Why You Should Leave Your Assets To Loved Ones

We Have MOVED!!!

2010-12-22T17:38:00.000-05:00

We have moved our blog site to MPS Success! Please visit our new blog site and subscribe to receive all of our informational posts!

See you over there!

Dave and the MPS Success Team

BEWARE OF BIFF AND BAMBI

2010-12-01T00:20:00.000-05:00

Joan and Bob recently met with a MPS attorney to determine what they need to consider in creating an estate plan. Bob and Joan were in their mid 60s and had been married for 39 years. They had three children and managed to accumulate about a half a million dollars in assets over their life time. They are living comfortably on their Social Security and pension, and only access the income off of their assets when they want to splurge.

In order to help Joan and Bob determine the best plan, the MPS attorney took them through a series of 15 questions, and also reviewed their current estate plan to identify which of the 15 estate planning issues their current plan accomplished. As the MPS attorney identified multiple issues not currently provided for in their plan, he/she dug deeper to determine if the individual issues were significant to Bob and Joan. The MPS attorney asked whether they were concerned about their spouse remarrying after their death. Both responded with a laugh, and said not the least bit concerned and were confident that even if they did remarry, they would never hurt the children. Bob and Joan were confident they wanted to ensure that what they had worked for their entire life ultimately got to their children.

The MPS attorney explained that while they currently did not have these concerns, in his experience, the emotional trauma one goes through with the loss of a loved one, often triggers reactions one cannot anticipate. He encouraged them to consider implementing protecting against remarriage into their plan so a new spouse could not usurp the benefits of their lifetime of efforts from the children. The MPS attorney jokingly referred to this risk as Biff and Bambi. He further explained, he wanted to help them ensure the money did not end up with Biff, the pool boy, or Bambi, the bar maid. Again, they laughed and assured him this was not a concern of theirs, and indicated that it was not a priority and they did not include it in their planning.

About nine months later, Joan was diagnosed with a serious cancer, and died three months after diagnosis. Bob came into the office distraught, and the MPS attorney assisted him with conveying all of Joan’s assets to his name. About six months later, Bob returned giddy and happy with a young blonde woman, 20 years his junior. He instructed the MPS attorney he wanted to change his estate plan to ensure if anything had happened to him, his new friend “would be provided for”.

The MPS attorney reminded Bob of the goals and objectives he had set with his original wife, and Bob replied not to be concerned as he was very confident about what he was doing. The MPS attorney in good conscious told Bob he could not assist him in this matter, and required he seek other counsel. Bob was disappointed, but immediately got up and left, and sought other counsel to accomplish his objectives.

Each one of us knows a story of someone close to us, or a family friend, who lost their spouse while they were in their early retirement years. We’ve also heard the story of when new found love creeps in and changes the perspective of the surviving spouse. This is a tragedy that does not have to happen. With proper planning, the surviving spouse can get all the benefits of the estate without the risk of losing it to Biff or Bambi, with very little additional effort.

If your clients are concerned about Biff or Bambi, join MPS on December 14th for a ONE hour webinar and learn how to confidently deliver what clients and referral sources don’t blink at writing checks for. Find out what clients are looking for in their estate plan, NOW, what they are willing to pay and how to attract these clients.

This webinar will be hosted by Dave Zumpano, Founder of MPS and practicing attorney, Just Like You! Register here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/968634353

Why You Should Leave Your Assets To Loved Ones

2010-11-23T10:10:00.001-05:00

Charles came into the law office of an MPS attorney to undertake estate planning. Charles was a widow and had no children. The bulk of his estate was going to three nieces and nephews. Charles had in excess of $750,000.00, and he wanted to ensure when he died, it got to his nieces and nephews quickly and avoided probate. He heard a living trust was the way to do that. When he called the MPS attorney's office, the staff recommended he attend a workshop to discover all the different issues he may not ordinarily be aware of when planning. Reluctantly, he went to the workshop and he was thrilled with all he had learned. Specifically, he liked the option to ensure when he passed, rather than leaving his assets to his nieces and nephews outright, he could give it to them in a protected trust that permits them to access to it for the rest of their lives, but not their creditors, spouses in divorce, nursing homes, the government, or lawsuits.

Charles engaged the MPS attorney and among other things, ensured when he passed, each of his nieces and nephews would receive their $250,000.00 in a trust for their benefit, in which they were the trustee. The trust also provided, they needed a co-trustee which they can appoint at their discretion. Charles later died, and his brother Frank, came into the office as the successor trustee to administer Charles' trust. Frank was confused, as were his children, as to why Charles did not give them this money outright. They were a little disappointed. After some explanation by the MPS attorney, they were accepting and proceeded with the trust administration. Each of them received their separate share of uncle Charley's estate in a trust in which they were named trustee.

About a year later, Scott, one of Frank's children, contacted the MPS attorney concerned about a recent garnishment that had been put on his account at the bank. Evidently, Scott had been sued and a judgment was awarded to the party suing him. They executed a judgment against all of Scott's assets, including his accounts at the bank. Since Scott was a trustee of the trust left by Uncle Charles, they also put a lock on that account in hopes to empty it to satisfy their judgment. The MPS attorney quickly explained to Scott that this is exactly why Uncle Charles had done what he did to ensure if any predators ever attempted to take the money from Scott, they would be prohibited. The MPS attorney immediately sent a letter to the law firm placing the execution on the account and to the bank's attorney advising them any attachment to the account was unauthorized and illegal. After a quick review of the trust, both the judgment holder and the bank acknowledged the account was not subject to levy and released it. The funds remained available for Scott's use without the risk of any further attachment by the judgment creditor or anyone else.

You, or your client, can protect your loved ones when you die to ensure when they inherit what you have worked your lifetime for, it stays with them without being at risk of being lost to their divorce, lawsuits, nursing homes, the government, or other creditors. To learn how to protect your clients assets and have them sending you their friends and family to you for year to come, join the MPS on December 14th for a 1 hour webinar and learn What to do differently in 2011 to make it your most profitable year ever; confidently delivering what clients and referral sources don’t blink at writing checks for.

Find out what a client is looking for in their estate plan, NOW, what they are willing to pay and how to attract these clients. ?

Discover What Clients Writing Checks for & the 3 Elements You Need to Provide it!

This call will be hosted by Dave Zumpano, Founder of MPS and practicing attorney, Just Like You! Register here https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/968634353

DOES THE GIFT TAX APPLY?

2010-11-18T11:00:00.000-05:00

Joe, a widower, came into the office of a MPS attorney. He wanted to avoid paying estate taxes or losing his assets to a nursing home, so he asked the attorney if he should start gifting his assets away to his children. The MPS attorney explained to Joe that there are pros and cons of gifting assets away. Upon review of Joe’s financial situation, the attorney assured him the estate tax did not apply to him, because he did not have sufficient assets to be subject to this tax. In addition, giving assets away now, pose several concerns Joe might not be aware of.

The MPS attorney explained to Joe giving gifts to his children will forever put those assets out of his reach and fully under the control of his children. While his children may be trustworthy, outside events could occur that would put those assets at risk. For example, if his child gets divorced, sued, or dies, the assets would end up in the hands of someone other than Joe. In addition, if his child goes bankrupt, Joe’s assets would have to be used in his children’s bankruptcy.

Also, a gift to children, or others, could make Joe ineligible for Medicaid benefits for up to five years or more! The attorney continued to explain that perhaps the biggest downside of making gifts is that Joe’s children would receive the asset from Joe at his tax basis, which often leads to income taxes to the children when they dispose of the asset. The children would not have had to pay the income tax, had Joe given these assets to them after he died.

As to the gift tax, the attorney explained to Joe that he could gift $13,000 per year to any individual, including his children. If he gifted in excess of $13,000 to any individual or child within a calendar year, it would be subject to a gift tax, but the IRS provides that Joe has a million dollar lifetime exemption in addition to the $13,000 annual exemption. Therefore, if Joe gave away $23,000 to an individual in one calendar year, the additional $10,000 would reduce his $1,000,000 lifetime credit to $990,000. Since Joe only had $512, 000, the gift tax was not a concern to him, because he could never gift a million away, and so he would actually never be subject to a gift tax.

Proper planning ensures that your clients understand the gift tax rules and the significant risk with giving gifts during life. Contact MPS to discover how to help your clients transfer their assets to our trademark iPug™ trusts that permit them to retain control and retain benefits, but still have the protection they seek.

WOW

2010-11-13T08:16:00.000-05:00

We are privileged at MPS to have the unparalleled community of attorney
family members with us this past week at The Annual MPS Enhancement Retreat.

It was an absolute honor to serve in your cause to help you help others. We
have an abundance of gratitude for your allowing the team at MPS does what
we are passionate about. Thank you for the opportunity to do what we love to
do because at MPS, we succeed by helping you succeed by helping others! We
look forward to 2011 and continue to help each and every one of you in
creating and maintaining a thriving salable practice! Go get 'em!

WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECT IT

2010-11-11T09:24:00.000-05:00

Bob and Eleanor, a healthy 70 year old couple, came into the office of a MPS attorney to do estate planning. After a brief educational process and three meetings, the plan was created. Bob and Eleanor were thrilled and went on their merry way.

Three months later, the attorney received a call from Eleanor, indicating Bob was in Intensive Care; one of his kidneys had stopped working and his remaining kidney was shutting down. The ICU doctor told Eleanor that they would have to put Bob on a machine to maintain his life, or he may die. Eleanor was concerned, because while she loved him dearly, Bob was very clear he did not want to live on a machine. Eleanor asked the doctor if the machine would help him recover or whether he would have to stay on the machine. The doctor’s response was, “We’re not sure, but if we elect to put him on the machine, it will be difficult for me to have him removed from it.”

The MPS attorney told Eleanor not to worry that her health care directive had a 30 day provision which ensured that, if she elected to put Bob on any type of life support, she would be able to remove him at any time, but at the latest 30 days. The attorney agreed to stop by ICU and talk with the doctor and show him the legal document. After a review of the 30 day provision, the doctor was pleased and shocked at how nice it was to see good quality legal preparation. It actually took the pressure off of him.

Bob was put on life support and removed three days later after a wonderful recovery. Bob went on to live five more years. Eleanor and Bob thanked the MPS attorney, because Eleanor was confident that, if the 30 day provision was not in the health care directive, she would not have put Bob on life support.

Many people assume it will be a “cut and dry” decision when asked if they want to put their loved one on life support. The truth is, in that moment, the typical individual will do everything possible to preserve the life of their loved one. Even if they want to honor the loved one’s wishes, in many cases they are not emotionally ready to let go. Having the 30 day provision (or other period of time chosen by the client) ensures that control will remain with the family during this critical time, and allow the loved ones to adjust emotionally to the situation at hand. In some cases, like Bob’s, this additional time may even preserve their life. To learn about all the Client Centered Customized provisions that should be in a health care directive to protect your clients and distinguish yourself in your marketplace, contact MPS www.mpssuccess.com .

IS MY POWER OF ATTORNEY POWERFUL ENOUGH?

2010-11-03T16:37:00.001-04:00

Betty recently went into a nursing home. Her daughter Samantha, who had Power of Attorney for her, became quite anxious because she did not know what to do or where any of her mom’s “stuff” was. She contacted a local MPS attorney to find out what to do. On arrival to the office, the MPS attorney quickly reviewed the Power of Attorney executed, appointing Samantha. On review, the attorney noted it was a standard Power of Attorney, provided for in the state’s statutes, and used by most attorneys. Unfortunately for Samantha, since it was the statutory Power of Attorney, it did not contain sufficient powers for her to do the necessary planning with him.

While the statutory Power of Attorney did provide authority to deal with the bank, financial institutions, and real estate on Betty’s behalf, it did not provide any authority to create a trust, do asset protection planning, or to authorize Samantha to convey assets to herself. Samantha only has one other sister, and being able to distribute to herself or her sister, is a key part of the plan to protect her mother’s assets.

In addition, the use of trust is another important strategy, but the Power of Attorney does not provide for it. Perhaps the greatest challenge, however, is with the Power of Attorney, in that the agent acting as Power of Attorney virtually is handed a “blank check”. While the Power of Attorney grants Samantha authority to access accounts and deal with legal and financial matters on Betty’s behalf, it does not provide any instructions on how Samantha should exercise her authority.

Samantha intended to exercise her authority as her mom would’ve wished, so she began making decisions, which her sister quickly questioned. Samantha readily explained it was always mom’s wishes to do what she had done, but her sister had a very different perspective on what mom would’ve wanted, and the arguments began.

Samantha asked the MPS attorney what she should do. He identified these arguments were typical, and clarified for Samantha that her sister was not necessarily trying to create fights, but merely had a different perspective of what their mom wanted. The truth is, both kids wanted to do what Betty desired, they just had different perspectives of what it was that she really wanted.

A properly drawn Power of Attorney, with a set of instructions attached, can avoid family feuds, and insure Samantha has all the authority necessary to carry out the wishes of her mother, that are clearly defined. The MPS attorney asked Samantha if Betty was still competent. Samantha indicated she was competent, but had no desire to deal with any legal or financial matters. The MPS attorney quickly stated, “Great”. We will get a new Power of Attorney executed, with all the authority you need, and a sufficient set of instructions on how your mom intends you to use it, and we will meet with her to get the document signed.” Samantha was thrilled. Her sister felt better, as well, and they began to work together to meet mom’s needs.

Do your clients have the standard Power of Attorney? Don’t wait until crises occur to discover its pitfalls. Call MPS to discuss your softwares Power of Attorney, and the ramifications of the provisions it has, or more importantly, fails to have.

iPug™ Trusts: The Revolution in Estate Planning

2010-10-26T14:16:00.000-04:00

You Can Do More Than Think Outside The Box, You Can Re-Invent It

Through out last year and still, Americans have been riding an economic rollercoaster. Many are beset by fear and even more have lost all confidence in the economy. The burning question on their minds is: what will the future bring? Some say that it is anyone’s guess. But, what if it could be more than a guess? What if you had a way to replace uncertainty with certainty? What if you had a means to offer unique solutions that could benefit every client, regardless of their wealth or status, to create a win-win scenario for you and for them? What if you had a brand new weapon in your estate planning arsenal that would not only allow you to shore up the foundation of your practice, but actually help to improve your bottom line, and propel your business to new, untold heights?

According to national expert and legal education instructor David J. Zumpano, CPA, ESQ., The President and Founder of MPS LLC, there is certainty in our uncertain times. As president and founder of MPS, LLC, a national organization that specializes in educating and training lawyers and financial advisors in cutting-edge practice strategies, Zumpano brings hope and solid, proven results in estate planning. The groundbreaking tool that will rocket estate planning to the next level is the iPug™ Trusts. “The strategy of iPug™ planning is a whole new approach to estate planning,” Zumpano states.

So, just what is an iPug™ Trust? The iPug™ Trust is a Self-Settled Asset Protection Trust for the everyday folk and Medicaid compliance that works in all states. It protects client assets from creditors, predators and nursing homes, while permitting the grantor to be trustee and have customized access. The iPug™ Trust was created by utilizing universal, fundamental trust and common law principles dating back to the statute of uses and are not reliant or dependent upon state or federal specific asset protection laws. “In essence, the iPug™ Trust is an Irrevocable Grantor Trust for income and estate tax purposes. It not only provides advantageous tax benefits, including a full step-up in basis, but it also provides asset protection, while retaining Grantor control,” explains Zumpano. “With the increase in the estate tax exemption to $3.5 million, iPug™ Planning will be applicable to 99.5% of Americans.”

What makes iPug™ planning unique? These trusts are easily understood. Whether your clients are everyday people, savvy business owners or busy professionals, they all are looking for iPug™ Trusts to protect their personal planning goals and objectives. “Business owners and professionals who want to protect their assets without giving up control or use of those assets are primary prospects, but iPug™ planning is also exceptionally useful for individuals who want to protect their personal assets, now and from lawsuits, predators and nursing homes,” Zumpano comments. “The key element clients appreciate about iPug™ planning is that they remain in control. They can have full access to income and indirect access to principal depending on individual goals and objectives. Since everything is reported on a 1040, the flexibility of these trusts ensures no separate income or gift tax returns are required.”

The iPug™ Trust is immune to market conditions. “In times of fear and anxiety, such as we have and still currently experiencing, many peoples’ level of fear of losing what they have is heightened and they are more likely to engage in this form of asset protection planning because it enables them to remain in control and have customized access,” elaborates Zumpano. “A decrease in the value of their portfolios actually has a positive result when planning for Medicaid eligibility, because it enables it to be accomplished in less time and creates a ‘Medicaid freeze,’ ensuring no additional penalties will be incurred when the full value of their stocks return.” Zumpano also points out that people need nursing homes regardless of market conditions. “This creates an immediate need that far outweighs those of a wavering stock market,” he says. “Clients see iPug™ planning as a solution in these uncertain times, rather than a condition of these uncertain times.”

How does iPug™ planning offer security for future generations? In addition to asset protection during a client’s lifetime, iPug™ planning allows clients to pass assets on to their children in a manner that protects their children from lawsuits, divorce and nursing home expenses. “And, if necessary,” Zumpano adds, “their children’s indiscretions. The iPug™ Trust also allows clients to preserve their personal values by creating family standards that have a direct bearing on access to assets bequeathed to their heirs.”

How can you incorporate iPug™ planning into your practice? MPS can teach you the legal technical, counselling, design, drafting and tax issues associated with iPug™ planning, and with the trademarked tools MPS has created, you can rest assured that you dot every “i” and cross every “t” in following the law. MPS has also created an education-based enrollment system that allows you to market iPug™ planning to individuals, business owners and professionals easily, quickly allowing you to show the value of this type of planning. “These systems enable prospective clients to choose a plan not based on its cost, but rather based on clear value distinctions they identify in the education process,” Zumpano explains. “MPS also provides a systematized process for attorneys to implement into his or her practice, which includes educational workshops for clients and referral sources, client-friendly tools that help support clients in their decisions, and attorney-friendly tools to ensure effectiveness, efficiency and compliance with laws. Lastly, MPS provides an implementation guide for the attorney or financial advisor and their support staff to help implement this new trust genre into their practice. We have a very active national membership based organization of graduates that support one another as the systems are implemented, in over 46 states.”

How will the iPug™ planning take your practice to the next level? The MPS three-day Profit Practice Program™ enables attorneys to serve an expanded market and provide favorable solutions to clients’ everyday stresses. “The benefits for you will not only be a greater knowledge of the law,” says Zumpano, “but the ability to provide increased desirable options to your clients by counselling them in this NEW opportunity area of planning. By implementing iPug™ planning, you will increase your revenue and propel your practice to new levels, even in these turbulent times.”

If you’d like more about this topic or schedule an interview with David J. Zumpano, CPA/Esq., please email Molly Hall mhall@mpssuccess.com .

HOW OFTEN DO I NEED TO UPDATE MY WILL?

2010-10-19T12:45:00.002-04:00

Many people ask how often they should update their estate plan. Washington State University did a study in 1999 that revealed the average time between updates to a Will is 19.7 years. This makes sense considering most people do a Will when their first child is born and then review it some 20 years later when little Johnny is off to college and they have an option for early retirement. But is this sufficient? Well usually not. In the timeframe of those 20 years, the laws are constantly changing.

In addition, families change, finances change, and even your health changes. Each of these changes impacts your estate plan. In many cases, we review Wills involving bequests to individuals that are no longer alive, or do not provide for children born subsequent to the execution of the Will. IAlso, most individuals lack critical estate planning documents such as a Healthcare Proxy, Living Will, and Power of Attorney. In some instances, even a Living Trust might be advantageous to meet and accomplish individual goals.

Other issues that change that may require you to update your plan are the laws. In fact, the estate tax law has changed six times in the last ten years. These changes could adversely impact your family if you do not monitor them to ensure your plan avoids any adverse consequences from the change. In addition, changes to your family including the birth, death, marriage, or divorce of anyone in your plan, could also impact its effectiveness.

Your health plays a key role and we often find, after a family crisis, perspectives change considerably, which may create a need to update your plan. Most importantly, you do not want to wait for a crisis to update your plan. In most crisis situations, such as being diagnosed with a terminal condition or other serious health matters, individuals are not thinking of their estate plan, but rather are thinking of getting better. It is critical to revisit your estate plan before a crisis to ensure you have the proper legal protections in place to handle your affairs if you are unable.

A proper estate plan will ensure what you have gets to whom you want, when you want, the way you want. How often should you update your Will? You should at least review it annually and then decide whether you need to seek professional help to get it updated.

AVOIDING THE NURSING HOME

2010-10-19T12:42:00.001-04:00

A common concern is how to avoid a nursing home. Some people profess, "I will never go to a nursing home." In my last visit to a nursing home, it was full and no one I met was there voluntarily. That being said, avoiding the nursing home can become achievable with proper planning. There are three key factors in protecting against the requirement of having to go to a nursing home: (1) You must legally authorize the people you trust to make decisions for you should the need for long-term care arise, (2) You must document your wishes, and (3) You must provide a way to pay for your care at home should the need arise.

Most people believe being married for many years entitles them to make decisions for their spouse, if a health care crisis occurs. That is not always true. If you are single or widowed, it is even more problematic. The more important question is: What decision would you make if something happened to your spouse or loved one? Many think they know what they would do, but in my experience, when put in that position, most are unaware of the severe emotional stress and fears that impact them upon the long-term disability of a loved one.

The key to maximize your options to stay home and avoid nursing homes is to ensure you have properly authorized your loved one to act for you and to ensure you have documented your wishes. This is achieved by a properly executed Health Care Proxy, Living Will and Personal Care Plan. While these documents are readily available at hospitals, senior centers and other public places, you should be warned that not all are the same. Not all versions have the necessary legal language to provide you the maximum protection and control. Getting these documents from such places is like getting your legal documents at a dentist’s office. You should consult a qualified Elder Law or Estate Planning attorney to ensure you have the proper documents to accomplish your objectives.

Once your legal protections are put in place, providing for payment of care needs is critical. The most common ways to pay for care at home include Medicaid benefits, Veterans' benefits and Long-Term Care Insurance. Under the current Medicaid and Veteran’s Administration Rules, most individuals can qualify for benefits within 30 days, if properly advised. Medicaid is a government form of health insurance for the poor, and individuals can qualify for care in the home for as many hours a day determined necessary for their safety.
There is also a little-known benefit for any veteran, or surviving spouse of a veteran, called the Veterans Aid and Attendance Benefit To qualify, the veteran must have served at least 90 days of active duty, of which one of the 90 days would have been served during wartime. This includes World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and even the Gulf War. The veteran need not have been in combat or even traveled to foreign soil, but merely been enlisted during the dates the war was declared. If eligible, a veteran and spouse may be entitled to up to $1,950.00 per month to pay toward any medical expenses, including Medicare premiums, prescriptions and paid care, to name a few. The VA benefit is paid directly to the veteran, or the veteran’s surviving spouse, from the Veterans Administration. A surviving spouse is entitled up to $1,056.00 a month.

Finally, a long term care insurance policy can also enable you to stay at home. While considered expensive by some, the annual premium for a long-term care policy for a couple is often less than one month's nursing home care for one of them. More importantly, a properly purchased long term care policy can provide a home care benefit to pay for healthcare benefits received in the home, and help to avoid the need to go to a nursing home.

Obviously, no one chooses to go to a nursing home. The determination of whether you or a loved one has to go into a nursing home is not dependent upon your wishes, but rather, dependent upon your planning. Make sure your planning is complete, so you maximize your options.

LOSING CONTROL IS YOUR GREATEST THREAT

2010-10-13T17:00:00.000-04:00

Many people wonder what Estate Planning is and why you need to do it. Simply stated, Estate Planning ensures you maintain control of your property as long as you are able and when you are no longer able, those you trust are able to act on your behalf with full instructions by you.

There are two forms of losing control. First is the loss of control of your financial assets. If you become incapacitated, your assets may be inaccessible by your loved ones unless other legal measures had been taken to authorize someone to act. Bank accounts, stocks, bonds, IRAs, and the like are not automatically accessible by your loved ones. Not even your spouse! To ensure control is maintained, the most common Estate Planning tool is a Power of Attorney. A Power of Attorney grants authority to someone else to act on your behalf. What most people do not appreciate is a Power of Attorney is valid when signed. Therefore, once signed, the person you appoint can access your accounts, or dispose of your assets, with or without your consent. You can execute a statutory Power of Attorney or create a personalized one.

Most all lawyers use the state statutory form which was created by the state and grants general powers the state deems necessary to act for someone who cannot act for themselves. The challenge is whether the statutory form is sufficient. For example, the statutory form does not grant permission to access safe deposit boxes, change beneficiaries on jointly owned accounts, nor even to create trusts. These powers, and others not authorized, can be absolutely essential if asset protection or Medicaid eligibility is desired, if you become incapacitated.

To ensure your agent (appointee) has all the powers required to address your concerns, you should discuss your goals with a qualified estate planning attorney to create personalized Power of Attorney which can grant all authority and also provide the guidelines on when and how to use it. Some individuals also consider execution of a “Springing Power of Attorney”. A Springing Power of Attorney is signed now, but becomes valid upon the “happening of an event”. The challenge is proving the “event” has occurred to the satisfaction of financial institutions or others that are asked to honor it. They need to be sure the conditions have been met or they can be personally liable.

Another serious form of loss of control is with your medical decisions. Should you become incapacitated and decisions have to be made on your health, no one will be able to make decisions for you without proper legal documents. As a result, those decisions could be left to the medical professionals or courts. Do you remember the Terri Schiavo case? That is a perfect example of failure to have proper healthcare directives in place.
Health Care directives consist of a Health Care Proxy and/or a Living Will. A Health Care Proxy is a document in which you grant legal authority to someone to make your health care decisions for you if you are unable. The short fall of most Heath Care Proxies is they grant the individual you appoint the authority to make decisions on your behalf, but rarely provide any guidelines for them to follow. This can be lifelong wonder to the person you appoint whether they feel they made the “right” decision that resulted in you passing.

A Living Will, conversely, can provide written instructions for your health care agent to follow. Most standard Living Wills, however, only deal with life and death issues and fail to address care issues when death is not imminent. Ensure you get the proper guidance on creating your health care directives since it is likely to determine if you will live or die in an unanticipated situation.

Maintaining control at all times is a critical element of a proper estate plan. Ensuring you have proper Power of Attorney and Healthcare Directive is absolutely essential to maintaining control with the people you choose (and not the State, or the Courts) should something happen to you. contact www.mpssuccess.com to learn how to make certain your clients maintain control at all times.

IS THERE AN ESTATE TAX IN 2010?

2010-10-08T21:04:00.000-04:00

In 2001, President Bush signed major tax legislation which the full impact was not felt until January 1, 2010. Under the 2001 Act, the estate tax exemption, the amount of assets someone can die with without having to pay estate tax, was gradually raised from $675,000 to $3.5 million. The 2001 legislation further provided the estate tax was eliminated January 1, 2010, but reverted back to the 2001 rules on January 1, 2011. Lots of dates and confusion; what does this all mean? Well, Congress since 2001 had assured us the law would never revert back in 2011 as originally anticipated. In addition, they also assured us we would never have estate tax eliminated in 2010. What has occurred? The January 1, 2010 estate tax, as we know, it is no longer in effect. Instead, what has occurred is, a modified adjusted basis for assets of decedents dying in 2010. What does this all means? If your clients had a stock they paid $10,000.00 for that is worth $100,000.00 upon death, there would be $90,000.00 of unrealized gain. Under the 2010 tax law, each person dying would have $1.3 million in unrealized gain to add to their assets they distribute to their beneficiaries. If that doesn’t make sense to your clients, anything more said will just confuse them more.

So what can you do? Let me explain. This Congress has stated it does not like this law because they are afraid the rich will die and not pay taxes. Congress has said many times it is going to eliminate the 2010 law retroactively to January 1, 2010. Will they? I don't know. They've been saying that for seven years; it still has not happened. But more importantly, if they do, what will happen in 2011? Will the law revert back to the levels they were in 2001 ($1 million), 2009 ($3.5 million), or will it be a whole new law in place? We don’t know. This is the importance of ensuring your current estate plan addresses the tax law as we know it.

A properly drawn estate plan will provide language in any scenario. Do your clients plans? You must properly and simply inform your clients on estate taxes as they are most likely paying more taxes than need be. Join us Monday October 18th at 4PM EST for an Exclusive Webinar to “Learn How the Upcoming Estate Tax Changes Effect your Practice”, Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/948292049

VA BENEFITS TO THE RESCUE

2010-10-06T12:35:00.000-04:00

Shirley was recently admitted to an assisted living facility and her daughter Beth was concerned because Shirley’s income was insufficient to pay the monthly costs. She knew, it would only be a matter of time before mom depleted all of her assets. Beth was not worried about inheriting the assets, she was more concerned with ensuring mom remained independent and maximized the options she had for her care. Shirley and Beth visited a local MPS attorney to help them.

Shirley was not independently wealthy. She had about $150,000.00 in brokerage and savings her husband left her. It represented their lifetime of savings and she was dependent upon the income for her needs. However, with her recent admission to the assisted living facility, her monthly income was short by $1,100.00. At the initial meeting, the MPS attorney did a thorough analysis of Shirley’s financial condition and her personal family goals. He discovered Shirley’s husband was a Veteran of World War II and served two years. As such, it became evident Shirley could become entitled to a Veterans’ Aid and Attendance Benefit to help her pay for her assisted living care.

While not eligible immediately, the attorney was able to provide an estate planning option to have Shirley create a trust to put a bulk of her assets in so it could be protected for the family to use for her. At the same time, by doing so, she would become eligible for a Veterans’ Aid and Attendance Benefit which is available to Veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf War. This benefit is also available to the surviving spouses. As a surviving spouse of a World War II Vet, Shirley was able to become eligible to receive $1,056.00 a month. She was thrilled. She was able to protect her family, protect her lifetime of assets, and be able to afford her care. She was also thrilled to learn this benefit would pay for care in her home, should she decide to go back home. Beth was relieved.

Contact MPS to find out how you can protect your clients so they can walk out of your office feeling just like Beth did.

Do Quarterbacks Win Games?

2010-09-29T11:31:00.002-04:00

A quarterback is a very important player on the football field, but it's not the quarterback alone who wins the game. Imagine a football game with just a quarterback? It would be difficult to score since he is the only one to have the ball. If he has wide receivers to catch the ball it increases the chances of winning the game, but, having a wide receiver is still not enough to ensure the team wins. Adding running backs to carry the ball and run will again increase the team=s chances of winning. But, even with all these arsenals it is difficult to win without an offensive line to block and protect those that need to score. It takes a team to score touchdowns and win games. The same is true with estate planning. Like football, creating an effective estate plan requires a team.

The attorney is a critical player to construct the legal structure to ensure the client's needs are met and his wishes are carried out while they are healthy, if they become disabled, after they die, and even, to protect the beneficiaries. The financial advisor is critical to ensure the client’s assets are invested properly to provide them life long security. The accountant ensures the plan created by the attorney and financial advisor does not create adverse tax consequences that undo benefits of the plan. Finally, family members play a critical role to ensure the goals of the client are carried out when the client is not able to do it themselves. Building an estate planning team creates long-term relationships for the professional team and benefits the client by providing continuity and a multiple expertise to help the client have a successful plan. Leaving any one of these members out may disable a plan to work, but the likelihood of success is drastically reduced.

Licensed attorneys of MPS understand the importance of working with a professional team. It takes the efforts of all of all the professionals to implement a successful plan. Drafting proper, up to date, legal documents is essential, but when combined with comprehensive financial planning, it often leads to results the attorney or financial professional cannot achieve on their own. The accountant ensures there is no fumbles on the play and the family members cheer on the team and are ready to get in the game when needed. In the game of estate planning, the client is the coach and they rely heavily on their players to win the game. Does your law firm have a winning team built? And do you have a comprehensive Referral Management System built to manage the team in a way that dinguishes each of the players in manner that leaves the client referring everyone in their world to each of you for their planning needs? If not, call us to see how MPS can support you in building a team to help create the WIN/WIN/WIN/WIN in your practice.

Have you really taken a vacation?

2010-08-18T08:00:00.012-04:00

I just returned from a one week beach vacation with my family at Schroon Lake, an exciting resort community nestled in the Adirondack Mountains. This has been a family tradition the 1st week of August for many, many years. We all start getting real excited about it….in February when the snow and cold are “getting old” in Central NY. We start talking and dreaming about unplugging and “doing nothing” except rest, rejuvenation and connection with the ones we love the most. The beauty of this “remote” vacation is there was no cellular service so I am truly unable to take calls or access the internet via my air card. Wow, what an experience. At first, it felt somewhat paralyzing, not being connected to the outside world. Don’t get me wrong, Cell service was available if I drove a mile or two towards town, which we did a handful of times throughout the week, but I am please to find at those times I had absolutely no interest in looking at my phone or email messages on my blackberry.

Interestingly though, when discussing vacations and time off with attorneys over the last ten years, it is sad to learn most all of us fail to have a real vacation. How is a real vacation defined? Well, it’s being present with the people you are vacationing with; whether it’s your family, loved ones, or friends. You see, running to your Blackberry, cell phone, or internet becomes a place of comfort, but what’s at risk is really far more than what you may be missing when you shut them down. What’s at risk is the relationship you have with the people closest to you. Your disregard for them in favor of a business has an impact, makes them feel less worthy of you than your co‑workers, clients, and worse yet, the dreaded list serves we feel compelled to reply to. There is no greater danger to us as individuals than the loss of the respect of our families and ones we love.

So, when you go on vacation are you taking calls? How often are you on the internet? I must admit, this past vacation I learned there was wireless internet in the house. I couldn’t resist and found myself replying to email. After 2 hours I shook myself and realized what a wasted opportunity of time I could have been with my family. The computer went off and did not turn on again.

So, as you take your next vacation, or better yet, when you leave the office at the end of the day, consider the possibility, the office leaves you and you are able to be present to the people important in your life. The truth is, too many times people important to us are gone because of divorce, death, or some other catastrophe or worse yet, they are still there but they are hurt, wounded, and sad at their loss of real connection with us. So, I welcome you to have a real vacation with the people you love the most, and you may discover a full, new appreciation, and believe it or not, in my experience, you will be more effective at work when you do return. When you are relaxed and free from stress you are more focused and more creative. Focus and creativity are key components to success. One of the best ways to regain your balance, focus and get excited about your practice again is to take a real vacation. So if you haven’t yet taken a vacation this summer, I encourage you to get something on the books for the Fall before all the holiday and year end planning “rush” starts. Take pleasure and happy vacationing!

ESTATE PLANNERS CAN’T HIDE FROM MEDICAID ANY MORE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO AVOID MALPRACTICE: PART 4

2010-08-04T08:00:00.005-04:00

The penalty period is the period of time an applicant is ineligible for benefits because of an uncompensated transfer. The penalty is calculated by dividing the amount of the uncompensated transfer by the average cost of one month’s nursing home care in the region of the applicant. The federal law requires states to annually establish the average one-month private paid cost of nursing homes in their states. This is commonly referred to as the “monthly divisor.” The penalty period begins at different times, depending upon when the uncompensated transfer occurred. If the transfer occurred prior to DRA ‘05, the penalty begins in the month of the transfer. If a client applied for benefits today and had made a $100,000 uncompensated transfer 20 months ago he is eligible for benefits upon application as long as the monthly divisor was $5,000 or more ($100,000 ÷ 5,000 = 20 months). Since the transfer was made prior to DRA ‘05, the penalty begins in the month of transfer and the 20-month penalty will have expired immediately prior to the application. DRA ‘05 however changed the start date of any penalty period on uncompensated transfers. The penalty period on all transfers after February 8, 2006, no longer begins at the date of the gift, but rather on the date the applicant becomes “otherwise eligible.” To be otherwise eligible, the applicant must meet the medical needs for care and the Medicaid income and asset qualifying levels, but for the application of any penalty period for a uncompensated transfer. Therefore, the penalty no longer begins when you make the transfer, but rather, not until you are in the nursing home and financially qualify. The anomaly is that while you financially qualify and are eligible, you will not receive any benefits until the penalty period has expired. While this seems complicated, there are already proven strategies to get your clients qualified similarly to what was available prior to DRA ‘05.

In addition to the rules for qualification, several exemptions are available, including a home or a life estate in a home, car, prepaid funeral, personal belongings, life insurance up to $1,500.00 of face value, and other assets needed to generate income to bring the community spouse up to her MMMNA. There are a lot of planning opportunities with the use of these exemptions and exceptions. If after applying all the exemptions, the applicant still has “excess resources” (more assets than the limit is), the applicant must “spend down” any excess. A spend-down is the systematic spending or transferring of assets to get the applicant to the Medicaid qualifying asset limit. In most circumstances, the spend-down involves uncompensated transfers in which a penalty period will apply.

When Medicaid planning, penalty periods are common and planned for to ensure sufficient assets are available to pay for care during any penalty period. There are several Medicaid spend-down planning strategies available. Typically, a Medicaid spend down involves an uncompensated transfers to an individual or a trust. If a client is not willing to transfer assets, other options include purchasing a long-term care insurance policy, an immediate annuity, or use of a promissory note.

Prior to DRA ‘05 it was common to transfer assets to children or others because there was not significant risk to do so. A small transfer would have a short penalty period and most people were confident they could stay healthy through it. DRA ’05 makes outright transfers to individuals no longer viable because they are now subject to a 60-month look-back and the penalty no longer begins at the date of the transfer. If an uncompensated transfer occurs within sixty months of applying for benefits, the penalty will not begin until after the client applies and otherwise qualifies. Therefore, post DRA ‘05 transfers can make an individual ineligible for 60 months or more. The only viable technique remaining is to utilize Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts (MAP-Trusts™). MAP-Trusts™ are specifically designed with provisions friendly to the Medicaid qualifying rules. Typical MAP-Trusts™ provide income to the grantor during their lifetime but not principal. Medicaid law specifically prohibits the applicant or their spouse from having any benefits available to the them from a self-settled trust. Any discretion to the Trustee to distribute to the Grantor or spouse is considered an available resource when determining eligibility. Therefore, it is critical the trust not permit any right to distribute principal to the Grantor or spouse. This is why most family trusts fail Medicaid eligibility requirements.

Working with MAP-Trusts™ is intellectually challenging and dynamic. As tax professionals, we go to great length to educate ourselves and create trusts to minimized income taxes and preserve the clients estate tax exemption. MAP-Trusts™ work totally different. In fact, they ensure all income on the assets are taxed to the grantor and all assets are included in the grantor’s estate for estate tax purposes. The typical Medicaid planning client does not have a taxable estate so the benefit of using a “pure grantor” trust is favorable for the client. It also ensures a full step up in basis occurs at their death. Also typical in a MAP-Trust™ is enabling the grantor to be the sole trustee of the trust, which is preferred by clients.

If a client is unwilling to use a MAP-Trust™, they can purchase long-term care insurance to subsidize the cost of care. While DRA ’05 has restricted the use of annuities, they still play an important role in post DRA ’05 planning strategies. DRA ’05 also permits clients to transfer their excess assets in exchange for a promissory note, provided it is paid back over the client’s life expectancy, in equal payments, without delay, with no cancellation at death. While DRA ’05 specifically provides promissory notes are considered compensated, many states consider it an available resource, to the extent it could be sold. The sale value of the note is treated as an asset and included in the computation of the CSRA for the community spouse or the individual resource allowance for single applicants.

There are many opportunities for those willing to learn the Medicaid qualifying rules. Medicaid planning, while seeming complicated, is really a very finite set of rules that can be learned with a little effort. The truth is, if you are providing estate planning services, you must be aware of the Medicaid qualifying rules to properly represent your clients. It applies to 96% of potential clients. If you are not comfortable with the Medicaid qualifying rules or if they appear to be complicated or comprehensive, you must commit to learning them and implementing them into your practice. If you are willing to, you will be able to provide more solutions for your clients, you will create a much greater relationship and appreciation from your clients and they will pay higher fees. But must importantly, you will avoid the pits in your stomach or waking up with night sweats from not knowing the law.

ESTATE PLANNERS CAN’T HIDE FROM MEDICAID ANY MORE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO AVOID MALPRACTICE: PART 3

2010-07-28T14:51:00.001-04:00

Did you ever get that pit in your stomach while attending a CLE after learning something for the first time you weren’t doing but should have been. You immediately begin to assess the number of clients it affects and strategize how you’re going to fix it. Did you ever wake up in the middle of the night in a sense of panic having realized you forgot something essential in a plan created for a client. Well, be prepared for the pit in your stomach and the night sweats if you are an estate-planning attorney who is not proficient with the Medicaid qualification rules. If you are going to practice in the estate planning area, you must have a working knowledge of the Medicaid qualification rules to properly represent your clients. Knowing the rules will enable you to be a better counselor by providing more solutions for your clients, and planning for their long-term care before they need it. Your clients will be grateful, more satisfied and pay you more and refer their friends and family.

Is learning the Medicaid rules worth it? Recent studies show 6,000 to 7,000 people a day are turning age 65. There are currently 37 million Americans over the age of 65 and it is expected to almost double to 72 million in the next twenty years. Other statistics show more than 50 percent of those over the age of 65 will spend time in a nursing home before their death. There are 103 million households, of which ninety-six percent have less than $750,000.00 of assets. Typical health-care costs for a nursing home average $75,000.00 to $90,000.00 per year, and the increases in these costs annually outpace inflation. A typical client needs $1.5 million of invested assets to generate the income needed to pay for their cost of care. If they do not have $1.5 million, they need to consider long-term care planning. Many estate-planning attorneys focus on estates of $1 million or more. While it is a desirable profile, such estates represent less than 4 percent of the American population. Most estate planning attorneys are stepping over 96 percent of clients to service the 4 percent that fit the desired profile. In working with clients in the 96 percentile, I have found they more easily identify the value provided them by protecting their assets from the threat of long-term care. They are very willing to pay for solutions to these concerns. Clients with modest estates are much more likely to pay for asset protection than those with larger estates. They also tend to be more grateful, and more likely to bring you cookies and refer their friends.

Implementation of the Deficit Reduction Act 2005 (DRA ‘05), in February, 2006, systematically eliminated the Monday morning Medicaid planning attorneys; those that attend a Friday CLE and Monday begin practicing. For those willing to learn this area of law, there is a tremendous opportunity because of the number of people needing these services. More importantly, since it impacts 96 percent of American households, it is critical you become aware of the key requirements to qualify for Medicaid in the event of your clients’ long-term care. A common fear of estate planning attorneys is that Medicaid law is “always changing” and difficult to “get your arms around.” Nothing could be further from the truth. There have only been two major changes to Medicaid Law since its inception, the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1993 (Obra ‘93) and DRA ‘05 and it is not difficult to get your arms around. Medicaid law is a very succinct set of rules that can be covered in less than three hours. Once you are aware of the rules and exceptions, the rest of the practice is merely applying fact pattern to those rules. It intrigues me how many practitioners warmly embrace the tax law and its several hundred thousand pages of text and are willingly to dredge through the Code to solve problems for their clients but Medicaid law instills fear.

Medicaid law is imbedded in Title XIX of the Social Security Act, specifically at 42 USC 1396-1396s. Section 1396p deals with the qualification rules for Medicaid. The regulations can be found at 42 CFR § 430 et seq. and 20 CFR § 416 et seq. While Medicaid is federal law, it is implemented 100% by the states. Each state, therefore, has the exclusive right to interpret the federal Medicaid law. To be eligible for nursing home benefits, the client must meet the medical requirements and be a U.S. citizen or resident alien. If these conditions are met, the client must also meet certain income and asset qualifying limits. The amount of income an applicant may retain and still be eligible for benefits is referred to as the personal needs allowance (PNA). For single applicants, the PNA is less than $75.00 per month. All income in excess must be contributed toward the applicant’s cost of care. If the applicant is married, the community spouse is entitled to a minimum monthly maintenance needs allowance (MMMNA) to ensure they are not impoverished. The federal law permits each state to set a MMMNA, but it must be within a range set by the federal government. In 2007 the minimum MMMNA must be between $1,650.00 and $2,541.00 per month. Most states use the federal maximum as their minimum. The amount of assets (resources) an applicant can have and still be eligible is also set by the federal law. If the applicant is single, they are entitled to a small amount of assets. Most states utilize the federal SSI amount of $2,000.00. Other states permit more. New York permits the most at $4,200. If the applicant is married, the federal law allows more assets be retained to prevent impoverishment of the community spouse. This is referred to as the community spouse resource allowance (CSRA). The federal law provides the minimum CSRA not be less than $20,238.00 nor more than $101,640.00. A majority of states utilize the federal maximum as their State minimum CSRA.

Other important terms relevant to Medicaid planning are the look-back period and penalty period. These are the most misunderstood and misinterpreted terms in all of Medicaid law. The look-back period, is merely the period of time Medicaid can look back at your client’s financial records when applying for benefits. It has no relevance to eligibility. It is merely the period of time Medicaid can look at financial records to determine if any transfers were made in the 36 to 60 months previous to applying for benefits. The objective is to ensure people don’t transfer away their assets and then ask for Medicaid to pay for their care. When reviewing the applicant’s financial records, Medicaid will request support for withdrawals to identify whether the transfer was compensated or uncompensated. A transfer is “compensated” if, after the transfer, something of equal value is received in return. Transferring $120,000.00 to purchase a home of that value is a “compensated” transfer. An “uncompensated” transfer occurs if a transfer of assets is made and something of less than the value given or of no value is received. Any shortfall in value received is an “uncompensated” transfer. An uncompensated transfer may render the applicant ineligible for benefits depending upon the amount of the transfer and when it was made. There is no rule that provides an uncompensated transfer made during the look-back period renders the applicant is ineligible. The look-back period is just the period of time Medicaid will look at the records to identify uncompensated transfers. Once identified, a penalty period will be calculated based on the amount of the uncompensated transfer. If an uncompensated transfer occurred prior to the look-back period, it will not be identified and no penalty will occur. For transfers inside the look-back period, the penalty period must be exhausted prior to being eligible for benefits.

To be continued...

ESTATE PLANNERS CAN’T HIDE FROM MEDICAID ANY MORE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO AVOID MALPRACTICE: PART 2

2010-07-21T00:13:00.010-04:00

Many attorneys believe Medicaid Law is challenging because it is constantly changing. If that scares you, I remind you many areas of law change often (i.e., tax law). Medicaid law on the other hand, has only changed twice in over 25 years. The first change came in 1993 with the passage of the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1993 (OBRA-93). There was not another change in the law until February, 2006 when the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA-05) was put into law. DRA-05 attempted to close many loopholes and has created many obstacles for lawyers dabbling in this area. I believe, to the contrary, DRA-05 created the greatest opportunity we have seen in estate planning in more than 20 years. In 2006, my practice exceeded its greatest year by 40 percent, and I attribute it totally to the implementation of DRA-05. The question is, who is going to handle these complex issues for clients? Those willing to commit to learn the rules and implement them in a way to make it easier for clients to navigate, will undoubtedly be the winners. I have seen it in my own practice.

Clients today need leadership and options. They need to be able to get answers to their questions and solutions to eliminate their fears. I have yet to meet a senior-aged client, whether wealthy, of moderate means or poor, who is not concerned about “losing everything they have” to a nursing home. Estate planning today is no longer just about taxes or avoiding probate. It has become much more comprehensive due to the changing dynamics of our health care system which forces you to be either rich enough to pay for it all or so poor you’re not able to pay for anything. It provides nothing for those in between (which is a majority of estate planning clients). It also discriminates against the types of care needed. For example, Medicare will pay all costs associated with heart surgery (often $300,000 to $400,000), but pays little, if any, costs associated with care for Alzheimer’s ($60,000 to $90,000 per year).

Estate planning today requires a broad range of knowledge in several areas of the law. Obviously, you need confidence in how to draft wills, health care proxies, living wills, powers of attorney, and trusts. Now, you must also become familiar with Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts (MAP Trusts™). If you are going to practice in estate planning you must become familiar with the Medicaid qualifying rules and the trust and non-trust options to provide clients. You must also commit to a comprehensive approach to get a working knowledge of this area of the law. The good news is, it is a finite world, much less finite than tax law. Many estate planning lawyers avoid discussing Medicaid because they don’t understand it. Just because you don’t understand it, doesn’t mean you don’t have to understand it. You can no longer avoid it!

So remember the ad, “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile.” The rest of the story is many experts believe that single ad campaign led to the downfall and dissolution of the 103-year-old company. Estate planning is the same. It is not what it used to be. You must commit to learning the Medicaid laws and rules to accomplish the goals and objectives of your clients or you may suffer the same fate as Oldsmobile. Many attorneys I work with in this area report a more rewarding practice because of the good they are able to do for their clients. For those willing to dive in and participate in this exciting multi-faceted area of the law, you will create significant value to your clients and more opportunity for profit in your own practice.

[In part three and four of this article, we will cover the key Medicaid rules for you to be aware of.]

ESTATE PLANNERS CAN’T HIDE FROM MEDICAID ANY MORE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO AVOID MALPRACTICE: PART I

2010-07-14T15:58:00.003-04:00

Do you remember the ad in the 80s, “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile?” It was used to win over a new demographic of car-buyers. Previously, the car maker had been popular with adults over 50 and was looking to attract a much younger market. While recently teaching a two-day Medicaid boot camp to 50 lawyers, this ad resonated in my mind as I watched the transformation of these traditional estate planning attorneys as they became enlightened to the relevance of Medicaid Laws to their practice. It became clear to me, like Oldsmobile, estate planning is not like it used to be! If you are going to practice estate planning, you must obtain a working knowledge of the Medicaid qualifying and disqualifying rules and how they impact clients and the estate plans you create for them. If you are willing to commit to this, you will not only avoid malpractice, but will create added value for clients, and new opportunities and profit for your practice.

Most estate planning attorneys agree, the need for long-term care is the greatest concern among the majority of their clients. Many attorneys unfamiliar with the application of Medicaid Laws, fluff it off and say, “You have too much money to qualify for Medicaid.“ The net worth of clients rarely alleviate their fear. Often, the typical “millionaire” has a home and $500,000 in marketable securities and/or cash. This millionaire does not feel rich and often is a typical Medicaid-planning client. For those with less, it is even more important. Recent demographics indicate there are 101 million households in the United States. Thirty-two million have $100,000.00 to $500,000.00, and Martindale-Hubbell statistic indicates of the more than one million lawyers in America, roughly 8,000 classify themselves as practicing “elder law.” If you do the math, there is one elder law attorney per 3,750 households. Assuming a planning fee of one month’s nursing home cost and an average monthly nursing home cost of $5,000, the market potential per elder law attorney practice is $18,750,000.

Recent statistics also indicate more than 6,000 men and women in the United States turn 60 every day. The aging population is putting increasing demands on our health care system. In the “old days” things were simple - you lived, then you died. The typical concern of an estate planning client was estate taxes and most concerns were resolved by drafting a Will. Today, with the proliferation of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, and the enactment of estate Tax Reform under the Bush Administration, clients’ “worry” has shifted from taxes to long-term care. Estate planning has become more focused on clients’ lives (creating the need for trust planning) rather than their deaths (traditional Will plans). Eight out of ten individuals who come into our offices indicate loss of assets if they need nursing home care, as their number one concern. While estate planning dynamics have not changed, including clients’ need to control their property and to provide a legacy for those they leave behind, the threat to these goals has become far greater by the possibility of long-term care taking all they have worked so hard for. Estate planning today must address and resolve clients concerns regarding the need for long-term care. You cannot hide from it any more!

Medicaid Laws impact virtually every aspect of estate planning. Similar to tax law, simple things lawyers do pursuant to common law or contract law, which have been done for centuries, may, unbeknownst to the attorney, create adverse consequences in the Medicaid planning context. For example, individuals often transfer their home to their children to “protect it” from the nursing home. The truth is, in most all cases the home is exempt when determining Medicaid eligibility, but that simple transfer can create unintended adverse tax and Medicaid consequences. If the house is transferred without reserving a life estate, there is a loss in a “step-up” in basis at the client’s death and a completed gift has occurred. If it is transferred with a reserved life estate, a gift of the remainder interest has occurred without the ability to utilize the annual gift tax exemption because it is not a present-interest gift. Other adverse results include the property becoming owned by unintended beneficiaries like the spouse of a deceased child, the property being listed in a bankruptcy petition of a child or being liened by a judgment creditor of a child. While it appears to be simple on its face, the mere transfer of a home has multiple legal implications. The transfer also has significant Medicaid qualifying implications; it can disqualify an individual from Medicaid for 60 months or more.

Another significant impact Medicaid has on estate planning is its impact on trust or gift planning. Many clients believe revocable living trusts protect their assets from Medicaid. A simple rule I teach clients is “whatever you can get, Medicaid can get.“ Therefore, all assets in a revocable living trust are considered an available resource when determining Medicaid eligibility. More importantly, traditional estate planning lawyers often create an irrevocable trust granting the trustee ascertainable standards to distribute income or principal for the benefit of the grantor or spouse. While this may work for typical asset protection, there is an absolute exception in the Federal Medicaid law that treats all assets in discretionary trusts created by the applicant or spouse, an available resource when determining Medicaid eligibility. Most revocable living trusts convert to a family trust at the Grantor’s death, permitting income or principal to the spouse or other beneficiaries pursuant to ascertainable standards. This is also considered an available resource in determining the spouse’s Medicaid eligibility. Gifting also has significant ramifications. A simple gift to a child, grandchild for college, or to your church to build a new hall, can lead to disqualification for Medicaid for up to five years or more. These consequences are unlikely to be the intention of your client. The question is, are you aware of them? How can an estate planning attorney guide clients on transferring assets, creating trusts or giving gifts without being familiar with its impact on Medicaid eligibility.

-to be continued...

THE MISSING COMPETENCY

2010-07-06T11:06:00.001-04:00

As lawyers, we have been trained well in the law and how to seek out answers. In fact, I might even suggest we have been trained to become contrarians. Imagine being married to us? Law school taught us using the traditional Socratic Method to think critically and analyze situations to get a result for clients. In fact, every lawyer in the world can take either side of any issue, just ask us. But, as I coach attorneys on running their law practice, I have identified a missing “core” competency to be a successful attorney, I note a common theme. Inconsistent cash flow, frustration, overwhelmed, and worst of all, no money. While we have been trained exceptionally in the law and how to think critically and analytically for any issue put before us, I realize few of us have the competency on how to run a business. Knowing how to run a business is a core competency most lawyers are missing, but unfortunately cannot succeed without.

Fortunately for me, prior to law school, I was a Certified Public Accountant. I was born and raised in a family business and our Sunday afternoon dinner was the "board meeting." My parents did not permit me positions of authority until they were earned. I started in the warehouse then graduated to the truck driver. Eventually, I was brought into the office to learn the accounting, public relations, and other elements of running a successful business. My parents were able to increase their business 37 fold in the 25 years they owned it before selling it to the third generation in 1991. That's when I left and completed law school. So, as I entered law school, I entered from the perspective of an entrepreneur who was raised in a family business and then, while working as a Certified Public Accountant for a Price Waterhouse, got to audit the books of other businesses to see how they operated, efficiently or not.

So, how do you teach someone the core competency of learning a business? It could take years but, when a system is created, it may only require months. For example, if you do not know how to cook hamburgers but are able to buy a McDonald's, Wendy's, or Burger King Franchise, they would have all the systems, structure, marketing, and support necessary for your success. The same is true with the law. Unfortunately, since the law does not permit "franchises", you must seek out successful business models proven in the industry and help create a meaningful result for clients. I have been fortunate in creating those systems to run a successful estate and elder law practice, and it is my absolute passion in life to share them with every attorney I have the ability to interact with. Many are available for free as part of my passion to help people succeed. But, what if you choose to do it on your own? Then, you have to define how you will get there. To have a successful business, the most critical element is distinguishing and tracking revenues and expenses. You must control your fixed expenses and have as many "variable” expenses as possible. Variable expenses are important because do not exist unless there is revenue associated it; whereas, fixed expenses are there whether you generate income or not. So, if you minimize your fixed expenses and maximize your variable expenses you should be able to maintain and operate profitably. You must also ensure you have the minimum amount of sales you need to pay fixed expenses, variable expenses and YOU! You must have a sales program in place to identify how you're going to generate the necessary leads for you show clients value so they actually hire you. And finally, after using your marketing to generate leads, and showing the value, you must be able to keep your promises made and get the client the result they paid you for. If you do, they will speak well of you to their friends; the greatest form of marketing. This creates a harmonious cycle of referrals from clients. In my recent analysis of my own business, I realized more than 20 percent of the referrals into our office where coming from clients. That cannot occur unless you have a systematic approach on how to deal with clients so you, and each of your team members, can be consistent.

So, are you comfortable knowing the law alone? Don't be. Knowing the law in and of itself will not help you have a successful business. Seek out your solution on how to run a business and go. That combined with your legally technical competency is a winning combination. Receive a free 90 minute exercise “The Revenue Focuser” to see how you can begin profitability in as little as 30 days.

GETTING OFF THE HAMSTER WHEEL

2010-06-06T10:48:00.001-04:00

I was recently speaking with several attorneys regarding the operation of their law practice and their personal lives. The commonality; each woke up, went to work, dealt with client issues, staff issues, complaints, ended up working late, therefore got home late, not present at home, went to bed, woke up and started the day all over again. It reminds me of the movie “The Groundhog Day”. It was an interesting revelation as I recall this occurred many years ago in my practice and recently has been threatening to happen again. This conversation, however, made me rethink the fundamentals that helped me get off the hamster wheel which I am reapplying once again in my own practice.

Michael Gerber in the E-Myth talks about having time to work "ON” the business versus "IN” the business. Most of us get stuck working IN the business, doing the day-to-day routine items that need to get done, managing staff, dealing with client issues, getting work done but few of us take the time to work ON our business and ensure are keeping our eye on the “future ball” in a more efficient manner. Nothing illustrates it more in my own personal experience of; planning, open time, and development time. The First critical element to working ON my business is planning. I start every Monday morning where the first two hours of my week I am in a restaurant eating breakfast planning all the events for my week, identifying what is occurring, and the open time available for me to create; this is the time in my life that I have to wade into the already scheduled (default) and the time to which I have directly impact what will happen in the future (design). Planning is the most critical element to any of us to avoid being "Dumped on" all week without knowing its coming. It also empowers us to utilize any open time to begin to change the future from our current reality or past.

The second critical element of working ON my business is what I call Open time (my initials). Essentially, this is one day per week where no one is allowed to schedule ANYTHING for me. This is my day to use as I deem best for the future of my businesses and the people whom work with me on my team. I may also decide to use this time for family matters. The beauty is the knowing that I have this one day each week which empowers me on Monday during my planning to prioritize those things that will have the greatest impact on my business and personal life in the short term, medium term, and long term. Oftentimes, during these days, I am able to work on short-term, medium-term, and long-term projects. I encourage you to try scheduling an Open Time into your calendar each week (and preferably not on a Friday). Just try it for 30 days and see what occurs for you.

The third element to my week, which has a great impact on ensuring my firm continues to move forward, is Development Time. Development time is two; two-hour blocks during the week which all members of the firm must leave open and not schedule anything. The purpose of this time is to ensure all members of the firm are using those two, two-hour blocks, four hours a week, to work on the business (i.e., get caught up, developing a system, clear frustrations, training) or provide opportunity for the entire team to be "available" if needed. This prevents any catastrophe in our operations because of our lack of ability to get everybody together. At a minimum, we all know there are two times during the week where we are all available, if needed. In many cases, this time is also utilized for one or two individuals to get together to move projects forward to help them become more efficient in what they are doing. For those of you worrying about how much you have in the week, I do schedule one of the two-hour development blocks on my open time.

So, are you on a hamster wheel trying to get off? I recommend you consider these three elements in your week and implement them for 30 days and see what impact it can have. The truth is, you are showing up everyday anyway, it is a matter of what intentional, focused, present and future practice energy you are putting into it, week in and week out. Trust and take try it on, it will help move you in the right direction to get off the hamster wheel. Good luck. For a free download of The complete MPS Weekly Planning Focusers go to www.mpsccs.com.

HOW MANY REFERRAL SOURCES ARE ENOUGH?

2010-05-28T12:56:00.005-04:00

Recently, I attended a program focused on referrals. The question was asked “How many referral sources are enough? As I pondered this, I was quite intrigued at what I discovered. Interestingly for me once again, it came down to focus. Chet Holmes of The Ultimate Sales Machine™ says should you do 10 things 14,000 times. When identifying the number of referral sources you need its really no different.

So how many referral sources do you need? Consider, if you would, a single meeting with a potential referral source is approximately 1.5 hours. Assume further, you were committed to three meetings per week to meet with new referral sources. That would take only 4.5 hours of your entire work week, about 10% of your time. The question is, “Is it effective?” If you stay committed to three referral source meetings per week, that will permit you to meet with 12 people per month; totaling about 144 people per year. Give or take a few. Seriously. If each of these 144 people referred you one or two cases, you will have between 144 and 288 cases per year, probably far beyond what you could handle or need to meet your firm monthly revenue goal. So, is it necessary to meet with various referral sources three times a week? Absolutely; but only if you are more than intentional about it.

However, what if I said you were limited to only ten referral sources? Which ten would you pick? And knowing that you only had ten to chose from, what would be the criteria to identify whether a potential referral source made it to your top ten? These are the questions you want to ask yourself to be able run an efficient profitable practice because as we know, if there are no referrals, there is no business. And busy without business means loss, financial loss.

What I recommend is you pick your top ten referral sources and meet with them and identify what it is about them that made them your top referral source. Is it their personality? Is it their clientele? Is it the values you share in common? I suggest you indentify the qualities of your top ten; then your top two or three and absolute clone them. What if, instead of meeting 144 people a year, you focused on the ten you had the best relationships with and asked them to introduce you to people like them? What if, each one of them you asked to introduce you to just three more people? What if, instead of meeting 12 new people per month, you commit to meeting four people, the same four people, and once each quarter? And you continue to build your relationship and continue to work together in the ways that serve both of you best. This creates several efficiencies. First, you have to manage fewer relationships. While your top ten will introduce you to 30 others, most of those ones referred to could be managed through that one relationship. Continuing on, if one of the referrals from your top ten becomes a new top ten, then you can request three from them. Now you are beginning to build a network of networks rather than starting fresh over and over again.

Interestingly, as I look at my calendar and see the little time I have to market, I have a conundrum to determine how can I not market, otherwise, I’ll have no work to do. Working smarter, not harder is always the answer. It is working with efficiency. So, I challenge each of you to uncover who your top ten referral sources are. Will you meet with just anyone? A standard you have to determine right off the bat. Another standard I would identify is if somebody’s calling you as opposed to you calling them. Pay attention; possibly they’re identifying you as their top ten and they should get priority or at least a free look at you to determine if there’s a possibility for them to fall into your top ten. It doesn’t take much. It just takes focus, intentionally and authenticity. It’s not hard folks and you may actually find yourself having fun and oh yeah; increased clients, increased referrals and increased cash flow.

Straight from NAELA

2010-05-19T09:21:00.001-04:00

Last week I found myself in sunny Orlando, Florida inside the Disney World Resort attending the annual NAELA conference. It was remarkable to notice the difference between this group of lawyers and those that I met the week prior at the Ohio State Bar Association Annual Meeting. Neither better than the other, both provided reasons to be proud to be a lawyer.

However, the marvelous thing about NAELA attorneys is how truly driven they are from the heart. They're absolutely passionate about helping people, especially those less fortunate. The attorney's backgrounds were quite diverse. I met a woman who had been practicing in the elder law area for "15 minutes" (her words). This was her first conference after having spent 18 years as a public defender. On the other hand, I met multiple attorneys with LLMs that have a thorough knowledge of sophisticated tax planning strategies. NAELA attorneys covered the legal technical spectrum, but all shared a common theme, the need to help people.

Interestingly, as I met many of them, I asked two simple questions: 1) What is your greatest success currently in your practice; and 2) What is your greatest challenge? What absolutely intrigued me was the answers to both questions were universally the same. Their success was they were very "busy" and had lots of work. Their biggest challenge? Inconsistent cash flow! It reminded me of why I decided to become an elder law and estate planning attorney; I am passionate about helping people. The distinction, however, for me is having the ability to help people and get paid! You have to be financially successful or you won’t be able to help anyone. The difference is being able to choose your pro bono cases rather than making all of your clients’ pro bono cases.

I had the opportunity to speak at the event. It was well attended and the topic was, “How to maintain profitability in your law practice.” I explained how profitability is a function of revenue and expense. I was shocked to learn most of the attendees did not have the least bit understanding of the difference between a fixed expense and variable expense. A fixed expense is one you have whether your office is open or closed (i.e. rent, utilities, etc.) and variable expense changes based upon the amount of work you do (i.e. postage, paper, and yes, staff). What intrigued me was most lawyers aim to generate revenue to cover their overhead. That is, if their overhead is $10,000.00 a month, then their revenue goal is $10,000.00. The scary part was most failed to include the most important expense of all, paying themselves! It's absolutely critical when building a law practice to build your pay into your overhead as a "fixed expense!” This must be included, so, for the lawyer with a $10,000.00 overhead who wants to earn $10,000.00 a month, (s) he needs to generate $20,000.00 revenue and if (s) he can’t, then they need to cut expenses. It’s that simple!

After the completion of my talk, I encouraged them to do a 60‑minute revenue focus exercise to change the future of their cash flow (available at contact@mpssuccess.com ). Many stopped me after the presentation and in the hallways, (even many "big wigs") and felt it necessary to tell me how applicable they found this simple fundamental practice management concept. It became clear to me many lawyers confuse being busy with being successful. In fact, I'm finding quite the opposite. An attorney’s success is dependent upon the number of people (s) he can help. If you are able to work profitably, you can help more people, and if you are not profitable, you become one of the people that need help rather than the one giving it.

When we shed some light on this, many of the members agreed, it was okay to be profitable and it enables them to help more people. It's empowering because of the great work we can do as lawyers. The clients are willing to pay for it, and yes, even bring hugs and brownies to the office (in my case, an 87‑year‑old continually brings homemade scalloped potatoes). Stay committed to helping people. Stay committed to profitability. Because you absolutely need both to succeed, because “Whether You Think You Can or Can't, You're Right"--Henry Ford

A Pleasant Surprise

2010-05-12T23:24:00.005-04:00

This past Thursday and Friday, I attended the Ohio State Bar Association. What made this unique is, I am not a member of the Ohio State Bar. My intention started out relatively simple; to be a vendor at the event to promote my national training program. The results of the two days created a pleasantly surprising experience by reminding me of the great things we do as lawyers.

The 1 hour plenary session, which all attorneys attended, featured Paul M. Lisnek, JD, PhD. Mr. Lisnek spoke on communication skills. I was quite surprised and pleased to hear this topic as I personally have been committed to the importance of communication skills to get into the perspective of clients for many, many years. The speaker was right on the money when he indicated lawyers are not sued because they make mistakes; they are sued because they lose their client's trust or they are arrogant. The presentation, although, only an hour, was very insightful and reminded me of the MPS Power–In-Partnership™ model we train, and the importance of making sure attorneys are able to communicate at the client level with the client to solve their problems.

As the convention continued, there was a highly contested race for president elect to the State Bar. Everywhere you went was infiltrated by paraphernalia to promote one candidate over the other. At first glance, it was frustrating and I thought an invasion of this great event, but, at the luncheon where the State Bar officials spoke, it became quickly evident this group of lawyers was very collegial, all speaking well of each other. In fact, the current year's president elect, rather than speaking of himself, acknowledged the other attorney in the audience whom he prevailed against. He also acknowledged staff people on the Bar Association which is not typically seen but very honorable. As lawyers, we often get caught up in our world and our importance, but seeing professionals at the Ohio Bar Association reminded me, we can take our integrity to a new level and have common decency and respect for our fellow members of the Bar, even if we disagree with them, and in this case, even if they are running against us.

As the two day event continued, I noted the programs offered covered virtually every area of the law. The speakers came in different shapes, sizes, and had different speaking styles. Most, unfortunately, were the traditional lecture style. The materials were good, but few of the materials were able to be implemented into the practice of any attorney who attended to enable immediate results. Again, great education, great effort, but it reminded me of the importance of our Teach, Show, Do, and Go™ strategy our training follows. Teach the law, show how it's applied, teach a tool that follows the law, have the participants do an actual case study using the tools, and then send them home with the tools so they know they are doing it properly and can implement it immediately. What a critical difference on the impact of these attorneys, but most will not even realize it because this is all they know.

Lastly, while I came here in a “sales” mode, within an hour of arriving, it was gone and immediately began friendships. Instead of trying to convince someone why they needed my program, I merely started to find out about their pain and what it was about their practices they were experiencing. Being an active practitioner, I was able to relate quickly to their frustrations and share mine as well as some potential solutions. What resulted from this were new friendships based on common goals and objectives to help people discover the best ways to do it. I believe they call that collegiality. In fact, one of the friendships formed was with a well recognized attorney in the area of Asset Protection whom is affiliated with individuals who have spoken ill of our iPug™ Trust. In getting to know this gentleman, I realized how similar we were and in fact, have come to really respect his level of knowledge in the area of asset protection. On the other side, he got to understand me and our use of the asset protection strategies and was quite surprised at the applications and how the use of the iPug™ trusts are viable. Amazing isn't it.

As the event closed, the greatest thing I took from this two day event is an appreciation of what we do as lawyers. I am privileged to work with so many competent, caring, hardworking lawyers whose primary goals in life are to represent their client and help achieve the results clients didn't think were possible. It's very rewarding to realize that as lawyers, we are blessed with the ability to actually change the world because we know the rules by which the law is built and we can challenge it when we think it’s not being followed. What a special privilege this is for all of us to positively impact the world.

There's No Recession in Medicaid Planning

2010-05-05T11:36:00.002-04:00

Has the stock market crash of 2008 and subsequent great recession affected your estate planning practice? In October 2008, my law firm celebrated the highest grossing month in our firm history, up 70% from January 2008. In November, we did one-half of what we did in October. Unfortunately, when the revenues fell in half, my overhead and expenses did not. I had to make significant adjustments quickly.

As I sit here, a year and a half later, it’s amazing how once again the old adage that “it all works out in the end” has once again prevailed. My law firm is now leaner and generates between 60 and 70 percent of the revenue we were able to do at the peak but with only 50 percent of the overhead, thus a more profitable model. What saved us? Actually, when the market tanked, all estate planning business ceased. Nobody was banging down our doors to avoid probate, but the doorbell continued to ring to help those people concerned with losing a lifetime of assets to the nursing home and wanting to qualify for Medicaid. Interestingly enough, through this economy we have found a whole new client market, those wanting a new type of “asset protection”.

As an estate planning Attorney, when you hear “asset protection” you tend to think of the sophisticated asset protection strategies to avoid estate taxes or the asset protection trusts domiciled in Alaska or one of the other 11 states that permit the wealthy to create irrevocable trusts and still retain some rights from them. This is NOT the asset protection planning clients are hiring me for.

Asset protection for non taxable estates has emerged as a whole new desire of the consumer market. The significance of these trusts is they do not have the restrictions of the traditional asset protection trusts that must comply with estate tax laws or the laws of the 12 states; they rely on common law and trust law. Statistics show only 3 out of 1,000 Americans have a taxable estate of $3.5 million dollars, thus representing 0.3 percent of the population, leaving 99.7 percent who don’t care about estate taxes.

Unfortunately, the legal industry has not caught up with this phenomenon, but MPS attorneys across the county have. What we are finding is clients are hiring us on a 10 to 1 ratio asset protection planning over traditional estate planning. We have also found that there’s a whole new fear of clients that didn’t exist before. When we ask clients what they want, they tell us to protect our assets but we don’t end there, we ask “protect from whom or what?” The No. 1 answer, they want protection from is the nursing homes. That did not surprise us, but what shocked us was the No.2 response, they want protection from the government! I began this blog with talking about the demand for Medicaid planning even during this down economy, which remains high. Since then I have also discovered, what I believe to be the next generation of estate planning, asset protection for non taxable estates, which provides asset protection while Medicaid compliant and permits the grantor full control of their assets and full use, but no access. Not only are clients loving the protection, they especially appreciate the “tax neutral” status they hold so no special tas reporting is required. Business owners and professionals are among the clientele hiring me for these trusts. Clients’ new fear of our government has created this new opportunity. I make no representation of what side of the isle you fall, Republican or Democrat, Liberal or Conservative, I am merely sharing feedback I am seeing day-to-day from everyday Americans. If you are not providing this new form of asset protection, I encourage you to get up to speed on it quickly. Clients need it, and more importantly, they are writing checks for it, even in this economy.

Is Estate Planning Dead? What Clients are Writing Checks For

2010-04-28T11:48:00.006-04:00

I started my estate planning practice in 1992. In those days talking about a Living Trust, was a challenge; to get people educated on what it was and how it benefited them. Over the time, through the 90s’, a Living Trust became an easy sell as the stock market boomed and clients saw the value of avoiding probate to ensure the money accumulated went to the people they wanted without delay. As the 90’s ended, however, a whole new paradigm occurred. Beginning in 2000, with the crash of the tech market and corporate scandals, Enron followed by 9/11, clients, for the first time since the Great Depression, had real losses. Enron stock was not coming back. Followed by the recession of 2003 and the Great Recession of 2008 - 2009, the estate planning landscape has changed forever and what clients are willing to write checks for. In the early 90’s, 100% of my practice was focused on estate planning. As the 90’s came to a close, a great interest began in elder law and Medicaid planning to protect assets from the nursing home. By 2001 Medicaid planning had surpassed my estate planning practice as the number one revenue generator. Subsequent to 2001 with the change of the Bush tax laws that had its first major impact in 2005 with the exemption going to $2 million and later in 2009 with it going to $3.5 million, the estate planning industry entered a whole new paradigm for asset protection. Something I call asset protection for the non taxable estate.

After the most recent market crash in 2008, I literally saw my estate planning practice go to zero! Luckily, by that time my Medicaid and non taxable estate practice had grown to 70% of my business. Diversity shielded me from a more drastic reduction in business that I am seeing with many of the law firms I work with. Most traditional estate planning practices are on life support. Many attorneys I have had the opportunity to train are thriving and reported 2009 as their greatest year in their practice. What is it that clients are writing checks for?

One area of planning that never goes away is the need for asset protection and Medicaid eligibility. Most individuals will do anything to protect their lifetime of savings from losing it all to a nursing home because of an unforeseen illness. Medicaid planning transcends all economies and is always valuable to the client because they can derive immediate benefit that they can measure. Most attorneys are afraid of doing Medicaid planning because they believe it is complicated. This has always intrigued me. As a tax attorney having to deal with hundreds of thousands of pages of tax codes and regulations, the Medicaid planning was always so much easier because it has less than 200 pages of regulations. In reality, Medicaid planning consists of 12 core concepts applied to the variety of fact patterns. Once these 12 core concepts are understood, applying them to the facts patterns becomes fairly routine in a short period of time. That is how many lawyers I work with are able to generate significant revenues within months of completing 3 days of training. In addition to Medicaid planning, clients are writing checks for asset protection, interestingly, the number one protection they seek is from the government. With the growing taxes and regulations there is a tremendous fear of the government positioning itself to take what we have worked for. While the government assures us they will not affect everyday people only “the rich”, most clients are not convinced of the governments’ definition of “rich”. As a result, asset protection planning for non taxable estates has been our number one asset-protection planning strategy.

So what is asset protection for non taxable estates? Well, most of us are familiar with asset-protection planning and the 11 states that have specific statutes protecting individuals who create irrevocable trusts and permitting them some rights to them through trustees or third parties, the most famous being Alaska. Unlike that type of asset-protection planning, which is all related to higher net worth clients, those that have a taxable estate, the planning clients are writing checks for on a daily basis. This is a whole different genre of asset-protection planning; because it does not need the restriction utilized in tax planning and does not need to utilize one of the 11 states with special statutes.

Asset-protection planning for non taxable estates is based in common law. The concepts are simple and well established. In fact, most of us have used all of these concepts already in our practice just not in the context for non taxable estates because we have been so focused on tax planning over the last 40 years as attorneys. Asset-protection planning for non taxable estates has led to the creation of a whole new genre of trusts called IPugs. IPug stands for irrevocable pure grantor trust. Unlike an intentionally defective trust, which is a grantor trust for income tax purposes but not a grantor trust for estate tax purposes, an IPug is a Apure grantor trust which classifies it under the tax code as a grantor trust for both income and estate tax purposes. Essentially, it operates exactly like a revocable trust except that it is irrevocable.

We are not restricted by the tax rules to exclude the assets from the clients’ estate because 99.7% of clients do not have taxable estates so there is no restriction to the grantor being a trustee and maintaining control of the property. In addition, we can retain all rights to modify the trust with the exception of that portion which we desire to protect because as we all know under common law and trust law if a grantor can get at it, so can his creditor and predators.

Not only do these trust work very well in a Medicaid-qualifying context but they are especially revered by business owners and professionals seeking to protect their assets from the growing number of lawsuits without having to give up control. So what are clients writing checks for? In my experience my estate planning practice is near zero not from lack of effort and not from lack of trying but from the mere reality of the economy and the way people now look at planning. There is much more of a need to protect what clients are not willing to give up control.

So traditional revocable-trust planning unlike probate is on life support but new genre of estate planning to protect clients assets from a nursing home and keep them in control is flourishing. How is your traditional estate planning practice going in 2010, I would love to hear of your success stories and challenges alike.

Banks are a Pearl Referral Source

2010-04-21T15:41:00.019-04:00

In 19 years of practice, my attitude of working with banks has turned 180 degrees. When I began my practice in the early 1990’s, banks frustrated me. Many of them were unwilling to consider my brilliant ideas as a young practitioner. Furthermore, many larger banks with trust departments had well-ingrained relationships with the old, grey-haired, established attorneys from the large firms. It was impossible to break through those barriers. In my early experiences with banks, I found their biggest push was to ensure every plan you created named it as trustee while in my heart I believed the family members were the best people to make the decisions regarding the family. Over the years, wisdom has taught me they weren’t totally off target and I was not totally on target.

As I sit here now enjoying several wonderful relationships with banks, I felt it interesting to reflect up on the things that have made the relationships most effective. Like all pearls, there are black ones and white ones, perfect ones, and some with blemishes. Banks as referral sources are no different. The biggest cons of working with banks, is they tend to be bureaucratic with many levels and lots of Vice Presidents. National and regional banks have multiple locations and often are controlled “somewhere else”. For smaller law firms it is more difficult to service banks with multiple locations as it tends to stress the internal systems and the time the smaller firms have to devote to their referral relationships.

The pros on the other hand for those willing to conquer the cons, are banks have an unlimited supply of customers and unlike typical financial professionals, the customers come to them. The bank rarely needs to go out and seek the customer. Another powerful aspect of working with banks is they have deep customer relationships. Many times over the years I have created extensive estate plans only to have the client tank them because the teller at the bank told them not do it. These deep customer relationships when you win over the relationship of the individual bankers are critical in building a similar relationship for you with the client. Another very positive aspect of working with banks is the diversity of the customer base. Most banks have many older people, business owners, and professionals as customers. The common theme, they all have money; therefore, they all need some form of estate planning. So what are the elements to working effectively with a bank?

Over the years, I have seen smaller banks be acquired by middle-sized banks and acquired by larger banks. The consolidation of the banking industry has been widespread over the last 10 or 15 years. But one main struggle seems to plague all banks, disconnect between the banking personnel and their financial services division. In many banks, the branches are hurt if they make a referral of the cash assets to the financial service professional to be invested in an annuity or other financial vehicle. This dis‑incentive, in many cases, leads to an ineffective relationship between the banking and the financial services division of the bank. The greatest success I have had over the last five years is having created a system to actually solve that problem with banks. Since most branch managers are hurt by losing deposits, we encourage them to work with us so we can discover through our process other assets of the client to refer to the financial services department. Our client process includes; A vision meeting to identify the needs of the client and the plan they engage us for, and a post-vision and pre‑design meeting to help identify and create a table of all client assets. As part of the design of the estate plan (the attorneys second meeting in the process) we not only design and create the estate plan and all of the associated documents, we also create the funding plan to instruct the client how to fund all the various assets into the different estate planning vehicles we have created for them.

To the bank, the most important column on the funding table is the “transfer to” column. This has become their favorite part of our process because we routinely recommend clients consolidate all of their assets outside of the bank with the bank to hold as many assets as possible in one location to the extent possible to minimize administrative struggles in the event of an unforeseen or anticipated disability or death. It also builds the professional “team” to help ensure their plan actually works. In our process, over 90 percent of the clients that work with us will consolidate 100% of their assets with the adviser that referred them and help build the professional team. This is a very strong statistic the banks love and has created a reason for them to continually flow their clients to us so the assets can be discovered and received from other financial institutions for investment, rather than from their own bank’s deposits. While a common concern of clients is not to put all their eggs in one basket, we advise them while they do not want to put all their eggs in one basket (one investment) they do want all of their baskets in one hen house (easier to watch and protect from foxes). With the diversity of the financial services industry today, banks now can offer full financial services the wire houses traditionally held control of. Obviously, as an attorney, we must be independent and confident of the service of the bank and the integrity and competency of the individual advisers and personnel we work with. The more relationships you can create within the bank the greater the likelihood of a synergistic approach for helping clients ultimately achieve their goals.

Several months ago, I met with a regional business banker for a large regional bank. After conducting my standard Synergy Meeting, I identified her concerns and pains in relation to serving their business clients. After explaining our process and our business protection solutions, she immediately saw the value but was unable to implement any referral relationship because of the bureaucracy. Over the course of the next several months I undertook to meet with every branch manager (all 14 of them) and each financial service professional (7) individually to a Synergy Meeting to identify their needs and share my process. As a result, I started to identify how our firm’s educational process and client estate planning process supports them in what they do more specifically or business owners protection trust. At the end of this three-month period, after over 20 meetings, I had the opportunity to speak with the regional manager again whom smiled and said Everybody wants to work with you. What do we have to do next? Obviously, with a little work, a pearl can become a gem.

When is a Prince Referral Source Really a Frog?

2010-04-14T16:08:00.005-04:00

Over ten years ago I met two financial advisors who worked as a team in a national financial services firm. They were top producers and outperformed everyone in their regional office and were even recognized nationally. Over the years we built a relationship, I met with them many times but we always seemed to struggle on referrals. They liked, admired and respected me and I liked, admired and respected them but underneath it all something always seemed to be in the way of us truly creating a meaningful relationship. Everything on the surface seemed like this was a great referral relationship and over the years we continued to work to find out the best way to work together. We began receiving referrals from them but it seemed each referral came at a price. They continually asked why we didn’t send an equal number of referrals back. I had explained most of my clients came from referral sources and the few that didn’t, had to be spread among all my referral sources. They accepted my explanation for a while but always reminded me of their financial goals. They were driven to succeed. I often supported them in many other areas like sharing business ideas, business operations, practice management and even practice development and marketing ideas. They implemented many of the ideas I shared with them but somehow the ideas always ended up being theirs. They became more and more successful as I, but we really never identified how best to work together. The referrals stopped. Recently, they left the national firm and created an independent company and literally moved across the street. After six months of settling in they called me and asked me to see to come visit their new offices and catch up. I was encouraged to see them with hopes to reignite the relationship. When we sat down, I asked each of them their goal of the meeting. They were very clear to say they wanted to build a $300 million book of business and they wanted to know our relationship could support them. Without being asked, I shared, my goal was to identify whether we should give up in trying to find a way to work together or if there was still hope for us to discover a mutually beneficial relationship. This took them by surprise but it was very real for me. Ultimately, I believe it was to them as well.

I began a polite conversation reminding them of the value I could provide their clients and the value of working with us and I shared what I thought the value of working with them was. After discovering their frustrations of working with me in the past, I acknowledged it and shared the new processes I put in place to reduce their concerns in the future but assured them “we were not perfect” and if issues arose again, they should let me know rather than just “complain” to each other as they did in the past. Interestingly, they asked me if I had concerns with working with them in the past. I shared that working with them felt like there was no way to please them and my firm was always under a microscope. I also shared it seemed like they kept a big check list on the wall they were always checking to be sure what we “gave them”. I concluded by telling them, I would love to find a way to work together but I was not committed to it unless I could be comfortable they abandon the “quad pro quo” approach and they be willing to gave up judging us, and start working with us side by side, warts and all. At the end of the hour and a half meeting there was a different air in the room. All of us recommitted to be maintaining our friendship and agreeing that we like, admire and respected each other but we also agreed that we no longer needed to struggle to figure out how best to work together. In fact, we decided not to. Interestingly, in the process we’ve developed a good social relationship, even if we decide not to have a business friendship. No expectations. I feel the best about our relationship as I have in all the ten years of knowing them and I know they do as well. Letting go of this apparent “prince” referral source that was really a disguised “frog” has been very freeing. It now gives me the confidence to focus on those relationships who do appreciate what we do without a “quad pro quo” and without a magnifying glass to micro analyzing any little missed expectations that occurred along the way. So as you read this I encourage you to re‑examine your relationship and identify what apparent “prince” you may be working with that may actually be a disguised “frog”. Take the chance and challenge the relationship into a good one or acknowledge it for what it is, a waste of time. Good luck.

Do Workshops Still Work?

2010-04-07T13:29:00.013-04:00

I was speaking with several attorneys recently who said they've stopped doing workshops or seminars. Some said the advisors they work with were concerned clients were no longer willing to attend them. My experience has been the exact opposite. My workshops in the last three months have had double the attendance rate from 2009. Let's examine some of the reasons why I believe this is true.

Chet Holmes International did a multimillion dollar study to identify why people hire you or buy from you. The number one reason people buy is they must be convinced what is being offered will actually derive a benefit for them. Workshops provide a safe environment for the general public to come and learn about you, what you have to offer them (educate to motivate) and how you can help them. Another primary benefit of a workshop, it is a great opportunity to begin creating a trusting relationship with the perspective client.

Interestingly, the Chet Holmes survey indicated the second most important reason people buy from you is they must be convinced you will actually be able to provide the product sufficiently so they will derive the perceived benefit. In my experience, clients don't have a clue whether you know what you are doing or not. What they typically rely on is their instinct of whether you appear trustworthy. A workshop is a phenomenal opportunity to begin to create and build a working trustworthy relationship with potential clients. It is critical you be as personable as possible in your presentations and create an environment where the participants feel important and listened to.

The Chet Holmes survey indicated the third most important reason people buy from you is they are satisfied you will provide good customer service. The survey revealed this was the most difficult to measure because service was from the perspective of the consumer, not the provider. So, in these trying times, we must go above and beyond in customer service. Return calls immediately, get rid of voice mail, and answer the phones directly; increase their confidence by providing stellar client services.

The fourth most important reasons why people buy from you, according to the survey, was consumers must have options, and fifth most important in the buying decision was price. Interestingly, only 14% of the people in the survey cited price as their No. 1 concern. In my experience, most lawyers focus on their price; thus creating a practice that focuses on the 14 % rather than the 86% who want to see the value of what is being offered, be sure you can provide it, be confident in your customer service, and have options.

The workshop, when properly done, illustrates all the factors to get hired. A workshop is a way for you to show your knowledge of general ideas and concepts that impact the participant (identify their pain) and provide solutions to eliminate or minimize it. Show them what is possible, and how they can derive the benefit. Lastly, provide options. I recommend for you to have two platforms, a standard planning and personalized planning. Standard planning can accommodate those people more concerned with price, and the personalized will attract those who are more concerned with solutions. Be sure to distinguish the two and be able to simply identify the impact to the client of each.

Another great advantage of workshops is, it is a time management tool. By bringing groups of 25 people together in one sitting, you are able, in one two hour session, to convey your message, build relationship, and show value which equates to less than spending six minutes per client rather than the one to two hours individually with each client. Therefore, as a time management tool, the workshop not only helps bring in clients to you, but it also helps weed out those that are not ready or do not actually need your services. The good news, it still acts as marketing and branding to inform those not ready; who you are, what you do, and that you are there if ever they need you or if it comes up in conversations with family and friends.

The key elements to a successful workshop are as follows:

Make it about them. When you begin a workshop, you must make it about the participants. I greet them each personally and warmly when I open the workshop. I always personally serve them cookies on a tray to illustrate I am there to serve them when I begin the workshop, I ask them what they want to learn during the workshop, and write it down on an overhead, white board, or flip chart. This helps you immediately get into the participant’s perspective and tailor the conversation during your presentation to accommodate the individual questions of the participants. Do not answer their questions then. Take them down and address them as you go through your presentation. This will demonstrate your commitment to answer their concerns and help them feel listened to and important.

Set Expectations. In your opening, you must set the expectations for the attendees. Review the full agenda and tell them you will be answering all their questions and only ask for one thing in return, their evaluation. I make them three promises. One, the workshop will go quickly, two, they will learn a lot, and three, they'll have some fun, and I ask that if I keep my promises they will agree to complete the evaluation and let me know how I did. I actually get their verbal agreement up front by asking is that acceptable and pause and wait for their collective "yes".

Your presentation. Do not teach the law. Do not teach how trusts work. Do not teach them all your brilliance. Merely, show them, in simply terms and stories, how estate planning impacts their lives on a daily basis. For example, we have a simple story about Biff and Bambi. We simply state that many clients are married a very long time and, at some point, their spouse may die. The question is, when the surviving spouse is grieving, will the Biff, the pool boy, or Bambi, the bar maid, be there to get them thru their grief? Without getting into all the legal technical ramifications of remarriage and the risks, a simple reference to Biff, the pool boy, and Bambi, the bar maid, helps clients appreciate one element that estate planning can do, protect their assets for their children in the event of their passing, and their spouse's remarriage. Over 90 percent of the clients consult with us indicate a desire to protect against a remarriage. Interestingly, they giggle and say, “I don’t want Biff and Bambi get my stuff”. This truly is getting into the client's perspective and showing the value you can do by using simple stories rather than typical legal “mumbo jumbo”.

Identify unforeseen risks. Your presentation must also identify for them the risks that they do not see. Some examples include:

If a beneficiary became disabled;
If the client became disabled:
The children became divorced; etc.

Closing. At the end of the presentation, I go back to the questions they ask, put them on the overhead, and confirm I've answered each one of the questions to their satisfaction. It shows them you are committed to them and you kept your word. I then remind them of the three promises I made, and I ask them collectively if I kept each of the three promises. After they've answered yes, I reply “great” and I ask they keep their promise to complete the evaluation and let me know how I did. At that moment, I also explain how as a thank you they are offered a free consultation and they are able to put that on the evaluation. I have found that this process has had a tremendous impact in building relationships, setting expectations, and giving the client confidence what I am able to provide for him. Overwhelmingly, I have found workshops are working now more than they have in the past, but you must get into their perspective.

Is It Time to Commoditize Your Practice?

2010-03-31T15:26:00.008-04:00

Recently, in initial meetings with prospects, there has been a significant increase in questions relating to the price of our planning. This had not occurred previously in my practice. I undertook the job to examine why it was occurring by asking clients, prospects, and referral sources and discovered there is a tremendous amount of financial fear in the marketplace. Everyone is holding on to their discretionary dollars. Most people view estate planning as a discretionary expense. We are now competing with Best Buy and Home Depot for clients’ dollars. Those that would have considered estate planning in the past are now more concerned and requesting lower fees. I also witnessed other law firms in the marketplace offering to do what we do at “half the price". This put a lot of pressure on me to consider changing my practice model to a commodity-based model and start getting into a price war with the other attorneys in town. I opted not to, but instead, made a strategic change to my business model which has served the best of both worlds.

After hearing fear from clients and prospects, I began to sit with several referral sources to discuss what they were finding in their practices and interactions with clients. Interestingly, I discovered two schools of thought among advisors. One school related to those that agreed with the clients that it was all about price. This group of advisors determined their value to their clients was find ways to "save them money" by seeking out the cheapest attorneys in town. The second group of advisors was staunchly opposite. They, in fact, were compelled, now more than ever, their clients needed effective planning, and more important than price was to ensure they had the proper planning to alleviate their fear and anxiety and protect them where they needed it most. Interestingly, this group of referral sources assumed their clients will continue to hire me regardless of our price because the referral source believed in what we were doing and the method in which we were able to show value to the client. Ultimately, what I realized is, this group success was based predominantly on relationship and trust they were able to have with the client.

So what is one to do in this conundrum? As a solution, I modified my conversations with clients to offer either. I am simply speaking into their listening in a way that makes a difference for them. Our process is the same but we modified the conservation to advise clients on the difference between Wills and Trusts and more individualized planning to accommodate the individualized personal needs of the family not provided by the “standard” plans. The difference, however, is now I explain to those who are more “price” oriented, how our “standard” plans are competitive with those "other attorneys" talking about prices. In fact, we have a price match guarantee. We also explain the 7-10 differences available for a “personalized” plan to determine if it is important to them.

I have discovered two things with this new approach. First, 30%-40% choose the standard plans and 60%-70% choose the personalized. Second, I recognized not all clients are willing to pay for the customization and individual planning and are satisfied with the general "commodity-type" trust. This enabled me to have these clients hire me when they, otherwise, would not have. My job as a counselor is not to dictate to clients whether they need a personalized plan or a standard one, but to offer them options so they can choose the one best for them.

The critical element to the success of this new approach, however, is dependent upon my firm's ability to ensure the process for the standard plans is more streamlined, takes less time, and does not provide any customization. Because remember, a confused mind says NO! Most lawyers, in my experience, want to customize everything, even if the client is not willing to pay for it. This has been the strength of our two-platform system where we are offer standard documents and personalized documents. A single meeting educating the client on all the options and having them do an analysis to choose what's best for them, will easily guide those that are price-oriented into the standard plan and those that are results-oriented into the personal plan. All this has been integrated in the MPS “Client Enrollment System”. Advisors are extremely comfortable with it because now they have the ability to refer all of their clients to us even those that are more price conscious. So the question of whether it is time to commoditize or not? Answer: Absolutely not. Always maintain your ability to stand above the rest in the marketplace to create personalized plans, but also respect clients’ wishes and commit to help guide them to the plan they are comfortable with. Most importantly, ensure your office systems and processes distinguish between the two so you can be efficient and consistent in the marketplace, and oh yeah…profitable.

How Am I Getting Referrals?

2010-03-18T10:27:00.008-04:00

Referrals are the lifeline to any business, particularly a law firm. Over the last 18 years in practice, I have found many ways to generate referrals. This new economy, however, has changed the impact on each and garnishes different results. The following is my observations from "the trenches".

There are generally three ways to lead people to contact you: (1) retail marketing, a direct call to the consumer; (2) relationships, both personal and business; and, (3) branding, what you stand for in the marketplace.

Retail Marketing. Retail marketing has had a diminishing return over the last 10 years, but still proves to a viable approach. Ads in newspapers, radio, or other publications, must call awareness to the services you provide to target those needing your services now. Chet Holmes International did a multimillion dollar study and learned that at any given time 3 % of the population needs what you have to offer right now. An additional 6 % will need it in the near future, typically less than 30 days. Of the remaining 91 %, the study revealed, approximately one third, doesn’t know whether they need your service or not (they hadn’t considered it). One third needs it but doesn't know they need it, and one third does not need it. When totaled, approximately 70 % of Americans need what you have, will need it, or would consider it if they knew about it. That is what your retail marketing is going after.

When running retail ads, I found it important to include words like “protect” from government, taxes, lawsuits, nursing homes, and in-laws, or a combination of those. It is also important to stress you will keep the client in “control” and you will “keep it simple”. Another important factor when running retail ads is to make it about the reader, not you. Most ads I have seen start with the law firm name at the top or a general statement like estate planning services. This is a big mistake. The most prevalent part of the ad must be something relevant to the consumer's world. For example, an ad beginning with estate planning, many people would look at and glance over assuming they don't need it, while in reality they don't even know what it is. On the flip side, an ad beginning on top with protect your family, or protect from the government, or avoid nursing homes, are much more relevant to the consumer. After reading those headlines, they are much more likely to read the body and content underneath it to see how it impacts them. I typically have my law firm name at the bottom of the ad, so they have to read thru the ad to find it. That being said, your ad should not have so much copy they get lost in it. You should utilize bullet points and bolds strategically. Pictures are also important to tell a story. Chose pictures people can relate personally to.

The most critical element of retail marketing is it must have a call to action. Typically you can invite the public to a free seminar or workshop or a free consultation. In this recent economy, I have found retail marketing is actually getting a greater response than usual. The general public has a lot of concerns with the current economic condition. We have found, it is more difficult to get them to do planning, but many are in an information-seeking mode to determine if they need to be doing something they’re not. Recently, in a local newspaper, in addition to my ad, three other estate planners ran ads. I'm not sure how they made out, but we had the highest response from a retail ad in recent memory. I don't believe they did as well and here is why I believe so. All of their ads were invitations to go to their office for a consultation. Ours was a call to come to a workshop to discover the “7 Threats to their Family Security and How to Avoid Them™”. Many people who attended the workshop found it informative and empowering. We discovered that current consumers are very interested in Family and Asset Protection Planning and they are hiring us for our iPug™ Trusts. Believe it or not, the thought of going to sit with a lawyer for a personal consultation is not on most people's top ten list. In fact, I wonder if it hits their top 100. Most of them will wait until crisis. Our job, in this slow economic time, is to remind them that there is still strategic advances to doing planning without having to wait for crisis occur. A workshop is a great format to show that.

Referral Relationships. The second element to generate referrals is relationships. Relationship referrals are personal, including family members and friends, or business, including allied professionals, nursing homes, home care agencies, etc. Over the last year I noticed referrals from professional relationships have dropped off significantly. As I examined this, I discovered, like us, most of them are scrambling to save their practices, protect their relationships, and are struggling to create value for clients. The idea of referring a client to an attorney is not on their top ten list as well as most clients are crying poverty, fear, and holding on to everything they have.

Like the retail advertising, your conversations with your referral sources must also be in their perspective. Many are struggling to maintain relationships. Sitting down with them to discover ways to create value for them and their client and create a win, win, win situation is warmly received. Recently, I sat down with four different advisers whom were operating their practices from a realm of fear. After a one-hour MPS Strategy meeting, they were excited to sponsor private workshops for their clients for us to put on (one commitment to getting 50 clients to come). The success of this was because we identified the advisors pain and offered topics important to the clients (i.e., The 7 Threats™). We targeted their client base and asked the clients to "invite a friend". Instead of being overwhelmed and concerned, they saw the value in time management savings doing a group workshop which would enable them to see many of their clients in a one to two hour setting, to reestablish relationships and to meet their clients' friends and create opportunities for new business relationships. I highly recommend in this down economy, you consider discussing these types of private workshops with your referral sources.

Branding. The last and most important element in getting referrals is branding. Unfortunately, branding is a high cost and little immediate reward. Branding represents who you are in the marketplace. Currently, if you were to needed to buy a new car where would you be going in your community? The answer you just put in your head is that company that probably had the best branding. The strongest element of branding in and of itself may or may not be clients call you when needed. You know your branding is working when potential clients are talking to their financial advisors or others in the community. When your name is raised from multiple sources, it creates agreement and helps build confidence in consumer’s decision to call you. I had three clients in the last month tell me they knew me from my advertising and then checked with their advisor who also had nice things to say, and they had a friend that was happy with what we did for them. This multiple prong approach of having people think of you is ultimate success in generating an ongoing referral base.

So what can you do now? I recommend the following three things to start getting your referrals moving:

Consider running an ad in a newspaper periodically, or swap sheet that serves your target market. The ad should relate to the consumer’s current pain (i.e. their need to protect from government, nursing home, lawsuits, or the in-laws). It should be a call to action to come to a workshop which is less confronting than a consultation.

Have three Synergy, or Strategy, meetings per week with allied professionals and discover their frustrations, and identify ways you can support them. Consider doing a private workshop for them with the “invite a friend” approach.

Get out of your office. Create opportunities to speak anywhere and everywhere possible. Raise awareness, and make it about the consumers’ needs not yours.

Your Feedback is Very Important To Me

2010-03-12T10:56:00.013-05:00

Hello Friends,

It's hard to believe that we are midway through March already. How is 2010 going for you? What have been your biggest challenges so far? Are you meeting your goals? What are your biggest areas of concern? For instance, are you finding any of the following areas particularly challenging?

Acquiring new clients
Marketing your firm
Finding referral sources
Balancing work with personal and family time
Holding your prices

I certainly would love to hear from some of you. Feel free to leave me a comment and let me know how things are going. As always, I look forward to supporting your success.

Thanks,

Dave

If you're feeling challenged in any of these areas, it’s time to explore and discover new methods…Join us on the call on March 18th to find out more! Click here for details.

Do You Know What Your Clients Are Afraid Of?

2010-03-05T15:28:00.012-05:00

Do You Know What Your Clients are Afraid of? Do You Know What They are Not Getting From You? Do you know why you are not getting paid the FEES you should be?

1. Find out why you MUST be using the Asset Protection Analysis

2. Find out what clients need that 99% of attorneys are NOT giving them

3. Identifying the obligatory tools to avoid Malpractice!

4. How to build profitable referral relationships to avoid becoming commoditized

5. Learn how to transition from attorney to entrepreneur in 90 Days

6. What you need to show your value in the market place…and close no less than 77% of the time.

If your pipeline is not full, it’s time to explore and discover new methods…Join us on the call on March 18th to find out more! Click here for details.

Last Chance....

2010-02-20T10:46:00.001-05:00

Referrals ~ Do you have the 3 Elements to Achieve a Referral in One Hour?

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM EST

Discover in one hour the way to increase your referrals by:

1.Identifying the obligatory tools to avoid Malpractice!
2.Find out what is an Asset Protection Analysis and why you need it
3.How to build profitable referral relationships to avoid becoming commoditized
4.Find out what clients need that attorneys are NOT giving them
5.Learn how to transition from attorney to entrepreneur in 90 Days
6.The elements you need to show your value in the market place…and close no less than 75% of the time

If your pipeline is not full, it's time to explore and discover new methods…Join us on the Call!

What's The Biggest Threat to your Practice?

2010-02-17T11:46:00.008-05:00

Not Knowing the Relevant Law to Help Clients

Learn the Tools, Learn the Law

Follow the Tools, Follow the Law

It's that simple.

Don’t let your confidence threaten your practice any longer!

Join us in February to learn how to learn the tools necessary to boost your practice. Tuesday, February 23, 2010 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM EST

Profiting by Operating Efficiently Using The MPS 5 Key Focusers

2010-02-15T10:58:00.000-05:00

Law firms across the country share with us the exhausting amounts of time and money engaged in a lot (A LOT) of marketing efforts for their small firms. But, typically the activities are prepared in a haphazard manner and rarely would they know what works and what doesn’t. That’s the importance of tracking your efforts and knowing if they produce the results your firm needs to operate efficiently and profitably.

Tracking the results of your marketing activities, is the first step, if your marketing works and your phone is ringing or your website is getting hits, but your follow up lets them fall through the cracks, it’s an absolute waste of money, time and effort. Every business owner’s greatest need is to ensure not only their marketing strategies work, but there is an internal tracking system to ensure those that contact your firm result in actual REVENUE.

The 5 Key focusers follow the MPS process every step of the way which enables you to revise your plan if your efforts are not producing results while ensuring you get the greatest bang for your limited marketing bucks, and show you very quickly what’s not working before your bank account is empty. In addition, the focusers allow your team to eliminate the “reinventing of the wheel” week in and week out. Without the habit of weekly tracking it is virtually impossible to manage the operations within the practice, maintain efficiency and ensure consistent cash flow to cover overhead. Sounds great, but what’s the purpose and goal of each of these 5 key Focusers?!

The Initial Contact Focuser: Tracks the results of your marketing efforts while guaranteeing that the potential client is properly followed up with in a timely manner and that they attend a workshop or schedule an initial meeting. No more backtracking each week.

The Workshop Focuser: Tracks the progress of individuals that registered for a workshop, if an appointment was requested and actual accountability that it was scheduled and completed. We hate to break it to you; you do not get paid for delivering a workshop if the follow up doesn’t happen.

The Pipeline Focuser: Tracks every client scheduled to come in your office to potentially hire you, and the percentage of clients that retained the firm. It’s a little too late to investigate what is impacting your closing rate when there are no money appointments on your calendar or realize your pipeline has dried out because cash flow stops.

The Follow Up Focuser: To track and make certain all client’s and prospects are properly being followed up on to move the company ($$$) forward, each week. Know who is doing what and by when to generate revenue for the firm.

The Cash Flow Focuser: This is the most important focuser that provides the primary focus of your weekly meetings and reporting. In simple terms, identifies all money the firm can expect to collect upon. Cash is King and this simple focuser will keep everyone in the firm (especially the attorney) focused on scheduling appointments, completing work and going the extra mile based on Cash Flow Focuser. You can’t make a difference in anyone life when there’s no cash coming in.

The prime benefit of all forms of tracking is that the results are easily measurable – provided you actually use the tracking system. You can even take it one step further and automate all the tracking with the customized MPS Time Matters Overlay, MPSData™.

At the end of the day, all the focusers allow you to set specific measureable marketing results and track your firms progress (weekly) towards your firms goals. And you will very, very quickly see what’s working and what’s not working before your bank account is empty.

Want to learn more -- join us on the next webinar. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION!

Will 2010 be the year to end the chaos?

2010-02-11T10:40:00.003-05:00

Take control of your practice today. Don't wait another month or another year. Join us in February to learn how to immediately boost your firm and end the chaos. Tuesday, February 23, 2010 | 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM EST

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

Reflection and Reality

2010-01-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

As I reflect upon the close of the 2009 calendar year and the recent memories of family yuletide, it reminds me of the feelings I had a year ago just three months after the crash in September, 2008. It's nice to put 2009 behind us and being December was our best month of the year, gives me hope for 2010. The full reality is it's a new year and we start at zero. What will we be doing this year to take ourselves to a new level? Over the past several weeks, I have found myself reevaluating employees' strength and identifying where they are best-suited. I find myself too quickly trying to "blame them" for struggles they currently have. Upon reflection, I realize the struggles employees have stem from a lack of them working within their skill set or a failure of expectations. We evaluated each employee over the last several weeks of 2009 and repositioned people into their skill set so they can work more naturally without having to feel like they're failing on a daily basis. The three elements to look at with employees are attitudes, skills, and knowledge. If they have a great attitude but are still struggling then look for their skill set. See if it is a skill set necessary for the job they are asked to perform. If they have the skills set but just are not doing it properly, then it is likely a knowledge issue. Focus on getting them the knowledge they need to do their job properly. If their attitude is poor, work with them to improve it, or, and if not corrected, consider replacing them since a poor attitude was the greatest loss of the skill sets and has the greatest impact on your firm's success.

The second preparation for the New Year was ensuring that I had budgets in place. Running a law practice without budgets is like getting up in the morning and not knowing what you're doing. It is critical in these early weeks of January we take the time to identify your revenue goals for the year and your expense goals. Profit is made by either increasing revenues or decreasing expenses. I recommend you use your 2009 numbers plus 20 percent for revenue budgets. Your expense numbers, examine them. If they are more than your revenue numbers, you must reduce them. Let me restate that. You MUST reduce them! This must be the year you get off the “hamster wheel” and start putting yourself first. It's just like the oxygen mask on an airplane, you must put your own on first. You're not good to your employees, or your family, if you're not financially well yourself. I wish all of you a prosperous, focused and happy 2010. I look forward to growing with you.

Tool of the Month

2010-01-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

The MPS Member Website is the tool of the month to start off the New Year, because if you understand this tool, and the resources it provides 2010 can and will be your best year ever..

I have been blown away by the comments after giving tours of the website, both of what members are not ware is available for them, and the impact that understanding this tool has had on the practices that understand what is available. This tool is one of the most important tools we offer, because it provides so many keys to properly implement MPS, and create your profit center.

What will you find on the MPS member website?
•24- Previously recorded Teleconferences/Webinars showing everything from how to use tools, how to create successful referral relationships, how to manage cash flow to the resolution of the MPS Private Letter Ruling! If you’re looking for Legal technical learn the how to use iPug™ protection planning, VA, and hear the answers to the top 12 most frequently asked questions. Learn Basic to advanced marketing strategies, and learn how to make your practice a successful business for your future.
•The Program- You can view as though you were sitting in the room any portion of the Profit Practice Program™, learn something new you might have missed the first time, learn how to use a new tool developed since you came through you program, or just make yourself more confident in any area of the program, whether it be legal technical, marketing, or practice efficiency.
•MPS-CCS™ training- Are you getting the most out of the new MPS-CCS™ software? There is a 90 minute training webinar available, as well as the new design templates that client’s love, and allow you to confidently delegate drafting.
• All the forms, tools, and documents. There are no more CD’s annual updates, the website has it all. When we create or enhance tools, you will get them right away after they have been successfully tested in the lab. You only get the materials that are tested and proven.

If you are not sure you are getting the most from the MPS website, attend the January MPS Monthly webinar, as Molly Hall and Phillip Miner will walk you through how to navigate the MPS member website, and show you everything that you have available to make 2010 Your Best Year Ever!

To access the member website go to: www.mpssuccess.com, and click the “My MPS Login” box on the left side of your screen. We look forward to hearing from you on January 19th.

Earn What You’re Worth

Webinar Update

2010-01-27T13:51:00.002-05:00

Don't forget to register for our February 15th Webinar at 3:00 PM EST! "Profiting by Operating Efficiently Using the MPS 5 Key Factors." Learn more at www.mpssuccess.com!

Reach Your Highest Peak

2010-01-14T11:03:00.002-05:00

A Letter From an MPS MIT and Medicaid Case Worker

2010-01-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

Friends,

I got word of an application approval today! It came in an odd way. The decision maker at our state Medicaid office called to tell me that the property in my client's MIT was available for her care.

He went on to quote from the MIT. "The trust says that the income of the trust shall be paid for the benefit of the income beneficiaries and the lifetime principal of the trust shall be paid for the benefit of the lifetime principal beneficiaries."

He then went on to say that the trust names “Jane” as the lifetime beneficiary.
While I tried to get my computer (which was acting up) to bring up the document, he re-read the relevant sections out loud twice. On the second rereading he dropped his voice and said, "oh', I see what you are saying. You are right."

He had been stonewalling me for 12 months. He would not answer my phone calls, nor respond to questions. My cynical suspicion is that he was waiting for our penalty period and Medicaid annuity to run out so he could spring the bad news on me when I no longer had time to react to the problem.

Once again, the MPS process wins in the end.

~ Very Happy MPS Attorney

PS. Hey new members... this stuff really does work.
PPS. I was gracious in victory.

Transition from Attorney to Entrepreneur

2010-01-05T10:50:00.003-05:00

Take Control in 2010- The Cheese Has Moved

The cataclysmic change in the American economy over the last year has changed everything! The way we must operate as attorneys, the thought process clients use to purchase our services and the value we are able to show them, is all different. In 2010, you must be prepared to lead, follow or get out of the way.

In my experience over this past year, it has become clear that this new economy is all about being responsive. People are not waiting for you to return calls. You must be prepared when the calls come in, no whining or you will be left behind.
To be a leader, you must proceed with confidence in the face of uncertainty! Today’s economy demands a high attention to customer satisfaction and service, not from your perspective, but from theirs! So how do you maintain confidence and lead in 2010? Let MPS™ be your guide. The best way to maintain your confidence is to associate with other who have it. The MPS™ members have created an organization of the highest integrity with tremendous abundance to support their fellow members. I encourage you to continue to utilize the list serve and MPS™ tools and support your friends in the MPS™ community. Second and most importantly, follow the process. Don’t reinvent it, don’t twitch it. As Dan Sullivan said, be stupid! Just do it. I have tested and tried these processes in my active practice every day and they are working. Throughout 2010 we will be bringing you new ideas that we are currently trying and having success with. Stay connected and follow the process.

In all change, there is a winner and a loser. You determine what side you’re on. Stay focused, stay committed, stay confident and stay on process and your success will result. If you always do what you’ve always done, you will continue to get what you have always gotten. In 2010 make a choice to hear. Remember the E-Myth by Michael Gerber, “For a successful small business, you must be an entrepreneur, manager and technician.” To ensure you’re doing this properly in 2010, I encourage you to calendar days of the week that you will be acting in each of those roles and stick to it. Ensure you have at least 2 ½ days a week where you are acting as entrepreneur (seeking out new business); 2 days a week to do work; and one day a week to manage yourself by planning and managing your company. Take Control of 2010! Lead, Follow or Get Out Of the Way!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

2009-12-24T10:41:00.000-05:00

Happy Holiday to you and your family! Best wishes for the New Year! Let's make it a productive and profitable one together!

There are many choices...but one complete solution ~ MPS

Be sure to check our website often in the new year for updates, webinars, educational downloads, programs and much much more!

VISIT WEBSITE NOW

Take Control in 2010

2009-12-23T10:36:00.002-05:00

Lead, Follow or Get Left Behind

Join us in January for our next webinar!

Thursday, January 14, 2010 | 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM EST

Discover the Key Elements Necessary to..
1. Take control of your firm in 2010 and start succeeding
2. Build profitable meaningful referral relationships to avoid becoming commoditized
3. Identify if you have the necessary tools, systems and processes
4. Transition from attorney to entrepreneur
5. Calculate your value in the market place
6. Prevent hidden risks that cause malpractice

You can lead, follow or get left behind ~ the choice is yours!

LEARN MORE -- CLICK HERE

Motivational Thinking

2009-12-16T16:31:00.002-05:00

Always give 100% in whatever you do...If the return isn't 100% back, walk away and rethink your approach.

Avoid Nursing Home Poverty

2009-12-03T06:00:00.002-05:00

Think brand doesn’t matter…ask successful MPS™ member David Carrier. The Leading Authority on LifePlan Independence™, host of West Michigan’s #1 Legal Radio Show.

MPS™ is very proud of member David Carrier and the implementation of his brand across several marketing areas, such as his personal radio show. We are excited to have him join the webinar and share with you how you too can take control of your brand by way of MPS™.

Transition from Attorney to Entrepreneur

2009-12-01T17:11:00.001-05:00

Register for our upcoming Webinar at http://www.mpssuccess.com/webinars.php!

Lead, Follow or Get Out of The Way

Thursday, December 17, 2009 | 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM EST

Discover the 3 Elements Necessary to..
Transition from attorney to entrepreneur
Calculate your value in the market place and wreak of value
Build profitable meaningful referral relationships to avoid becoming commoditized
Take Control of your Brand
Prevent hidden risks that cause malpractice
Identify if you have the necessary tools, systems and processes

You can lead, follow or get out of the way the choice is yours!

Profit Practice Program Reminder

2009-11-18T14:20:00.002-05:00

The 20% credit that we gave you last Christmas will expire soon! DON'T let your hesitation cost you AGAIN. If your practice is not 100% what you thought it could be, our Profit Practice ProgramTM will show you how to make it happen before the year ends. Cash in on your 20% before you lose IT.

3 Elements To Survive & Thrive In These Times

2009-11-12T09:03:00.000-05:00

Thursday, November 12, 2009 | 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EST

Are changing times killing your practice?
Do you have the proper tools to meet today's changes?
Are you feeling the pinch in this economy?
Are the changes in estate planning making you a commodity?

Now's The Time To Understand The Elements To Thrive In Theses Times
Calculate your value in the market place.
Identify the elements for a profitable practice in these times.
Discover how Medicaid Planning can help you avoid a pinch in your profits.
Identify how to build profitable meaningful referral relationships to avoid becoming commoditized.
Discover why iPug™ protection planning, has become the standard of asset protection for 99.7%.
Identify the tools and process to prevent hidden risks that cause malpractice.
Discover how to have clients see the value you provide.

Join us for one hour to catch up on what your practice needs to thrive in today’s changing times. Our members are reporting their best practice ever. Are You?

The MPS Profit Practice Program™ Schedule:

2009-11-10T16:04:00.003-05:00

December 2, 3, 4 in Phoenix, A.Z.

Crowne Plaza Phoenix Airport
"The Place to Meet"
4300 E. Washington Street
Phoenix, AZ 85034
Telephone 602-273-7778 Facsimile 602-286-1109
Client's block of rooms will be held until 3:00pm on 11/01/2009.

10x Guarantee

Give us 3 days, we'll make you profitable.
If after attending the first day of any MPS event you do not believe you can generate ten times the event cost, you may return the event material and MPS will pay $100.00 toward your flight change fee and relieve you of your obligation to pay the program tuition outlined on your registration form. Materials, fees charged on your registration form are not refundable. If you (1) leave the program with any MPS material, (2) fail to notify the MPS event coordinator of your exercise of the guarantee at the end of the first day, or (3) return for the second day of the event program, you acknowledge the program is worth its cost and waive the 10X guarantee and agree to pay all charges set forth on your registration form.

Hellow My Name Is Cash Flow

2009-11-02T07:10:00.001-05:00

MPS can introduce you to your firm's most promising Cash Flow opportunities.

Join us for one hour and learn how keeping your promises can change the future of your practice. Our members are having firm revenue record highs, are you? Act now!

Thursday, November 12, 2009 | 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EST

TO LEARN MORE AND REGISTER, CLICK HERE.

"MPS provided critical and indispenable legal technical skills, from a basic to an expert level, necessary to represent the 98%. It further provided me with other invaluable skills related to client relationships, office management and marketing. I prosper in this area of practice thanks to MPS." Patrick S., Esq/Augusta, GA

10 FREE Law Practice Audits at upcoming NAELA event

2009-10-31T13:00:00.000-04:00

Keep Your Promises

2009-10-29T07:06:00.000-04:00

Join us for one hour and learn how keeping your promises can change the future of your practice. Our members are having firm revenue record highs, are you? Act now!

Thursday, November 12, 2009 | 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EST

TO LEARN MORE AND REGISTER, CLICK HERE.

Are changing times killing your practice?

2009-10-28T07:00:00.003-04:00

Learn Key Elements to Stand the Changing Times and Increase Profits.

Thursday, November 12, 2009 | 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EST

Are changing times killing your practice? Has the economic changes, purchasing habit changes, and the change in how people view estate planning hurting profitability? Now is the Time to focus on ways to provide your practice the key elements to stand the changing times, and earn your greatest revenues.

1.Calculate what you are worth? (You may be surprised)

2.Identify the elements to stand changing times and maintain a profitable practice

3.Identify how Medicaid Planning is a concern for the fastest growing market in America

4.Identify how to build profitable referral networks to overcome the average view of Estate Planning

5.Identify how iPug™ Planning, a client's new best friend can impact your practice immediately

6.Identify how to avoid hidden potential risks for malpractice

7.Identify what impacts a client’s decision to hire you, and how to overcome their objections

Join us for one hour and see how acting now can change the future of your practice. Our members are having firm revenue record highs, are you? Act now!

TO LEARN MORE AND REGISTER, CLICK HERE.

Keys to earning the paycheck you want from your practice

2009-10-14T15:28:00.001-04:00

Dear Attorney,

MPS has identified the key areas causing Elder Law Attorneys the greatest grief in their practice and reasons behind the pinch many see in their cash flow. As a result, attorneys are telling us that they are not as confident and they fear liability for malpractice.

MPS is asking you to help us identify these key areas that are preventing you from the weekly paycheck you desire. Are you helping less clients and losing revenue? Are you concerned about malpractice?

Please join our FREE one hour webinar to help you identify the areas that are stopping you.

Our goal is to help attorneys across the country avoid falling into the pit that has caused several good attorneys to lock their doors this year.

Thank you,
MPS Team

Join us for this Webinar on October 15th.
Space is limited.

Unlike any other call! Don’t miss this
Opportunity for Questions & Answers!

The 3 Keys To Earn The Weekly
Paycheck You Desire

Thursday, October 15, 2009
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM EDT
________________________________________

Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/976892296
If the link does not directly take you to the registration page please copy and paste into you browser.

Hear From Our Members

2009-10-14T12:31:00.001-04:00

"MPS gives you techniques, skills, marketing, tools but it is not about techniques, skills, marketing or tools. MPS is about how to live your life with integrity. Everything flows from and ties back to that foundation."
David Carrier, Esq. / Grand Rapids, MI

DECEMBER IN ARIZONA

2009-10-13T12:26:00.003-04:00

Check out the The MPS Profit Practice Program™ Schedule:

http://www.mpssuccess.com/schedule.html

Get To The Core

2009-10-12T10:00:00.000-04:00

JOIN US ON THE NEXT WEBINAR:
DATE: Thursday, October 15, 2009
TIME: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm EST

REGISTER NOW.
Email contact@mpssuccess.com to register!

Hear From Our Attorneys

2009-10-08T12:20:00.001-04:00

"MPS provided critical and indispensable legal technical skills, from a basic to an expert level, necessary to expertly represent the 98%. It further provided me other invaluable skills related to client relationships, office management and marketing. I prosper in this area of practice thanks to MPS."
- Patrick Smith, Esq. / Augusta, GA

Hello My Name is Cash Flow

2009-10-07T12:17:00.001-04:00

JOIN US ON THE NEXT WEBINAR:
DATE: Thursday, October 15, 2009
TIME: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm EST

REGISTER NOW.
Email contact@mpssuccess.com to register!

Increase Your Odds For A Successful Practice

2009-10-05T10:00:00.000-04:00

JOIN US...
DATE: Thursday, October 15, 2009
TIME: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm EST

ONE HOUR will give you a sure bet
to improve your practice.

Email contact@mpssuccess.com to register!
________________________________________
"MPS provided critical and indispensable legal technical skills, from a basic to an expert level, necessary to expertly represent the 98%. It further provided me other invaluable skills related to client relationships, office management and marketing. I prosper in this area of practice thanks to MPS." - Patrick S.

Our Members Will Tell You

2009-10-02T12:33:00.001-04:00

I am an Estate planner and Elder Law attorney by choice because I care deeply about my clients. I have learned I can maintain these care values and have a profitable law practice - this was a breakthrough for me. My formere 'legal aid' office is officially closed. Max Cluster, St. Peters, MO

Learn more at

How To Identify The Right Prospects To Target

2009-10-01T11:52:00.005-04:00

JOIN US ON THE NEXT WEBINAR:
DATE: Thursday, October 15, 2009
TIME: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm EST

REGISTER NOW.
Email contact@mpssuccess.com to register!

Core Values of Your Families

2009-09-10T09:04:00.000-04:00

DATE: Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009 |
TIME: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm EST
DURATION: 1 hour

Give us ONE HOUR we will show you. Join our upcoming webinar!

Email mhall@mpssuccess.com to register!

What's Your Bottom Line?

2009-09-08T08:59:00.001-04:00

DATE: Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009 |
TIME: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm EST
DURATION: 1 hour

"Being unhappy in the area of law that I am in; I am now excited to get into this practice area that will allow me to live life."
- Michele Lee / Billings, MT

Give us ONE HOUR we will show you. Join our upcoming webinar!

Email mhall@mpssuccess.com to register!

Are Your Core Values Reflected In Your Practice

2009-09-04T08:54:00.001-04:00

What's Your Real Value To Your Clients?

2009-08-23T11:21:00.001-04:00

Action: Donna M. came to see us; her mother is in a nursing home, Donna arrived highly organized. We were quickly able to determine if she provided the information presented to us through Mediciad, her mother would qualify immediately. Unsure of what to do next, we asked how we could assist her. She smiled and said, "help me dear, with the Medicaid application, I can't handle the stress."

Result: Even though she had everything in order, she hired us to file the application because she quickly saw how we could reduce her stress.

Do You Really Know What's Important To Your Clients?

Discover the value your clients are really looking for:

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2009 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT

REGISTER NOW

Can You Have the Bubbles & Boxes Conversation With Your Client?

2009-08-21T12:57:00.000-04:00

Asset Proection Using Bubbles and Boxes

Action: Dan L., a 79 year old farmer, came in concerned about his family farm and a side business with one of his sons. Dan came to us concerned about what would happen at it all if he went into a nursing home.

Resut: After meeting with Dan and his son and have the Bubbles and Boxestm conversation with them they quickly saw the value and hired us for a $15K fee to protect the farm and business from nursing homes, law suits and other family members.

Can you have the Bubbles and Boxes tm conversation with your clients? Find out!

Join us September 24th for the next MPS Webcast. REGISTER NOW

Can you have fun and run a law firm at the same tim

2009-08-21T11:17:00.003-04:00

DATE: Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009 | TIME: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm EST
DURATION: 1 hour

REGISTER NOW

"MPS is immense value even to the experienced Medicaid attorneys to move them forward into a more entrepreneurial , satisfying, and profitable practice of law."
- Karol B. / Stoneham, MA

YOU CAN NOT AFFORD TO MISS THIS!

Nursing Home Relationships

2009-08-17T12:36:00.000-04:00

Offering Estate Planning As An Employee Benefit?

Action: This week we met with the 12 department heads of a local nursing home we work with and presented a brief workshop to show the need of Estate Planning - for everyone!

Result: The nursing home agreed to allow us to offer estate planning to all of their 200+ employee and their immediate families as part of an employee benefit program.

Learn how to build the relationships you need to get the similar results! We will show you!

Join Us on our next MPS Webcast -- September 24th 4pm-5pm EDT REGISTER TODAY!

One Hour Relief

2009-08-14T12:30:00.002-04:00

One Hour Relief -- To your law firm's cash flow & office efficiencies. Join us Sept. 24th on the next MPS Webcast.

"MPS provides great opportunities to help your clients by strengthening your relationships with them and referral sources. It will increase your cash flow, confidence, and credibility in your communities."
- Denise Ede Aloise, Esq. / Miami Shores, FL

As Seen on Ohio State Bar website

2009-08-04T11:45:00.005-04:00

Visit The MPS Website!

LAST CHANCE

2009-08-04T11:30:00.002-04:00

DISCOVER WHAT ONE HOUR CAN DO FOR YOUR PRACTICE!

YOU CAN NOT AFFORD TO MISS THIS!

Hosted by
Dave Zumpano, CPA/Esq.
President of MPS
and a practicing attorney just like you.

"I think MPS may be the best investment I've ever made. It has altered my life in ways I've only dreamed about." - Travis Perry, Esq. / Grand Junction, CO

REGISTER NOW

The MPS Profit Practice Program™ DECEMBER 2009

2009-07-16T11:54:00.000-04:00

Join us for the December MPS Profit Practice Program!

DECEMBER 2-4, 2009
PHOENIX, AZ

Follow this link to REGISTER TODAY! http://www.mpssuccess.com/schedule.html

Join Us For Complimentary Webinar - AUGUST 6th at 4pm

2009-07-16T11:48:00.000-04:00

"What are You Worth?"

Profiting from Medicaid Planning and Asset Protection Planning for Business Owners & Everyday Clients

August 6, 2009
4pm

Follow the link to REGISTER TODAY: http://www.1.gotomeeting.com/register/685606705

The MPS Profit Practice Program™ SEPTEMBER 2009

2009-07-16T11:43:00.000-04:00

Join us for the next MPS Profit Practice Program!

SEPTEMBER 9-11, 2009
SYRACUSE, NY

Follow this link to register: http://www.mpssuccess.com/schedule.html