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Establishing
Collaboration with Attorneys and CPAs
The
CLTC course stresses the importance of collaborative
relationships between a client’s many advisors.
Here are some suggestions for developing positive
relationships with attorneys and CPAs.
Elder law attorneys
An
elder law attorney is generally defined as a person
who specializes in matters concerning older persons.
The field includes:
- Guardianships
& conservatorships
- Estate
planning.
-
Eligibility for social security disability and supplemental
security income benefits
- Eligibility
for Medicaid including long-term care and specifically
transferring assets to qualify for the program
How
do I find an elder law attorney?
CLTC
has established a marketing arrangement with www.elderlawanswers.com.
Please go to their Web page to see what they offer
consumers. They recommend that consumers only work
with CLTC graduates. The company also has a marketing
arrangement with over 200 law firms to make referrals.
It has notified the firms about CLTC graduates along
with a recommendation that they work with you.
Otherwise,
as you conduct a search for an attorney, do not rely
on advertisements. Ads tell you nothing about his
or her qualifications. Instead, consider calling your
local:
Counsel
on Aging
Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s Association
Chapter of any organization that deals with children
or adults with disabilities
Association of Retarded Citizens (ARC)
Introduce
yourself and state the purpose of your call, then
ask:
- For
the names of two or three lawyers who specialize
in elder law, and who specifically qualify people
for long-term care benefits paid for by Medicaid.
- If
the attorney works with families who have disabled
children. This helps in finding lawyers who understand
the use of supplemental trusts.
- Who
they would recommend “off the record”.
Chances
are the same name will come up a number of times.
Contact that attorney.
How
do I interview the attorney?
Please
remember that you have the professional training to
work in partnership with the attorney. You should
expect to be treated respectfully. After introducing
yourself:
- Tell
the attorney your background and your commitment
to the profession of long-term care. Do not focus
on the sale of product at this point, as that message
will not be well received.
- Mention
the CLTC program and Harley Gordon as the founder
of CLTC and a founding member of the National Academy
of Elder Law Attorneys. Ask if he or she is a member
of the Academy.
- Talk
about your desire to establish an ongoing relationship
with an elder law attorney. Mention that in working
with long-term care needs you are asked about:
- Helping
families establish a plan for children with
special needs.
- How
to help family members who do not qualify for
long-term care insurance or are already in a
skilled nursing home.
- You
may want to mention that you are familiar with how
Medicaid finances long-term care and perhaps how
assets can be protected in a crisis situation (Part
D in the course material).
- Suggest
a meeting to see if a referral arrangement can be
worked out. It is best not to look for business
but rather, to have the attorney available to:
-
Refer your client for legal work.
- Help
the family in a crisis.
- Reinforce
the need for long-term care insurance and or
give a second opinion to offset the advice of
the client’s attorney who does not suggest
it.
How
do I approach an estate planning attorney?
It
is assumed that you are already working with an estate
planning attorney if you do any retirement / estate
/ tax planning for clients. If that is the case, you
will find that establishing a relationship with them
is easier because:
- They
are less likely to be practicing Medicaid planning.
However, if they are, please review “How
do I find an elder law attorney?” above.
- They
are getting calls from clients asking about the
subject.
- They
are more likely to have an open mind about the subject
of LTCI.
Do
not assume that they know what long-term care insurance
does. The best approach is to make an appointment.
Offer to pay for their time. They probably won’t
accept the offer, but it’s the right thing to
do. Things to discuss:
- Your
background and commitment to the profession of long-term
care. Do not focus on the product.
- Compare
LTCI to other forms of insurance, particularly life
insurance.
- Give
examples of how, similar to life insurance, LTCI
helps families and preserves estate plans.
- Spend
time on the tax advantages of LTCI, particularly
how a joint policy can be used in sole proprietorship
and partnership arrangements (putting owner spouse
on payroll, having her purchase joint policy and
covering owner – employer as an insured, not
owner).
How
do I approach a CPA?
The
assumption is that you already work with a CPA. The
key point to remember is that very few CPAs have any
idea how tax qualified policies work. To prepare,
review the PowerPoint available in the “Graduates
Only” section of the CLTC web site. It gives
you examples as well as the Internal Revenue Code.
CPA’s should be interested for a number of reasons:
- Split
dollar and equity split dollar are under attack.
Most CPA’s are looking for new benefits.
- Their
business owner clients are always looking for benefits
- especially benefits that do not have to be offered
to employees. Therefore, the discrimination aspect
of LTCI should be attractive.
- Suggesting
new business owner benefits makes the CPA looks
good.
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