Including Financial Advisors in Medicaid and Veterans Benefits Planning

July 25, 2012 - PRLog -- How to include financial advisors in the planning process is a topic I frequently see discussed on various elder law listservs.  The problem at hand is that many elder law attorneys have, or seek to have, referral relationships with local financial advisors for lead generating purposes; however, the financial advisors typically know only enough about Medicaid and Veterans Benefits planning to be dangerous.  The premise behind a referral relationship is that the financial advisor will refer clients seeking legal counsel to the attorney, and the attorney will refer clients seeking insurance products and/or financial planning to the advisor.  With the advisor not possessing the appropriate planning and/or product knowledge, this tends to lead to incorrect advice being provided and inappropriate insurance products being issued.  Too often attorneys contact my office seeking assistance in fixing mistakes made by inexperienced advisors.

This is not to say that all financial advisors involved in Medicaid and/or Veterans Benefits planning are uninformed, unscrupulous, or anything of the like.  Many financial advisors are effective networkers in the local community, have an established visible presence, and offer an excellent lead generation source to elder law attorneys.  This makes establishing a referral relationship an excellent opportunity.  That is, as long as all parties are working towards the same objective; often not the case when the financial advisor is unfamiliar with the planning involved.  The perspective of the advisor is usually not malicious, but simply ill-informed in the Medicaid and Veterans Benefits planning industries.

To help curb this issue, Krause Financial Services recently established a sister company catering solely to insurance agents and financial advisors - Krause Insurance Services.  Through answering product questions, providing planning guidance, and offering agent training seminars, Krause Insurance Services strives to educate and guide otherwise inexperienced financial advisors when it comes to Medicaid and Veterans Benefits planning.  Being a division of Krause Financial Services, a national advocate in the industry for over 25 years, Krause Insurance Services already has the know-how and experience to do so.

It is the mission of Krause Insurance Services to ensure that only appropriate products are provided to seniors, and that those products are used in the intended manner.  Even when the appropriate products are provided, those inexperienced in the Medicaid and Veterans Benefits planning marketplace can make mistakes.  Just like Krause Financial Services, Krause Insurance Services provides complimentary planning services, leaving no excuse for a product not to be used properly.

Krause Insurance Services helps elder law attorneys experience the best of both worlds - a relationship with their local financial advisor, and the products and services that Krause Financial Services has been providing for over 25 years.  For those attorneys that have a relationship with a financial advisor that is inexperienced in the planning industry, and has a desire to learn, simply encourage the advisor to contact Krause Insurance Services, or visit the website at www.krauseinsuranceservices.com.