Facilitation Skills

Making presentations interactive by drawing on participants’ expertise in a nonthreatening way
Listening skills to honor the questions and concerns voiced by participants
Leading demonstrations, skill practices, and activities to foster maximum skill development and application
Coaching to refine participants’ skills

Process Skills

Responding to questions with poise and persuasiveness
Debriefing to harvest learnings, forge applications, and demonstrate acceptance of participants’ experiences
Preventing resistance to create a positive climate for learning
Managing resistance to make the most of learning opportunities

AND……

Practice. Participants practice the skill that’s just been explained and demonstrated, using actual situations they face in a workshop setting.
Feedback. Each participant receives behavioral feedback from the trainer and peers, and each person will walk away with a personal video and a video coaching session.
Putting humor in your presentations
Learn how to "anchor" your message
How to engage your audience
Sequencing and transition in your presentation
From platform paralysis to platform perfection

What differentiates Ridge Associates in their Train the Trainers™ Program is the way they teach their training skills: participants will leave this program prepared and inspired to achieve more the very next day. With a suite of customization, reinforcement, and delivery methodology your training and speaking skills will differentiate you in your marketplace, every time.

Train the Trainers—A Speakers School is LIMITED to the FIRST 20 people so reserve your seat NOW as the program will SELL OUT. To register go to click here.

Molly L. Hall, Co-Founder, Lawyers with Purpose, LLC, and author of Don’t Be a Yes Chick: How to Stop Babysitting Your Boss, Transform Your Job and Work with a Dream Team Without Losing Your Sanity or Your Spirit in the Process.

2 Ideas On What We Can Do About Lawyers Who Give Assets To Kids

April 15, 2015

by David Zumpano with One Comment Asset Protection Estate Planning Drafting Software Legal Technical

As an estate planning attorney for 23 years, I cannot count the number of times I have been saddened and frustrated by clients who have given their assets away to their kids to protect them. This advice was inadvertently given from a general practitioning attorney (or sometimes self-professed estate planning attorneys) who convinced the client it was a much "simpler approach" to protect assets. Those of us in the estate planning world know nothing can be further from the truth.

Transferring assets to children has many high risks that clients aren't familiar with. Most commonly, it can create a gift tax filing requirement that is rarely done and results in a “carryover” tax basis to the beneficiary who receives the gift. Many of these general practitioners fluff it off because they may have reserved a life estate for mom and dad, to preserve or step up in basis on the home. While they may be correct on the step up in basis issue, what they have failed to consider is, what is the impact of conveying the house to four kids is after the death of mom and dad? Imagine trying to sell that house and getting the four kids to agree on the price and to even agree whether it's sold or not.

More complex yet, is imagine one of those four kids dies, becomes disabled, ends up in a nursing home, gets divorced, get sued, or goes bankrupt? In all of those scenarios the "simplicity" of just transferring the house to the kids is no longer simple and no longer cheap.

Other challenges occur if the asset is not the home, but rather other assets that mom and dad need to live on. Transferring needed assets to the children now puts all of mom and dad's lifetime of assets and security in the hands of their children. Assuming the children are "good kids" and continue to allow the parents access to those assets is a far cry to begin with, but even if the children were cooperative, the children are still subject claims they have no control over such as lawsuits, their own poor health, their own death, or a divorce. Imagine the child the assets were transferred to who dies of cancer or a car accident and now mom and dad's assets are owned or controlled by the "daughter-in-law".

Obviously lawyers who just routinely transfer assets to another party have not considered the significant disadvantages and more importantly risks to the client. So what are we to do about it?

The first and most important thing for us to do is to continue to educate by blogging, delivering presentations, workshops, seminars, and other ways to be the proper educators of the public and always professionals as to the pitfalls of transferring assets to children. The second and more important thing is to perhaps educate our fellow attorneys by sending newsletters, or even committing to doing a CLE at your local bar association. Don't take this lying down, clients need our support. Get involved and protect clients by ensuring their assets are not transferred out of their control during their lifetime!

For more information on estate planning, asset protect, medicaid planning and VA benefits planning, join us in St. Louis from June 1st-5th. It's everything you need for your estate or elder law practice on education, marketing, operations and team development (you can check out the jam packed agenda here). Make sure to register today as some sessions have limited space. This event is not to be missed if you practice in the estate planning arena!

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

Registration For LWP’s Tri-Annual Practice Enhancement Retreat Is OPEN!

April 15, 2015

by David Zumpano with No Comment Asset Protection Estate Planning Drafting Software Legal Marketing Legal Technical Medicaid Systems & Processes Team Building

Molly here from Lawyers With Purpose. Just a quick heads up that we’ve opened the doors to register for our Tri-Annual Practice Enhancement Retreat, happening June 1-5 in St. Louis, MO.

You won’t want to miss the opportunity to attend one the industry’s most in-depth training programs for Estate and Elder attorneys (and their teams!), focused on helping you:

Freshen up on your legal/technical knowledge and discover new lucrative offerings to weave into your current business model;
Stay up-to-date on changing laws and best practices that affect your business;
Learn how to host consumer-focused presentations, effortlessly fill the room and master the art of “speaking to sell;”
Implement guerilla marketing strategies for any budget that work right away to fill your calendar with high quality estate or elder law clients;
Develop your legal team into efficient and productive staff members who come to the office each day excited to serve your clients with excellence, become your greatest evangelists in the community and love your practice as if it were their own.

It’s a weeklong event with many different trainings and focus sessions to choose from based on YOUR unique needs and the needs of your staff members. Here’s just a little taste of some of the focus sessions and programs offered:

Mastering The Business of Law - A roadmap to increasing office efficiency and revenues.
Adding Insurance Services To Your Law Practice
Train the Trainers: Speaker School- Learn a more strategic way to give presentations that leaves audience members rushing to the podium after your talk to sign up to work with you!
Legal/technical training, including: General Medicaid Laws & Rules, Penalty Period Scenarios, Crisis Planning, Debrief of VA Benefits, Trust Fundamentals, Design Strategy, Strategic Planning for Qualified Assets and more.
Converting Prospects Into Paying Clients– Mastering Client Attraction and Retention, Enrollment with Initial Contact and Initial Meeting and Value Proposition Pair Practice.

Click here now and register today to make sure you reserve your spot! The full agenda is now live for your viewing.

This is your chance to learn from some of the most respected and successful leaders in estate and elder law. These are attorneys that have grown their practices to seven figures and beyond, are doing what you want to do and will openly show you their secrets and how to duplicate their success without costly learning curves or trying to sell you something.

We promise you’ll be ready to hit the ground running with new strategies and plans for explosive growth your first week back in the office!

Jump ahead now to view the full agenda and decide what portion of the program you’d like to attend… or again, consider joining us for the FULL week.

Have questions? Just email me at mhall@lawyerswithpurpose.com and let me know what’s on your mind. I’m happy to personally jump on a call with you and walk you through your options.

Hope to see you in St. Louis!

Molly

Don’t wait: http://retreat.lawyerswithpurpose.com/

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What To Do With A Denied VA Application – Part 2

March 31, 2015

by Lawyers With Purpose with No Comment Legal Technical VA

In a prior blog titled, “What To Do With A Denied VA Application – Part 1" I discussed what you should consider when a VA application is denied and the merit of pursuing an appeal despite the time it can take to prevail. Today’s blog will describe the appeal process as initiated by the Notice of Disagreement (NOD), the formal way to submit a claimant’s disagreement with a VA determination. While a Notice of Disagreement can be drafted in the form of a letter or on a 21-4138, “Statement in Support of a Claim,” there is an official VA 21-0958, “Notice of Disagreement” form that was introduced in 2013. The latest 2015 version of this form can be found at the VA Forms web page http://www.va.gov/vaforms/.

As of March 24, 2015, this form is required to appeal a Service Connected Disability claim, but it is not required to appeal a Non-Service Connected Disability claim. The terms of the form suggest that it is geared more towards service-connected disability claims; however, it can be used for non-service-connected disability claims as well.

Once you have timely filed the NOD, which is within one year from the date on the initial decision letter, the VA will respond with a letter requesting that you select what form of the appeal process you prefer. There are 2 forms of the appeal process at this stage: the Post Decision Review Process and the Traditional Appeal process. You must make this election within 60 days from the date on this letter or your appeal will default to the Traditional Appeal process. The Post Decision Review Process involves the assignment of a Decision Review Officer (DRO) at your regional VA office who will completely review the claims folder as well as any information from the authorized representative. The Traditional appeal process is a review by a VA staff member at the pension management center. In either case, more information may be requested. The Post Decision Review Process is the preferred appeals method as it make be quicker than the Traditional Appeal Process and relies on the greater expertise and experience of the Decision Review Officer to identify adjudication errors.

Regardless of which appeals process you elect, the next step would receiving either an approval or, if not approved, a Statement of the Case (SOC). The SOC is an often, lengthy statement summarizing the VA’s decision and the evidence on which the decision was based as well as providing relevant legal citations. To continue the appeal after receiving the SOC, you must file VA form 9, “Appeal to Board of Veterans’ Appeals” within 60 days from the date of the Statement of the Case. At this level you have the option of requesting a hearing before the BVA, although this will easily extend the processing of your appeal beyond 3 years to 5, or even 7, years depending on the form of hearing.

The appeal process is not difficult in terms of what you need to fill out and when you need to file it. The difficulty lies in managing a process where long periods of time are spent waiting for a response from the VA, punctuated by whirlwinds of activity when you must request and receive information and documentation from your client to draft and submit a response to the VA within a short period of time, regardless of what else may already be on your desk. That is why it is important that your client inform you of any correspondence that they may receive in case you do not receive a copy and that deadlines are scheduled in your firm management system so that they are not missed. Such precautions are the only way to increase the likelihood that your appeals will succeed.

If you want to learn more about Veteran Benefits Planning for you estate and elder law practice, join us June 1st – 3rd for our Practice With Purpose Program. It will teach you not just all you need to know about VA Benefits, but also Asset Protection Planning and Medicaid Planning!

If You Practice in Today's Estate Planning Environment, You Won't Want to Miss This!

Join some of your most successful and forward-thinking peers from around the country at this program where we will discuss, discover, and provide solutions for Asset Protection, Medicaid. & VA Benefits Planning. Register today to reserve you spot! This event will sell out.

By Sabrina A. Scott, Paralegal, The Elder & Disability Law Firm of Victoria L. Collier, PC and Production Coordinator for Lawyers for Wartime Veterans, LLC.

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, Chair, National Academy of Elder Law Attorney’s VA Task Force, 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 With Purpose, LLC.

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Getting Smart With Your Law Firm Marketing Budget – Part 2

March 26, 2015

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

In our previous post Getting Smart With Your Law Firm Marketing Budget – Part 1 we discussed how to cut your marketing budget, and also how not to. Now let’s think about some cost-effective marketing strategies that we all should be doing!

Some marketing techniques to consider:

1) Step Up Your Social Media Activities If You Haven’t Already

If your customers are active on social media, then you should be too. When marketing dollars are low, bump up the time and resources you allocate to Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Claim your business listing on sites like Google Places, Yelp and Yahoo Local. Make sure you monitor those sites and respond to any review. Start a blog, or reinvigorate your existing one. This costs you only your time. I know time is important, but it is a resource, and if you aren’t spending money on marketing, you’ve got to be spending time.

2) Use the Power of Referrals and Don’t Be Afraid To ASK!

Referrals are free and a great tool for spreading the word about your business. Make certain you are asking your clients for them at your synergy meetings and strategy meetings. Run a promotion for “friends of our family” – start a marketing campaign to get existing clients you like and enjoy working with to refer to you. Reach out to them and tell them that, because you like them, you are willing to give “X” to anyone they refer, either a family member or a friend who contacts you within 48 hours, and then decide what that offering is. Maybe it’s a complementary year on your maintenance plan or DocuBank. Be creative and show value to get that phone to ring.

I say to offer this to clients you enjoy because people hang with people like them. Just make sure you have a clear offering and a timeline attached to it. That will get action.

3) Sometimes You Need To Refine Your Marketing Before You Cut – Sometimes Simple Is Better

I often see logos with fancy taglines that say something like “helping families pass on their legacy.” What do you think that means to people exposed to your brand or logo? What if they had no clue what you do and just saw your firm name (say for example it’s Law Offices of Joe Smith) with that tagline? Do you think they would know exactly what you do, and all that you do? Instead, say something like “helping your family with their estate planning goals” or just “the estate planning professional for your family.” Sometimes too fancy doesn’t connect or resonate.

So ask yourself, how can you refine your tagline – or any other strategy you have – to strengthen your marketing message and grow revenue?

4) Get Out in Your Community

Another low-cost but high-profile approach that works well for small businesses is getting involved with community events and programs. We have a listing on our members site of national events by month. Look at it, and find some events where you can reach out to your community and support them. A business that is active in the community often wins the hearts and minds of consumers. Plus, it’s often easier on your pocketbook than other marketing programs.

5) Be Strategic About What You Cut

If any tactics aren’t working for you, don’t be afraid or hesitant to cut them. I know we push hard for a six-month commitment before you cut so you can verify that it’s not working. I had a member tell me his ad wasn’t doing anything. He only got a “few calls” for his workshop from it, so he was pulling the ad. However, he also wasn’t doing any reporting, so those two calls were probably more like four. I encouraged him not to cut it, because if you get two calls and you aren’t tracking, then you can probably truly allocate more than that number off the top of your head. He cut the ad at four months, and in month five, he had people calling for his workshop from his ad. Pulling that ad hurt him, and he lost traction.

I also had a member who, at the fourth month of his newspaper ad, had not one call. Zero calls, and he WAS tracking. We had to stop the bleeding and decided that the demographic may not be ideal where he was. We put that money toward marketing online and got some leads. And we started focusing more on RMS and filling his pipeline.

So you have got to evaluate often, and if you are seeing any movement whatsoever, stick with the program AND REVIEW YOUR REPORTING before making your final decision.

If you want to know more about what Lawyers With Purpose has to offer, please join us Monday at 8 EST for our free Having The Time To Have It All webinar.

In this one hour webinar, you will learn how all entrepreneurs have the same amount of time in the day and how they use it differently.

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

It will give you the confidence and path to create a law practice that provides estate planning, elder law, asset protection, Medicaid, veterans benefits, special needs, and tax planning in a way that helps your clients and your community!

Most importantly, you will be able to ensure your clients are able to maintain their dignity as they age and protect the assets they have worked their whole life for.

If you're passionate about helping people, reserve your space for this one hour webinar essential to help you break through your time restrictions to help more people and create more value!

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

Roslyn Drotar – Internet Marketing Strategist, Lawyers With Purpose

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Tips On Calculating Payments From IRAs

March 24, 2015

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

Many practitioners inquire whether the Social Security actuarial tables or the IRS minimum distribution tables should be used when determining the required minimum distribution (RMD) of an IRA to ensure their client qualifies for Medicaid. So what is the proper tables to use?

In typical lawyer fashion, the answer is, it depends. 42 USC Section 1396(b)(c)(1)(G)(ii) provides for annuity to be actuarial sound, and not considered an uncompensated transfer, the annuity must pay out over the life expectancy of the annuitant "in accordance with the actuarial publications of the Office of the Chief Actuary of the Social Security Administration." The same is true when determining the proper payout on a promissory note or mortgage as outlined in 42 USD 1396p (c)(1)(I). How does this differ from the required minimum distribution tables published by the Internal revenue service and what is the relevance?

Sections 401, 403, and 408 of the Internal Revenue code outlines requirements regarding retirement accounts. Upon attaining age 70½ required minimum distributions are required under the tax laws is based on the RMD tables published. In comparison, the Social Security tables are very different, and in some circumstances the IRS tables require nearly half the RMD that the Social Security life expectancy tables require. So how do you be certain which one you use?

To keep it simple, to remain compliant with the tax laws, the IRS tables must be utilized in determining the required minimum distribution to avoid any adverse tax penalties for failing to withdraw the minimum amount required. Medicaid and benefits planning, however has a different standard is that the Medicaid law specifically refers to the Social Security Administration table in determining the actuarially sound calculation of any annuity owned by a Medicaid applicant.

So the proper table to use will depend not on the law, but on which table your Medicaid department uses. While the law is clear that it requires the Social Security tables, many states allow the IRS RMD tables and some states even exempt an annuity if the IRA is simply in a "payout status. Once you are clear on how your state identifies an “actuarially sound” annuity or promissory note, you will have your answer. So, one final responsibility is to ensure when the Social Security tables are used, the amount required to be withdrawn is equal to or more than the minimum amount required by the IRS RMD tables. That ensures a client’s benefits’ planning is also tax compliant. Conversely, if a client is not doing benefits planning, then relying on the IRS RMD tables may result in a lower minimum distribution requirement.

If you are not a Lawyers With Purpose member, and would like to know more about who we are and the benefits we can bring to your estate and elder law practice, join our FREE Having The Time To Have It All webinar Monday at 8:00 PM EST.

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

How To Tell If You’re A Trust Mill

March 19, 2015

by David Zumpano with No Comment Estate Planning Drafting Software

Sometimes the hardest part of doing something, is getting started and knowing where to begin. Imagine if you had a template to guide you through your day. Wouldn't it be easier. The same is true when drafting estate planning. The challenge becomes how to utilize templates, and not become a "mill". I often ask attorneys if you look at the last ten estate plans you've done, what has changed other than the names and the beneficiaries? If you fall into this trap, you may be a "mill" already.

So how do you ensure you address all the issues with planning and have the freedom to create custom documents without doubling the time it takes to draft the document? Having a document creation system that meets the needs of creative lawyers, ensures all legal technical requirements of today's planning is addressed requires much more than a "fill-in-the-blank" software program. It actually requires your software to have artificial intelligence. When the LWP document creation system was created, it was created with a client-centered approach.

What does that mean? All document creation systems are lawyer centered, that is they ask questions of the lawyer as to what legal provisions they want in the documents. The LWP software was designed in the inverse inquiring of the needs and goals of the client, (estate planning, asset protection, benefits planning, or tax planning), and after identifying the clients personal and financial distinctions, all is entered and the software uses its preset intelligence to integrate all of the proper legal terms into all the various estate planning document to ensure the clients wishes actually occur. Since the software is client centered, a single interview generates all the estate planning documents ( will, HCP, PIA, personal care plan, revocable and irrevocable trusts) that assuring all of them are integrated in all the key needs of the client.

The beauty of this type system is that when speaking with clients you're not asking whether they want a power of appointment, but you're asking them questions about whether they would like their spouse or someone else to be able to change the planning upon their incapacity or death and if so, then you even have the ability to determine when and how (during life, after incompetency, after death, after remarriage, ect.)

The significance of this software is that it knows the questions relevant to each of the four categories of planning a client chooses and has created the decision trees internally to make the drafter of issues they may not have considered or if they choose confliction provisions. The greatest advantage, however is, different choices the client is able to make to be confident in their plan. Perhaps the greatest advantage of the client-centered software is for the attorney is that it has over 4,900 combinations of occurrences and allows the attorney to customize any individual part of the plan.

Assume two people are buying a car. While they may both buy the same model, each typically chooses different options on the car. This is how typical estate-planning software works. What makes the LWP software different is it is like going to a web site and choosing a car or an SUV or a pickup truck and then identifying what particular things are important to you on that car and then go through and design every part of it as you deem appropriate. For example you can opt the A package which has power windows and door locks or you can opt to customize the color of the knobs on the radio if you so desire.

Sound complicated? Well, it is, if you're the programmer developing the artificial intelligence (already done!), but it's quite simple if you're the attorney using it. All you need is a template. As you go through the template it helps identify all the triggering events in the decision tree and allows you to use preselected choices most commonly used by attorneys (typically three to five) or allows you to customize any particular provision to your specific desire. Now that's client centered!

I get two typical responses from lawyers that use the client-centered software. One is "This software doesn't do X." That typically comes from the attorneys who are unwilling to take the time to become familiar with client centered approach. The other answer we typically receive is holy moly, I cannot believe how much I can do with this software and it’s amazing how it all integrates. It’s amazing! Once you go client centered, you’ll never go back to lawyer centered. If you're a non-member and want to know more about our estate planning drafting software, click here for a live demo of our client centered software.

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

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How To Completely Understand The Rule Of Halves

March 11, 2015

by David Zumpano with One Comment Asset Protection Estate Planning Drafting Software

Many Medicaid planning practitioners are aware of the rule of halves, but it is an area of confusion for many attorneys newer to the practice. Where does the rule of halves come from? Is it codified? Well, sort of. To understand the rule of halves you have to first understand the Medicaid law and then understand math.

42 USC 1396p (c) (1) (e) provide a penalty period shall be imposed on any individual who transfers assets for less than its fair market value (uncompensated transfer). The law further states the penalty shall be calculated by taking the amount of the uncompensated transfer and dividing it by the average cost of one month's nursing home in the region in which the Medicaid applicant resides. That is all the law states, so the question becomes where does the rule of halves come from? That's where math comes in. In essence in light of the law identified, if you take any amount of money and divide it by two, the half you gave away will create a penalty period equal to what the half kept will pay.

If an individual has $100,000.00 of excess assets, and gives half away, the $50,000.00 transfer will create a penalty period that will always equal the period the retained amount will pay thru. Assuming a regional divisor of $5,000.00, the penalty on the $50,000.00 transfer would be 10 months, and the $50,000.00 retained would thereby pay 10 months in a nursing home ($5,000.00). While the rule of halves, in its purest form, makes sense in practice, it's a little more complicated because one of the fallacies in using rule of halves, is it presumes that the regional divisor actually equals the cost of care (even by law it supposed to, it often doesn’t).

In the same example if you gave away $50,000.00 in a location the divisor is $5,000.00, it would create a 10-month penalty period, but, if the cost of care was actually $6,000.00, then the $50,000.00 retained would not pay through the 10-month penalty period (you would need $60,000). The federal Medicaid law requires the state to publish at least annually, the average cost of one‑month's private paid nursing home (regional divisor). Each state however, has their own way to calculate this and most facilities are above (rarely below) that regional rate. A few states (Illinois for example) have made the divisor the actual cost of care at the facility where care is being provided. That negates any concerns about the effectiveness of the rule of halves calculations.

Finally, when planning using the halves calculation, one must also consider the income of the Medicaid recipient. When a cost of care in excess of the divisor, creates in a shortfall of retained funds needed to pay through any penalty period, failing to take income into account, often creates excess resources for the client at the end of the penalty period, which will render them ineligible.

To illustrate, assume again an individual had $100,000.00 excess assets and transferred $50,000.00 with a monthly divisor was $5,000.00. The $50,000.00 transferred would create a 10-month penalty and the $50,000.00 retained would pay through the 10‑month penalty. All other things being the same, at the end of 10 months, with the recipient in a nursing home, they're not spending their monthly income (assume $1,200.00 Social Security) the client would have accumulated an additional $12,000.00 ($1,200.00 a month times 10 months) and have excess resources and therefore not be eligible for Medicaid until additional spend-down and penalty may be created.

Proper planning utilizing the rule of halves assumes an analysis of the actual cost of care, the actual regional divisor and the actual income of the recipient are considered. The LWP Medicaid Qualifying software automatically calculates the optimal client assets to transfer and retain considers the actual cost of care, the regional divisor and the clients actual income.

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