By: Jeffrey D. Stauffer – Community Relations Director
As one of only fifty (50) Client Care Programs in the United States accredited by the Client Care Academy in Boston, Elville and Associates’ Client Care Program (CCP) mission is to provide Members with the comfort and assurance that their estate and elder law plans will stay updated over the passage of time and that clients and their families receive the education they need. The attorneys and staff at the Firm work diligently to deliver Member services that stand out for their excellence and integrity, and most importantly, that elevate how families are cared for. As the CCP recently surpassed its three-year anniversary, Member benefits continue to grow in scope and depth. As a Member organization, you will want to be sure to take advantage of all the benefits to which you are entitled through the CCP. These benefits include:
Access to Attorneys and Staff
The members of our team will be reasonably available to answer your questions, either by telephone or email, whenever and as often as you would like, including in-person meetings as needed.
Client Education Services
The CCP will provide regular educational workshops for our client Members, their families, successor trustees (and other fiduciaries), and planning team. The topics of these workshops vary and have recently included changes to the trust and estate tax laws, what successor trustees should do if you become disabled and when you die, how to maximize your Social Security benefits, estate and trust administration, and much more. Each fall we will also invite you to our annual Client Education Event.
Document Updates
Our attorneys will review your estate planning documents whenever you reasonably request, and at least every two years, and we will update your planning as the laws change, when your personal situation or goals change, and as the nature and value of your assets change. This will ensure that your estate plan will always be up-to-date.
Asset Review, Tracking and Updating
We will provide regular reviews of your estate plan asset funding and alignment, and will also provide regular funding and alignment updating to ensure that your trust or will-based plan is fully aligned and will work as it was intended.
MIDEO® Consultation and Card (**NEW**)
In the first-of-its-kind partnership in the country, Elville and Associates and The Institute on Healthcare Directives have partnered to offer MIDEO® (My Informed Decisions on VidEO) to our members. MIDEO® is a personalized card with your critical healthcare information on the front that also hosts by video, accessible by a QR code scan, your prerecorded wishes for resuscitation and other healthcare choices. By providing an accurate, up-to-date, easy to review video of you speaking, your personal MIDEO® card will accurately allow your wishes and choices to be carried out correctly by medical professionals. For more information about MIDEO® and The Institute on Healthcare Directives, please contact Community Relations Director Jeff Stauffer, visit www.institutehcd.com or contact Ms. Brandi Monroe at the Institute at monroe@institutehcd.com.
Family Heritage Video
Members are encouraged to participate in their own archival family video production at the Elville Creative Studio in Annapolis. Family members may express themselves and share whatever they want for future generations to remember — their wishes for family, values important to them, old stories they want to pass down for generations to come, and much more. There are no limits and the creative possibilities are endless.
Family – Advisor Meeting
Within sixty (60) days after your estate plan is completed (or as soon thereafter as you can arrange for all of your family to participate), we will provide you the opportunity to have a family meeting, to include members of Elville and Associates, your family members, and your financial and professional advisors (those persons who will implement your plan) so we can answer any of their questions, explain how your planning works, and explain how to settle your estate plan upon your passing. The importance of the Family-Advisor meeting cannot be understated.
Coordination with Advisors
Our staff will be available to consult with your financial advisors, accountants, insurance professional, and geriatric care managers. If you do not currently have one of these all-important advisors available to you, we will work in partnership with you to find an appropriate professional relationship that fits your family’s needs. Our staff will also provide copies of your documents should you so request.
Additional Participation Benefits – DocuBank and Everplans
We will provide free notary public services as and when needed and will provide copies of your estate planning documents to your advisors and others upon your request. You will be enrolled in a health care document retrieval service called DocuBank which provides 24-7 access to your medical records and other documents. You will also have the option of enrolling in Everplans, a state-of-the-art, secure digital archive for all of your essential information (everything your loved ones will need should something happen to you).
Elville and Associates’ first CCP Continuing Legal Education Event of the year, “Navigating Longevity,” was held on Saturday, March 16th on the Arnold campus of Anne Arundel Community College. Led by one of the region’s most soughtafter speakers, Ms. Ellen Platt, MEd, Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and Certified Geriatric/Life Care Manager with The Option Group, members and their families were taken on a journey through geriatric care management; cognition, brain health, and dementia; care options; and taking care of the caregiver.
Summertime means fun in the sun, trips to the beach, cookouts, and the CCP’s annual Social Event! On Sunday, July 21st, members and their families enjoyed an evening showing of the smash-hit musical, “Grease,” at Toby’s Dinner Theatre in Columbia. After a dinner buffet was served before the sold-out show, guests were taken back to the 1950s with Danny, Sandy, the T-Birds and Pink Ladies! A stellar cast brought the timeless classic to life as they acted and belted out “You’re the One That I Want,” “Summer Nights,” Hopelessly Devoted to You,” “Greased Lightnin’” and more to the delight of the audience.
Elville and Associates’ is pleased to announce its 7th annual Client Event will be held on Saturday, October 12th, 2019 from 8:30 to noon at the Retreat and Conference Center at Bon Secours in Marriottsville. This year’s theme is “What Families Need to Know about Planning for Loved Ones with Disabilities.” Along with a superb lineup of presenters, delicious food, door prizes, gift baskets and concert ticket giveaways will highlight the morning, and entertainment will once again be provided by the Max Vanderbeek Jazz Group – a professional jazz trio led by one of the Elville Center for the Creative Arts’ finest school partners and music directors, Dr. Maximus VanDerbeek of Wiley H. Bates Middle School in Annapolis. Presentations will include “Financial Planning for Special Needs,” “The State of Special Needs Planning Today,” “An Overview of Waiver Programs,” “Special Needs Planning and the Augmented Estate,” and a “General Legislative Update.” Invitations will be forthcoming in mid-September, and we kindly ask that all RSVPs are finalized by October 4th. Seating is limited and the event will “sell out,” so contact our office to reserve your seat soon!
To learn more about the CCP, its many benefits and how to become a member, please contact Mary Guay Kramer, Client Care Program Coordinator, at 443-741-3635 or mary@elvilleassociates.com.