Sustaining a thriving law practice can be challenging. Are you happy with yours?
At ElderCounsel we know firsthand the obstacles attorneys face. That’s why we’ve created systems designed to help you build and grow your practice.
Are you considering making a change to ensure the long-term success of your practice?
Elder law is one of the fastest growing, most rewarding and highly profitable ways to do so. At ElderCounsel, we are passionate about setting elder law attorneys up for success.
Jump-start your practice with key areas like elder law planning, Veterans benefits planning, special needs planning, and Medicaid. We offer resources to help market your firm, stay up-to-date on the law, CLE education, document drafting, and how to add new planning areas to your existing estate planning practice.
Now is the time to arm yourself with the tools and support to maximize your practice. Let us do the heavy lifting for you.
Contact us to learn more.
Have an existing estate planning practice and want to add elder law as a new practice area? We can help!
Adding elder law to an existing estate planning practice can reap huge rewards. Deciding to become an elder law attorney means you now have the ability to effectively serve your aging client base without making a large investment in additional staff.
Your only investment is the time it takes to learn ways to serve your aging population now, before a crisis hits. We call this Proactive Planning.
Resources we offer to get you started:
A step-by-step guide plus script
We have a step-by-step guide on how to talk to existing or new clients about the need to plan now to protect assets in the event the client or the client’s love one has a health care crisis. We even have a script to accompany the guide!
Webinars explaining how to do this type of planning
• Leverage Your Estate Planning Knowledge: Asset Protection for an Aging Population
• An Introduction to the Grantor Trust Rules for Elder Law Practitioners
• Understanding the Difference Between Irrevocable Trusts Used in Medicaid and VA Pension Planning
• Webinar Series: Entering Elder Law From the Ground Floor
o What is Elder Law?
o An Introduction to Trusts
o Getting Started in Medicaid Planning
o Understanding the Asset and Gifting Rules
o Exempt Transfers, Annuities, and Putting it All Together
Design Sheets to Use for Drafting
Our design sheets allow you to see every interview question in a flowchart layout so you can quickly design the trust after meeting with your client. You can then pass it on to an assistant for drafting or do it yourself. Either way you will save hundreds of hours with our drafting system, Elder Docx.
As an ElderCounsel member, you receive the following:
• A dedicated representative to help you with any membership questions you have, and to help you take advantage of all of our resources.
• More “how-to” tutorials, written materials and webinars than you could ask for to help you and your team master the document drafting system, Elder Docx.
• An amazingly helpful group of colleagues that provide help every day to each other on our member listserv.
• Online discussion forums for each state, and for various subjects: VA pension planning, Medicaid planning and special needs planning, to name a few.
• Marketing materials you can actually use: powerpoint presentations, sample client handouts, bi-monthly newsletter content readily available (and we’ll even send it out automatically if you’d like), Member Success Stories recordings that involve members sharing their best practice building and marketing tips…and much more!
• New webinars several times a year that address current issues, or new trends that are developing.
• State-specific information about Medicaid planning in our software, and on our website – including strategies that are allowed!
We are constantly adding new tools and resources for members – if you haven’t already, send us an email and we’ll gladly fill you in! [email protected]
Elder law attorneys are often pigeonholed into Medicaid and other crisis planning roles when, in reality, the scope of elder law practice is much broader.
Elder law can perhaps be best be defined by the demographics an elder law attorney serves — the elderly and the disabled. The things that fall under the umbrella of elder law planning include every conceivable issue that these two demographics could potentially face.
Resources we offer to get you started:
• Growing Your Practice with Elder Law
• Getting Started (5-part series)
o Part I: What is Elder Law?
o Part II: An Introduction to Trusts
o Part III: Getting Started in Medicaid
o Part IV: Understanding the Asset and Gifting Rules
o Part V: Exempt Transfers, Annuities, and Putting it All Together
• Elder Law Immersion Camp
• The latest news, presentations, and newsletters
Veterans Pension Planning, often referred to as “Aid and Attendance,” is a growing area that many elder law and estate planning attorneys are expanding into. Veterans Pension Benefits provide a monthly cash benefit to wartime veterans or the surviving spouse of a wartime veteran who meet financial and medical criteria.
Resources we offer to get you started:
• Accreditation
o VA Accreditation Webinar
o Attorney Accreditation
• Outlines and Checklists
o Veterans Benefits Outline
o Veteran Pension Rates
o Checklist for Handling Veteran’s Case
o Checklist for Handling Surviving Spouse’s Case
• VA Pension Planning Immersion Camp
• An Intro to Veterans Benefits Planning
• Status Update: Proposed Changes to VA Pension Rules
Documents we provide for VA Pension Planning:
• Veterans Asset Protection Trust and supporting documents
• Veterans Asset Protection Letter
• Fee Agreements
• Health Care Documents
o Living Will
o Nonstatutory Health Care Power of Attorney
o State Statutory Health Care Documents (AL|AZ|CA|CO|DE|FL|GA|IL|LA|NC|NV|NY|OK|RI|SC|TX|UT|WA|WI)
• Nonstatutory Durable Financial Power of Attorney
o State Statutory Powers of Attorney with Enhanced Powers (AL|AK|CA|CO|GA|IL|MD|MN|NC|NV|NY|OH|OK|RI|TX|WI)
• Links to Online Legal and Software Resources
Special Needs Planning is a growing area of law, and one that we are very committed to. Whether you are new to the area or an advanced practitioner, we can help!
Resources we offer to get you started:
• An Introduction to Special Needs Planning
• Special Needs Benefits Basics
• Finding Your Niche in Special Needs Planning
• Special Needs Planning Immersion Camp
Documents for Special Needs Planning Available in ElderDocx
• Third-Party Supplemental Needs Trust
o Third-Party Supplemental Needs Trust
o Certification of Trust
o Trust Amendment
o Trustee Instruction Letter
o Grantor Trust Letter
o CPA Letter
o Third-Party Trust Letter to SSA/Medicaid
o Trustee Letter re: Duty to Report
o ISM Reporting Letter
o Qualified Disability Trust Letter
o SNT Donor Letter
• Self-Settled Special Needs Trust
o Self-Settled Special Needs Trusts (d4A)
o Self-Settled Special Needs Trusts (d4A) with MSA provisions
o Certification of Trust
o Trust Amendment
o Self-Settled SNT Checklist
o Trustee Instruction Letter
o Grantor Trust Letter
o d4A Letter to SSA/Medicaid
o Trustee Letter re: Duty to Report
o CPA Letter
o Landlord Letter
o Qualified Disability Trust Letter
o Notice of Beneficiary’s Death
• EC Parental Protection Trust™ Documents
o EC Parental Protection Trust
o Certification of Trust
o Trust Amendment
o Trustee Instruction Letter
o Grantor Trust Letter
o CPA Letter
o Third-Party Trust Letter to SSA/Medicaid
o Trustee Letter re Duty to Report
o ISM Reporting Letter
Medicaid Planning is an important service to provide for seniors. Medicaid is the only government program that will pay for nursing home care on a long-term basis. With the rising cost of long-term care, many seniors may not be able to afford to pay privately. As a result, Medicaid planning may be necessary for many seniors.
While this is a complex area, ElderCounsel offers a proven system for training elder law attorneys in this area to bring them up to speed quickly. If you’re ready to jump in and start providing this valuable service to seniors and their families, we are here to help!
Resources we offer to get you started:
• Medicaid Crisis Planning Checklist
• Getting Started in Medicaid video
• Elder Law Immersion Camp
• PPT presentations, newsletters, press releases, etc.
Documents for Medicaid Planning Available in ElderDocx
• Medicaid Asset Protection Letter
• Medicaid Asset Protection Trust Documents
o EC Medicaid Asset Protection Trust
o Pour-Over Will
o Trust Summary and Funding Letter
o Certification of Trust Assignment of Personal Property
o Trust Amendment
o Information for Tax Professionals
o Information for Trustees
• Sole Benefit Trust Documents
o Sole Benefit Trust
o Certification of Trust
o Trust Amendment
• Qualified Income Trust Documents
o Qualified Income Trust
o Certification of Trust
o Funding and Trustee Instructions
• Promissory Note Documents and Calculators
o Annuity Calculator
o Penalty Period Calculator
o Note Calculator
o DRA-Compliant Promissory Note
o Client Data Report
o Amortization Schedule
o Letter to Borrower
• EC Caregiver Agreement Documents
o Caregiver Agreement
o Care Log
o Letter to Caregiver
o Affidavit of Caregiver