The VA has changed its Manual to reflect the 2012 pension numbers with the 3.6% COLA.  There is one figure that is different from the chart we sent out on Friday.  Basic Pension for a surviving spouse is $8,219 annually ($684 monthly) rather than the $8,280 figure we were provided on Friday.  Thanks go to EC member and AVAPP founder Jim Swain for alerting us to the corrected figure and for providing a copy of the new VA Manual provisions.

A Final 2012 Pension Rate chart prepared by ElderCounsel with the corrected basic pension figure is also available below.

VA Manual Pension Amounts 2012

Just today we received “unofficial” official word on what the 2012 VA Pension figures will be, factoring in a 3.6% COLA. Click on the link below for a table showing the new amounts.
2012 Pension Rates

The ElderCounsel team recently traveled to New Orleans for a staff retreat along with its sister companies, WealthCounsel and The Advisors Forum.  The first day was spent helping 4 different families rebuild their homes that were destroyed in Hurricane Katrina.  As you’ll see from many of the pictures, we wielded paintbrushes, sanders, buzz saws,

Looking our "best"

Where we spent our day

rags, brooms…whatever we could get our hands on to help out.  And we certainly did not win any beauty contests while we did it!

Thought New Orleans and surrounding parishes were back on their feet?  In the debriefing at the end of our work day, we learned that it will take 16 years at the current rate to get the homes rebuilt for everyone who wants to return home.

The organization we volunteered for was called The St. Bernard Project, named for the St. Bernard parish, one hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina.  The St. Bernard Project has been received a number of national awards, including recognition by President Obama.  You can learn more at www.stbernardproject.org.

Having the ability to help others in need was something we will all cherish.  Many of us were meeting face-to-face for the first time (all three companies are virtual companies with most employees working from home) so the opportunity to work together for a common good was truly a blessing for us.  It made us stronger as a company, and as individuals.

Valerie L. Peterson

Executive Director, ElderCounsel, LLC

Valerie is the Executive Director of ElderCounsel, LLC , an organization that provides document drafting software, education and support to elder law and special needs attorneys across the United States.  Valerie is a frequent lecturer on elder law and Veterans Benefits.

ElderCounsel is off to Orlando, Florida next week to exhibit at the 45th Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning.   We will be revealing a new banner at the show, along with our sister companies, WealthCounsel and The Advisors Forum.  Please stop by our booths to say hi, and tell us what you think of our new look.  We will also be hosting a hospitality suite each night and would love to have you stop by!

Valerie Peterson

Valerie is the Executive Director of ElderCounsel, LLC.

Compensating a family member for providing care to another family member is certainly a growing trend throughout the country.  The Wall Street Journal recently wrote about this subject and quoted ElderCounsel Principal Howie Krooks.  Click here for a link to the WSJ article.

ElderCounsel offers a caregiver agreement as part of its document assembly system, ElderDocx™.  The caregiver agreement can be drafted as an hourly contract, or as a lump-sum contract.  In addition, the document sets forth how the recipient of the care is receiving fair market value for what the recipient is paying for the services.  This is a critical component of any family caregiver agreement (also referred to as a “personal service contract”), otherwise the payments could be viewed by a state Medicaid agency as a gift.

Valerie L. Peterson
Executive Director, ElderCounsel, LLC

Valerie is the Executive Director of ElderCounsel, LLC , an organization that provides document drafting software, education and support to elder law and special needs attorneys across the United States.  Valerie is a frequent lecturer on elder law and Veterans Benefits.

ElderCounsel Principal, Howie Krooks, was just awarded the Florida Elder Law Section’s Outstanding Member of the Year Award.  This award was presented at the Florida Bar association’s Annual Meeting in Boca Raton in recognition for his work in getting P:romissory Notes accepted in Florida.

Howie is truly a leader in the field of elder law and it is wonderful to see him recognized for his efforts.

Congratulations, Howie!

Valerie L. Peterson

Valerie is the Executive Director of ElderCounsel, LLC , an organization that provides document drafting software, education and support to elder law and special needs attorneys across the United States.  Valerie is a frequent lecturer on elder law and Veterans Benefits.

Perhaps you’ve had a good year, but not a great year.  You may have experienced one or more of the following:

• Gross revenue is up, but net profits are down.
• More clients hired you this year, but your overall revenue is down.
• You’ve had more initial consultations, but fewer clients have hired you.
• You are out meeting referral sources, but getting very few referrals.

Many of us experience one or more of these challenges in our elder law practice.  The good news is there are ways to overcome these challenges by making some small adjustments to our way of thinking, and in some instances, our internal procedures.

If you are not generating the revenue you want or expect, it could be the result of something as simple as your procedure for meeting with a new prospective client.  What type of expectations are you setting prior to meeting the client for the first time?  For example, are you setting the expectation that the prospective client’s problem will be solved as a result of meeting with you for the first time?  As elder law attorneys our natural inclination is to help people and help them quickly.  But by offering an immediate solution (sometimes before even being hired) you are severely decreasing the value of your services and the fee the client would be willing to pay you to solve their problem.  Or, worse yet, you’ve given the prospective client the ability to solve their own problem (or at least think they can).

Quoting a fee presents its own set of challenges.  In many instances, the hurdle is an internal one – the attorney is not comfortable with the price she wants to charge.  As a result, the client isn’t either and won’t pay it.  It is very tempting to look at what other attorneys in the area are charging and base our fees accordingly.  Some of us will come up with a price list that includes a fee for every document.  While there is no right or wrong way to set fees, it is important to understand what the client is experiencing when the issue of fees is discussed.  Even the term you use for “fee” is important.

A lack of referrals can be the result of many things, some of which you have control over and some you do not.  The referral source may not fully understand what you do or how to refer clients to you.  The referral source may not have connected with you.  Or, you may be meeting with the wrong type of referral source – this person does not come into contact with the type of clients you are looking for.

Seeking out proper referral sources is very similar to creating the right marketing message.   You must first figure out the type of referrals you want before you can seek out potential referral sources. For example, if you do not want to handle Medicaid crisis planning cases, then nursing home administrators are not persons you should seek out as a possible referral source.  If you do want to handle crisis planning cases and are seeking referral sources to refer clients who need immediate help, then independent living facilities will not offer much of a return on your time and marketing dollars.

Once you have identified proper potential referral sources, what are your goals when you meet with them?  What type of follow up do you have both immediately after the meeting and ongoing?  A well thought out plan for the meeting with a potential referral source is crucial – you have precious time to connect with that person, make them “like” you, and to learn how you can help them.  Yes, how you can help them, not how they can help you!

To learn more about the above issues and other common barriers to profitability, join me in Chicago on Friday, August 13th. I will be presenting with Steven Riley, J.D., a breakout session entitled, “Are You Tripping Over Dollars to Make Pennies in Your Elder Law Practice?”  You will learn ways to overcome these barriers and start reaching higher revenue goals than ever before.

Valerie L. Peterson

Valerie is the Executive Director of ElderCounsel, LLC , an organization that provides document drafting software, education and support to elder law and special needs attorneys across the United States.  Valerie is a frequent lecturer on elder law and Veterans Benefits.

Helping clients obtain benefits through the Veterans Administration (“VA”) is a rapidly growing area.  Estate planning and elder law attorneys alike are adding this to their repertoire of services to offer clients.   It is easy to understand why:  we are helping veterans who fought for our country to obtain much deserved benefits that many of them are currently unaware of.

Both veterans and surviving spouses may be eligible for monthly cash payments as a result of a veteran’s wartime service (referred to as “pension”) or because the veteran suffered a permanent debilitating injury as the result of their service (referred to as “compensation”).   Increased pension allowances (commonly referred to as “aid and attendance” or “housebound”) are available when a veteran or surviving spouse requires ongoing medical care to assist with activities of daily living.

Helping veterans or surviving spouses qualify for pension with an allowance for aid and attendance is a very rewarding practice area for attorneys.  This benefit provides a significant monthly cash payment to a veteran or surviving spouse.  But, there are income and asset restrictions that require similar analysis and planning just as if the client was trying to qualify for Medicaid.    However, Medicaid and VA Pension are two very different programs that require a great deal of technical knowledge and training.  And, any attorney who wants to assist a client in obtaining any benefit through the VA Pension must first become accredited.

There are a number of pitfalls for the unsuspecting attorney who enters the area of VA Benefits.

• Failing to understand the distinction between compensation and pension. A veteran who is eligible for compensation could receive a higher monthly payment than a pension claim, depending on the disability rating of the veteran.  If the attorney advising the veteran is not aware of the available monthly payment for compensation and only discusses pension, the result is the veteran has now had his or her assets and income reduced needlessly and could receive a smaller monthly payment than if a claim for compensation had been made.
• Failing to provide proper documentation when submitting a pension claim. If a claim is submitted and necessary paperwork or information is missing, it will either delay the claim for many months or result in the client missing out on several month’s payments totaling thousands of dollars.

Perhaps the most damaging pitfall has nothing to do with planning in this area, but rather deals with a lack of knowledge on the part of the attorney.  The following is a situation that unfortunately happens more often than it should.

A son and his mother come visit an attorney regarding his father (and her husband) who is a World War II Veteran.  The father is currently at home with a caregiver that comes in eight hours every day.   The expense is getting to be too much.  The son and his mother were told to consult an attorney to see if anything could be done before the couple runs out of money completely.

Medicaid in this particular state does not pay for in-home care or assisted living care so the attorney informs them that the only way to get any type of financial help is to move the husband into a nursing home and qualify him for Medicaid.  The son and his mother are distraught as they had hoped to keep the father at home or at least in assisted living.

In this scenario, a huge opportunity was missed.  With proper planning, the veteran could have received up to $1,949 each month to help pay for the in-home care.  Unfortunately, the attorney was not aware of the pension benefit available through the VA.

Even if you do not intend to practice in this area, these pitfalls can seriously impact your law practice.

To learn more about pitfalls to be aware of and how to avoid them, be sure to join me August 12th in Chicago.  I will be presenting a live breakout session with James Swain entitled, “Pitfalls to Avoid When Planning for Clients Who Are Veterans.”

Valerie L. Peterson

Valerie is the Executive Director of ElderCounsel, LLC , an organization that provides document drafting software, education and support to elder law and special needs attorneys across the United States.  Valerie is a frequent lecturer on elder law and Veterans Benefits.

What happens when a veteran or surviving spouse receiving Aid and Attendance goes into a nursing home?  A reduction in benefits may occur but only after the veteran or surviving spouse becomes eligible for Medicaid while in the nursing home.  When this happens, an unmarried veteran or surviving spouse’s Aid and Attendance pension benefit will be reduced to $90.  See 38 CFR §3.551(i).

However, if the veteran is married or has a dependent child living at home the reduction is not automatic.  If the spouse or dependent child has unreimbursed medical expenses then the veteran may continue to receive all or a part of the Aid and Attendance payment, even after entering a nursing home and qualifying for Medicaid.  Why is this the case?  The VA counts household income and deducts recurring household out-of-pocket medical expenses when determining eligibility for Aid and Attendance pension.  Even though the veteran is in a nursing home, the spouse’s income and out-of-pocket recurring medical expenses are counted when determining eligibility.

The lesson to be learned here:  Do not allow the VA to automatically reduce a married veteran’s Aid and Attendance award to $90 if the spouse at home has recurring out-of-pocket medical expenses.   Instead, submit evidence of the spouse’s recurring medical expenses once the veteran is approved for Medicaid, and the VA will recalculate the veteran’s eligibility for Aid and Attendance and could approve an amount over $90 per month.

ElderCounsel hosts educational events to train attorneys on Veterans Benefits.  To find the next class or to order the recording and materials from a prior class, please visit our Education Calendar and  Marketplace on our website.

Valerie L. Peterson

Valerie is the Executive Director of ElderCounsel, LLC , an organization that provides document drafting software, education and support to elder law and special needs attorneys across the United States.  Valerie is a frequent lecturer on elder law and Veterans Benefits.

In Medicaid planning we must often take the good with the bad.  So, let’s start with the…not so good:

The Supreme Court of Mississippi in Alford v. Division of Medicaid affirmed the lower court’s ruling that a state court has no jurisdiction to increase the Community Spouse Resource Allowance (CSRA) or Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance (MMMNA) prior to a petitioner filing for Medicaid.  The Court interpreted 42 USC § 1396r-5 as requiring a Medicaid application to be filed, denied, and a fair hearing conducted before a Medicaid applicant can seek help in state court.

Previously, and in other states, a future Medicaid applicant or his/her spouse could file a petition in state court asking for an allowance above what would otherwise be allowed as the CSRA or MMMNA.  The Medicaid agency would then be bound by that court’s order.  Unfortunately this is no longer an option in Mississippi, at least for the time being.
Unfortunately, the good news earlier reported was in error.   The Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division in E.S. v. Division of Medicaid Assistance and Health Services upheld a penalty imposed under a personal service contract (called a “life care contract” in the case) between the petitioner and her daughter, in which petitioner made a lump sum advance payment to her daughter for the future provision of personal care services.  The mother was penalized for the transfer.

Personal service contracts are often used to provide a payment, either in a lump sum or hourly, to a family member who is providing care to an elderly loved one.  If properly documented, the money paid to the family member/caregiver is not penalized as an uncompensated transfer for Medicaid purposes.  Unfortunately, many states have forbidden the use of “lump sum” caregiver contracts when the family member is providing care, or if the recipient of the care is already in a nursing home.

Valerie L. Peterson

Valerie is the Executive Director of ElderCounsel, LLC , an organization that provides document drafting software, education and support to elder law and special needs attorneys across the United States.