What do attorneys (estate planning attorneys specifically) want? More clients? More income? More security?
Is it a fair statement to say that most attorneys are not good marketers? Actually, many would call this a great understatement.
Why should EVERY estate planning attorney learn Medicaid Planning? Because Medicaid planning will help attorneys cultivate more clients, earn more income, and create more security in their legal practice.
In short, Medicaid planning is the nirvana that every attorney seeks to obtain.
Why Nirvana?
The list is long, but here are a few:
1) 95%+ of estate planning attorneys do NOT know Medicaid planning (even those who think they do really don’t).
2) Clients who need help can either give money to an attorney to help them or they can give their money to a nursing home. While clients may not like paying attorneys, they’d rather pay an attorney who can help them preserve some of their wealth than not.
3) Attorney fees for “proper” and “compliant” Medicaid advice is not cheap. The average legal fee to help a client with Medicaid planning is in excess of $5,000.
4) Huge client pool. There are 7,000 people turning 65 every day and there are literally tens of millions of potential Medicaid clients currently going unserviced.
5) Last but certainly not least, learning Medicaid planning will help estate planning attorneys avoid malpractice. If you are currently giving estate planning advice to clients age 60 and older who have less than $1 million in assets you better know Medicaid planning or you are running the risk of lawsuits from your clients if they end up needing nursing home care (and since 50% of the elderly will need nursing home care for at least a year, this is a very real risk).
Mentoring and back office support!
MedicaidPlanning.org offers something no one else offers; real mentoring and back office support for law firms learning this subject matter.
Mike James, JD is the author of the The Medicaid Planning Guidebook. He has been there and done that. He built a thriving Medicaid practice and he is bring that experience to help fellow attorneys to help them grow their practice with Medicaid planning. To learn how attorney James can help you expand your business and provide compliant legal advice to your clients, please click here.
Start learning now!
To start learning how to provide your clients with compliant Medicaid plan, you should take the Certified Medicaid Planner™ course. Click here to learn more. The course comes with the #1 book in the industry titled The Medicaid Planning Guidebook.
The next CMP™ course will be held in Orlando, FL on November ? To download the course outline for the CMP™ course, please click here. To download a brochure which also has the sign up form for the Orlando seminar, please click here.
Marketing and Earning More Money
As stated earlier, it’s a well-known fact that most attorneys do not know how to market their services well. Those who do stick out in a community and, typically, make significantly more money.
How can Medicaidplanning.org help you market yourself better which will in turn help you earn more money?
Fee revenue—fees are charged for Medicaid plan designs as well as for the documents needed to implement compliant Medicaid plans. Plan designs can cost anywhere from $1,500-$3,000+ depending on the complexity and need. Fees for documents are added on after a plan design has been created.
Flat fees vs. hourly billing—Medicaid planning fees are global in nature and are not based on hourly fees. A client will pay an agreed-upon fee to have a Medicaid plan designed and a separate fee for documents to implement the plan. It is not relevant how long it takes an attorney or paralegal to create the plan or supporting documents. Fees are charged for expertise not for hours spent on the work done.
Clients will gladly pay a flat fee when the alternative is to give most of, if not all, their money to a nursing-home facility instead of to their family. Clients will gladly pay a flat fee when not planning properly will allow valuable assets to be recovered by the government after death for reimbursement of Medicaid assistance for nursing home costs.
Marketing network—some attorneys will become proficient in Medicaid planning by taking the CMP™ course but will still struggle to find new clients. MedicaidPlanning.org was created to bring together financial planners, insurance agents, CPAs/accountants/EAs, and attorneys.
Click here to look at our map to see if we have a local advisor you can network with in your area.
Financial planners/insurance agents need attorneys when dealing with Medicaid planning. Financial planners/insurance agents do not want to give legal advice and can’t draft the legal documents needed to implement a Medicaid plan.
Attorneys who want to significantly increase their fee-based income can do so by working closely with financial planners who also need the attorney to help design plans and draft documents. It is a match made in marketing heaven and MedicaidPlanning.org is proud to help facilitate these relationships.
Keep in mind the following statistics: -80 million American’s will be over 65 by 2040; 75% will require LTC during their lifetime (50% for a minimum of one year and 20% over five years); The average monthly private pay cost for nursing home care is over $5,000 a month.
In a word, the above should mean one thing to attorneys: “opportunity.”
If you are ready to seize that opportunity, contact MedicaidPlanning.org for more information (to do so, please click here).
