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Essential Things For Your Bottom Line

by with No Comment Coaching & ImplementationSystems & Processes

Are you tracking your closing rate?  You should be, if only for self-evaluation.  Your Pipeline Focuser™ will quickly show how many prospects became clients at each of your Initial and Vision Meetings™ If your closing rate average is lower than 70% you should investigate further.

Bigstock-Bottom-Line-Blackboard-Means-N-62902642A low closing rate is not always attributable to the attorney’s lack of skill in the Initial or Vision Meeting™ Sometimes the prospect just isn’t qualified to move forward. While it would be great if your staff could weed out those unqualified prospects before you invest your time in meeting with them, if they attended a workshop and you promised a complimentary Vision Meeting™ then you don’t have much choice.

However, if your closing rate is low and your prospects are largely not qualified, then consider investing time to improve your skills.  

On the LWP member website, in the Vision Meeting™ folder (located in the Estate Processes tab), there are four videos designed to help you “close the deal.” Two of them deal specifically with boosting your closing rate by using the Vision Clarifier™. 

Are you using the Vision Clarifier™? It’s the tool that visually demonstrates the solution to issues identified in the audit. If you’re skipping this tool, then you’re not visually demonstrating your recommended solution(s).

During the workshop, the attorney tells stories that are memorable, colorful and interesting.  Using a PowerPoint presentation, the attorney is able to anchor stories that are easily visualized by attendees. Adding props such as the little red wagon and the dollar bill maintains interest in the illustrations.

At the subsequent Vision Meeting™ the attorney continues educating prospects in a one-on-one setting by connecting the workshop stories to the Estate Planning Audit™ and then demonstrating solutions with the “Vision Clarifier™, leading directly to the firm fee schedule.

This is where the “rubber meets the road.” The bottom line truly is do you believe in the solution you are recommending? Are you able to clearly see the value? If you are, you won’t hesitate when it comes to quoting your fee.  That printed fee schedule you worked so hard to develop will boost your confidence and demonstrate to the prospect that you are not pricing based on his/her assets. You really do have set fees.

I invite you to track your own numbers.  If prospects walk out of your office, “wanting to think about it,” the odds begin to dramatically decrease that they will become clients anytime soon. Being able to properly demonstrate the benefits of your proposed plan in that first meeting is a priceless skill. Putting in the time to hone and improve this skill will have exponential impact on your bottom line.

If you want to learn more about the Lawyers With Purpose Client Enrollment Process™, join us in Charlotte, NC, February 3rd-5th for our Practice With Purpose Program.  There are only a few seats left so register today!

Nedra Catale – Coaching, Consulting & Implementation, Lawyers With Purpose

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When To Dismantle ILIT’s For Today’s Clients

by with No Comment Estate Planning Drafting SoftwareLegal Technical

I meet with many clients who come in and have an ILIT, (Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust), which was set up in the 1990s or 2000s as part of their estate plan.  ILIT’s are typically used when a client is subject to Estate tax and wants to ensure the value of life insurance is not taxed in their estate. They were much more popular in the 90’s and early 2000’s when the estate tax limits were much lower.  The question is, are they still needed?

Bigstock-Chain-breaking-48224465A strong argument can be made that a vast majority of clients (99.8 percent) who have ILITs no longer need them because the estate tax levels have risen to a point where they only affect 2 out of 1,000 clients.  So, what do we do with the old ILIT? 

One strategy is to continue them and let them play out as intended.  A second option is to dissolve the trust under state law, get the insurance policy and any cash value back to the grantor and have the grantor create a new irrevocable pure grantor trust that would ensure asset protection for the grantor but allow the grantor full control, as trustee, the ability to modify it as to any and all changes make other than making it available back to the grantor.  The greatest benefit however is that it would allow the grantor to add other assets to the trust to benefit those intended now, during life rather than just after the grantor’s death. 

There are two key steps to dissolve an irrevocable trust.  First, to identify your state law for termination of an irrevocable trust, typically, by the consent of all the parties.  Second, to identify under the state statutes who the beneficial interest would go to, that is back to the grantor, or to the beneficiaries.  If there's a way to get it back to the grantor that yields the greatest result so the grantor's life insurance and other assets can be combined and utilized for the benefit of the grantor's beneficiaries during lifetime and after death with full complete asset protection and complete access and control by the beneficiaries. If your state statute requires the ILIT be distributed to the beneficiaries, then the key would be to identify the fewest number of beneficiaries and have them receive the benefits and create a "third party irrevocable pure grant trust" (otherwise known as a KIT™).  Under this strategy the benefits could be used for the grantor and others, depending on the trust design.  Typically, the ILIT beneficiaries create a trust for the benefit of a larger class of beneficiaries outside of themselves or limit what they are entitled to, to protect the trust corpus.

There are a lot of ILITs out there and obviously maintaining them is the "easier" thing to do.  I question however, if they still serve the goal of the client.  Terminating these trusts and creating new, more user friendly trusts may ultimately have a better impact on the client and the plan they are trying to accomplish, the key question are you up to speed on helping them to accomplish this effectively and efficiently? 

To learn more, join us for our Practice With Purpose Program, February 3-5th, in Charlotte, NC.

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

 

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Medicaid Planning For Previously Transferred Assets

by with No Comment Asset ProtectionEstate Planning Drafting SoftwareLegal 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. 

Bigstock-Estate-Planning-Word-Circle-Co-60362105As 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

 

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Annual Termination Of VA Aid & Attendance

by with No Comment Legal TechnicalVA

We just started a New Year and many recipients of the VA Pension with Aid and Attendance will lose their benefits this year.  Why?  Because of a letter VA applicants receive after they have been approved for benefits. The first letter, issued in January 2013, contained the news, originally given in a VA press release on December 20, 2012, that the annual Eligibility Verification Report (EVR) was no longer a requirement. For individuals who had experienced the “old” EVR process, this was quite exciting. 

Va_specialty_frontWhy the excitement? The EVR was the yearly submission by the Veteran to update the VA with current income and medical expenses.  It is a tedious task, both for our clients who had to keep records of all medical expenses and for law firms who cannot charge for these additional services. Foregoing this task saves time and stress.

Why did the VA discontinue the practice? According to the press release, the VA stated that the change allowed them to:

(1)   Reallocate the staff who had processed the EVRs to instead tackle the compensation claim backlog, and

(2)   The VA could now obtain current income information directly from Social Security and the Internal Revenue Service. 

This sounds like a beautiful plan.  However, in the absence of updated unreimbursed medical expenses (UME), which is what reduces the “countable income” to meet VA eligibility criteria, the VA will continue to use the last reported medical expenses when reviewing eligibility for ongoing years. This means that for any VA beneficiary whose medical expenses are just high enough to offset their income at the time of application, may have benefits terminated with future increases in income (cost of living adjustment increases, etc.).   Therefore, while the VA says that it does not require annual reviews, it is important to meet with your VA benefits clients to assess changes in income and medical expenses that could impact receipt of VA benefits. The best time to meet is after the tax deadline of April 15 when it can be expected that your clients have gathered the prior year’s medical expenses in order to file their tax returns.

Use VA form 21P-8416 when updating medical expenses for the VA. The VA will consider UMEs submitted through December 31st of the following year for the prior year’s “eligibility period” in which the UME was paid.  For example, you have until December 31, 2015 to submit UMEs incurred and paid for during the calendar year 2014. It is not necessary to provide receipts of those medical expenses as long as the VA Form 21P-8416 clearly identifies the nature of the expense, the provider, the date, and for whom the expense was paid. Along with the 21P-8416 for actual unreimbursed medical expenses for the prior year (i.e. 2014), it is also recommended to complete an additional VA Form 21P-8416 with “projected” UMEs for the current year (i.e. 2015). These are both filed with VA Form 21-4138, Statement in Support of Claim, requesting that the VA consider these medical expenses. This should be submitted to the pension management center where you file your pension claims. You will generally only get a response from the VA to this submission when it requires a change in the monthly VA benefit; otherwise, the only indication that the submission has been received, considered and accepted is the continuation of the claimant’s monthly benefit.

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're interested in learing more from Victoria L. Collier, join us in Charlotte, NC, February 4th, where she will be LIVE in the room offering VA Accreditation.  We only have a FEW SPOTS left so register NOW with Kyle Russ at kruss@lawyerswithpurpose.com.

 

VA Pension Rates Finally Published

by with No Comment Estate Planning Drafting SoftwareLegal TechnicalVA

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.

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Start At The End And Work Backwards

by with No Comment Coaching & ImplementationSystems & Processes

To make sure I get things done, I create long lists, checking them off, and take my calendar out and schedule everything working backwards from where I currently am.  

Perhaps that's why I am so sold on LWP's project planning tools.  The project planners are built with the end project in mind, and help you and your team work backwards.  

Bigstock-Vector-illustration-of-turn-si-45373129 (1)Any major project that you are contemplating — RMS, a Maintenance Program, a marketing plan — should begin with the Idea Focuser.  Is this project worthwhile?  What will be the benefit?  What is the expected outcome and how will it impact the practice? Without a clear vision of the goal, you and your team will find it difficult to implement change.

Next comes the Implementation Focuser.  The Implementation Focuser should ideally be used in a team session to identify areas of responsibility and anticipate and plan for potential roadblocks.  The Implementation Focuser helps to break down the project into smaller steps and allocate responsibility and deadlines for each step.

If you're a Lawyers With Purpose member, these tools can be found in the Firm Resources Tab, in the Planning and Goal Setting Folder (if not, contact us so we can tell you more about them).  

So, what's needed to successfully implement a new project?

1.  A clear idea of the benefit of the project.  What, exactly, is the anticipated outcome and why is this important?  What will be the return on investment?  After the anticipated work and cost of the project, what will be the payoff?

2.  What will the finished project look like?  Before the project is begun, every team member should have a clear view of all of the details of the finished project.  What is the goal?  What will success look like?  How will it work?  Who will be responsible for the continued well-being of the project once it is completed?

3. Anticipate the roadblocks, and allocate responsibility and deadlines.  Plan for the bumps in the road. 

4. Schedule weekly project reviews.  This doesn't have to be an additional meeting.  This can be covered during your weekly team meeting.  But, be aware that responsibility without accountability will get you nowhere.

5. Celebrate milestones and completion of the project.  Acknowledge team contributions and mark the date. Mark the date so that, going forward, you can track the impact your new project has on the successes of your firm.  You may want to have before and after numbers in order to measure the success of the project.

If you and your team are contemplating the implementation of big projects in 2015, be sure to document your projects, and include your CC&I coach in the planning process.

If you would like to know more about Lawyers With Purpose and the tools we have to offer to help build and grow your estate or elder law practice, join us in a few weeks in Charlotte, NC, for our Practice With Purpose Program.  We still have a few spots left so register today!

Nedra Catale – Coaching, Consulting & Implementation, Lawyers With Purpose

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Creating A Law Firm Marketing Budget

by with No Comment Legal Marketing

Creating a marketing budget is an important piece of your marketing plan. The goal is to create a realistic plan of action to help improve revenue, and determining your spending is an important part of that process. 

Without a budget, you can overspend – or fail to spend enough – on your marketing.  There are three steps to creating a marketing budget:

  1. Organize your financial information
  2. Determine where to spend your marketing dollars
  3. Set up reports and make adjustments 

Bigstock-Budget-Word-on-strings-65283823Let's dig into each step to spell out what is involved.

STEP #1 – ORGANIZE YOUR FINANCIAL INFORMATION

You have to understand your finances first.  You need to know how much money your company makes on a monthly basis and the variations that might exist.  This step will take time, but it’s important, because you cannot create a realistic budget based on estimated numbers. 

This is why in CCI we push so hard for a monthly goal with the Revenue Focuser tool.  Although income can vary significantly throughout the year, you must organize the information based on reliable revenue.

Reliable revenue is the minimum amount of money your company makes each month.  For example, if you range from 5k to 7k per month, any amount over 5k cannot and should not be added to the budget because it is not reliable.

Now you need to take that reliable revenue number and subtract your monthly expenses.  This is your rent, office supplies, keeping the lights on, payroll, and any other overhead. A realistic budget will focus on income that exceeds the expenses, not the total revenue that comes in.  This is your disposable income.  When you have determined the amount of disposable income, you will need to decide where that money will go.  Marketing is only one area you need to consider, of course.  You also need to put some of this money aside for unexpected costs and future growth.

Divide up that disposable income based on the goals of your firm.  So, for example, if your immediate goal is to get more prospects in the door, you would put your money into the marketing budget. You will want to put off hiring until your client base is bigger.

If your goal is to hire someone to increase your bandwidth, then put more of your disposable income into growth and set aside less for your marketing budget.

If you don’t have disposable income, your marketing budget is 0.  You need to hit the RMS to fill your pipeline, which is a different conversation.  Eighty percent of your time needs to be out eyeball to eyeball, developing relationships. 

These are the main considerations when you’re deciding what you will consistently be putting toward your marketing, so this is what you’ll need to nail down. 

STEP #2 – DETERMINE WHERE YOU WANT TO SPEND MARKETING FUNDS

After you know the amount available to spend on marketing, the next part of creating a solid budget is to organize how you’ll be spending that money.  Three main factors contribute to how to spend marketing funds: (1) the size of your budget; (2) your past experience; and (3) where you can reach your target market.

Let’s start with (1), the size of the budget.  If you have a small budget, you’ll want to start with small print ads, online ads, social media and email advertising to bring in new clients.  A larger budget would include radio or television ads to hit a wider range.  So be responsible with the size of your budget.

Then (2), past experience – what has or hasn’t worked for you in the past?  If you noticed that promoting your workshop with newsletter and small print ads brings in leads, then do it again and again.  Keep that in your budget.  Even if you have the means for more expensive alternatives, continue to commit to the things that work.

Finally (3), decide where you can reach your target market.  Start this process by writing down a description of who your target market is.  For most of us, it’s the baby boomers and sandwich generation.  And think about which media they use.  For baby boomers, it’s more than likely a locally circulated paper.  But for the sandwich generation, what websites do they frequent, and how can you be relevant on the social media they use?  Write down where they are and this is where you should be advertising. 

If you are testing something new – a good rule of thumb is to start with a smaller budget and test the waters before making a larger financial commitment.  After you determine if it will work, you can add more funds into that new marketing channel or opportunity. 

STEP #3 – REVIEW YOUR TRACKING AND REPORTING!  WEEKLY! AND ADJUST!

The final step is to analyze the data.  Look at what’s working and what’s not working.  From there you should make adjustments to improve revenue.  Anything with marketing needs to be tied to generating revenue.  If it doesn’t generate revenue, remove it altogether and try something new.

Knowing this information, and looking at your reporting weekly during your marketing meeting, is the most important part of maintaining your marketing budget and plan. 

You must looking at past performance and know with certainty whether revenue has increased, decreased or stayed the same.  You should be able to tie each of your marketing dollars and efforts to what you’re tracking and reporting.  Make adjustments for things along the way.  Increase your budget on the things that are working.  Pull the plug on the things that are not working.

Having a marketing budget is not enough.  You have to be able to take action based on your reporting.

Your budget helps you avoid overspending on your marketing and holds you accountable for taking advantage of opportunities and cutting off the things that aren’t working so you can put the money someplace else.  That helps you find the best solutions to meet your business goals. 

If you want to learn more about Lawyers With Purpose join us February 3rd – 5th in Charlotte, NC, for our Practice With Purpose Program.  You don't want to miss this event about Asset Protection, Medicaid & so much more to build your estate and elder law practice.  

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

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The Pitfalls Of Aged Distribution

by with 4 Comments Asset ProtectionEstate Planning Drafting SoftwareLegal Technical

Many lawyers counsel clients to make distributions to beneficiaries at certain ages.  Typically it’s distributed one-third at 25, one third at 30 and one third at 35 or some variation thereof.  This is a mistake on many levels. 

Bigstock-Banana-Peel-43463881In fact, when properly examined, it’s contrary to most clients’ goals. Many clients’ primary goal with staged distributions is to “protect” the assets for the beneficiary.  Jane was a client with only one son who was going to inherit all of her $750,000.00.  She was concerned about his ability to manage it so she asked me to distribute it in staged distributions so he had time to come to understand how to manage it. 

After Jane died her son, Bob, was disappointed to learn that his mom “didn’t trust him”.  I shared with Bob that his mom adored him but just wanted to “protect him” from his inexperience of other “good intending” people.  Well the rest of the story played out and after the first five years, Bob had blown through his first distribution. When he was entitled to his second distribution he actually asked the trustee not to give it to him and asked how he can better manage it to ensure that it was protected from being lost like his first third.

When Bob was entitled to his final distribution, five years later, his portfolio had grown over seventy percent from when mom died.  Today, Bob still has all his money and what it’s grown to and it’s protected from his predators and creditors.

We accomplished this by permitting distributions at the discretion of the trustee, who, by the way, was Bob, rather than forcing the distribution out.  The downsides of staged distribution at different ages is that it forces the money out of the asset protection trust and makes it available to all the creditors and predators of the beneficiary.  When properly designed, like for Bob, the assets can be held for the beneficiary with the beneficiary in full control of when distributions are made out of the trust to them.  Not only will this assure asset protection but it will also assure all of the growth of the assets will be protected while allowing the beneficiary access to the use and benefit of the money for their entire lifetime.

In fact, when examined closely, beneficiaries usually use the trust funds to purchase assets like a home or vacation property.  This subjects the new asset to the creditors and long term care costs of the beneficiary.  All these risks are avoided, when the beneficiary has his separate share asset protection trust purchase the asset.  Before you design a plan that  forces money out of protection trusts, consider instead educating your client into how a lifetime asset protection trust with the kids in control can ultimately serve the clients’ needs. 

To learn more about Asset Protection Strategies and how Irrevocable Pure Grantor Trusts meet many needs of clients not traditionally considered join us at our Asset Protection & Medicaid Practice With Purpose Program.  Hotel cut off is January 12th so register today.  This event will sell out!

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

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Congratulations To Douglas Ocker, LWP Member Of The Month

by with No Comment Legal MarketingSystems & ProcessesTeam Building

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

I joined LWP in 2013. I felt I lost control of my law firm to my employees, as they had the hammer over my head due to the power of one. How could I replace them if they were the only one knowing how to perform a particular task? LWP was the answer. With video webinars and a systematic process, including spreadsheets and flowcharts, I could train a replacement employee in a few days. So thanks to the LWP system, the hammer was in my hand, not their hand. I no longer have paralegals. This is my greatest success. Practicing elder law is fun again.

DSC_1709What is your favorite LWP tool? 

I do not have a favorite LWP tool. The LWP system is a complete system, i.e. a toolbox. The toolbox holds every tool an Elder Law attorney will ever need. These tools include document preparation tools, marketing tools, law office management tools, video instructional tools, and so on. Just go to the website and open the toolbox for the job at hand. Even the email list serve is an open ended tool for your use. 

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

We have a TEAM now, and I love it! Every team member knows their job description, and LWP has a system in place for each team member. We have an attorney and CEO, a Client Service Coordinator, a Marketing Coordinator, a Bookkeeper and Document Preparation person (my wife, Sueanne), and two part-time analysts for VA and Medicaid document preparation.

Life is good!

VA Benefits Training – Not Just For Lawyers

by with No Comment Estate Planning Drafting SoftwareLegal TechnicalVA

VA Pension Benefits Expert, Victoria Collier, is providing a live three hour VA Accreditation Training on February 4, 2015 in Charlotte, NC for just $249!  But space is limited so register today!

The course meets all the initial accreditation requirements as well as on-going VA accreditation needs.

While that is essential for lawyers to continue to help Veterans, the course is also very instructive for support staff who actually do the day-to-day work to push the applications through.  Although legal assistants and paralegals will not get CLE credit to take this course, it is an excellent primer and update of what’s happening now at the VA.  Every person in the office who touches your VA claims would benefit from this training.

Make a commitment to train yourself and train your staff.  You can learn together at the next live event hosted by Lawyers With Purpose.  To register email Kyle Russ @ kruss@lawyerswithpurpose.com.  

Lawyers With Purpose 

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