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 Click here to download a PDF file of Frequently Asked Questions about Academy Membership.
| GENERAL
MEMBERSHIP |
| Are there any
fees in addition to the Membership fee? |
Cost is passed
on to Members for replenishable items/supplies such as portfolio binders purchased
in volume.
Outside vendors have negotiated many lower rates for services provided to
Academy Members. (Bank of America, DocuBank, Tape duplication, binder manufacturing,
Office Depot, and many more).
Custom web site available for Member Law firms at additional charge. See Benefits at a Glance for notations about additional charges. |
| How many Academy
employees support Members? |
1 employee per
every 4 Member law firms. |
| How many Members
are currently supported? |
Approximately
120 law firms |
| What is the
goal for Membership? |
Approximately
200 |
| Is there a limit
to the number of attorneys or staff per law firm the Academy will support? |
No limit to
the number of attorneys or staff. The Academy does request that the Education
Department is available to attorneys only. |
| Do Academy members
practice in areas of the law other than Estate Planning? |
Not generally,
the vast majority of Members concentrate only on Estate Planning or related
work. |
| How is the Geographic
Exclusivity a Membership benefit? |
The Membership
Agreement ensures that marketing materials, documents and other benefits are
not available to every attorney in town! This benefit is available due to an
overwhelming request from the Membership. This ensures that Academy Members
are located evenly around the country, it sets the stage for no competition
between Members! The open and supportive member relationships are directly
related to the exclusivity. |
| If my Academy
Territory grows in population, will the Academy change the number of attorneys
allowed in my market? |
Membership is
initiated with a written agreement outlining the number or attorneys in your
specific geographic territory. This "territory" is determined by
population, media support area, geography and availability along with consideration
given to where a prospective Member's existing client base is located. The
agreement is firmly in place until either the Member or the Academy terminates
the relationship. |
| Will the Academy
reserve a territory for me? I need to work out some arrangements before joining. |
Unfortunately,
the Academy is not able to "reserve" or hold territories for any
length of time. The Academy does not hold territories for anyone. |
| Do Members have
to pay the $9500 initiation fee again if they opt to add an additional territory? |
No. The $9500
is a Membership initiation fee. Once Members are on board, if they decide to
pick up another territory, we outline the geographic region with the Members,
create another agreement and the Members begin paying an additional $1595 per
month. Email recruiting@aaepa.com for information about promotions or financing. |
| What departments
make up the Academy? |
Marketing &
Public Relations
Continuing Legal Education
Web & Tech Services (Including software and development)
Member Services & Practice Building
Membership Recruiting |
| How many Events
are held each year and what is the cost to attend? |
There are approximately
2-3 events per year. One seat per Membership is included in the monthly fee
for all Academy Summits. Additional sets are $325. View our upcoming events here. |
| EDUCATIONAL
AND DOCUMENT SUPPORT |
| How is the Education
Department Staffed? |
Department Director
with J.D., LL.M (Tax), CFP, RFC, EA, Certified Taxation Law Specialist, Certified
Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Specialist as well as the Academy
Education Associate Director and Staff Attorney both with a J.D. and an LL.M
(Tax). |
| How are substantive
questions handled or accepted? |
Unlimited Fax,
Email, Phone, In Person availability. Education is available for attorneys
in Member firms. |
| Are there limitations
to the types of questions one can present the Education Department? |
Yes. The questions
obviously are limited to the topic of Estate Planning. Also, the Education
Department can provide so much information to Members yet they are not available
"to practice law for a Member." They will often provide coaching
and point Members in the direction of additional support materials they may
need for the particular topic the Member is working on. |
What is the
turnaround time for requests made for educational/ substantive support?
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Generally, same
day response. |
| What type of
substantive training is available? |
2–3 Conferences
per year (Members and their attorneys or staff only), plus monthly 2-3 hour
training conference calls on specific Estate Planning topics. |
| What communications
are provided by the Education team? |
Weekly email
updates on changes in the law, summaries of articles or Estate Planning developments
as they occur. |
| What are the
additional Educational benefits? |
Annual Tax Law
updates for most Academy materials, updates to Academy documents, review of
marketing materials, as well as FYIs Concerning IRS Announcements, Tax Court
Cases, Revenue Rulings and Malpractice Alerts. |
| SOFTWARE
& TECHNOLOGY |
| Does
the Academy offer estate planning documents? |
Yes,
proprietary software for state specific RLTs, ILITs, FLPs, CRTs, SNTs and more!
Documents print in MS Word. |
| When were documents
written and last updated? |
Originally created
in the 80s, a major rewrite and update occurred in 1993. With continuous updates,
the most recent rewrite was in 2002. |
| Are the documents
customizable? |
Completely customizable.
Documents are extremely comprehensive and may need only state specific changes. |
| Does the Academy
provide a database for management of clients and prospects? |
The "Complete
Activity Tracking System" is based on MS Access. The proprietary database
includes over 250 letters and forms to support clients and to market to prospective
clients. "CATS" also includes over 40 management reports tracking
results of events or types of services/revenue generated and sources of clients.
Moreover, it is the central resource for managing all the activities of your
prospects and clients. |
| Does the Academy
provide software training and support? |
Over-the-phone
installation, training and follow-up support available. Also in person hands-on
training available at conferences and online. |
| Does the Academy
have a Members only private web site? If so, what is available? |
Yes, there is
a Members only web site. Over 1,000 web pages of past event audio and video recordings
and materials, all forms, documents, all seminar PowerPoint files downloadable,
software updates and materials. |
| Can Members
have customized law firm web sites created and maintained? |
Yes. The fee
to set up this customized web site is $660. The monthly fee for maintaining
the site is $85. Various Academy articles can be made available on your web
site, as well as any special Member requests. |
| PRACTICE BUILDING |
| How
many Practice Building Coaches/Consultants are on staff? |
1
per 20 Members |
| Do they support
or offer training assistance for you or your staff? |
Complete training
programs for a wide range of Marketing functions, conducting Final Signing
meetings or Initial Consultations, Document Production, Funding, Trust Admin
systems, including individual coaching on all aspects of implementation. Programs
available online, by phone and at conferences. No extra charge! |
| What management
and planning support or materials are available? |
Employee Handbook
template, modules for hiring & training employees (including ads, offer
letters etc), Strategic Planning instruction, analysis and coaching, Marketing
Planning support and Reports, Business Plan tools. |
| MARKETING |
| Are
marketing letters and advertising materials provided? |
Over
400 customizable letters, postcards, ads and inserts with instruction and coaching
for all aspects of use and follow-up. |
| Are there seminar/
speaking materials available? |
Included in
the cost of Membership are many 2-hour programs for the public or for professionals
(most programs include slides, script, handout, reports, associated ghost written
articles, evaluation forms and follow up procedures):
Basic Estate Planning
What to Do When a Loved
One Passes Away (Trust Admin/Probate)
Lawsuit and Asset Protection
Estate Planning with
IRAs
GLBT Seminar
Estate Planning for
Farmers/Ranchers, Medicaid Planning Workshop
Special Needs Seminar
ILIT, FLP, CRT Seminars
30 minute customized
presentations for small groups and more! |
| What Marketing
materials support speaking engagements? |
Customizable
Ads
Inserts
Direct mail letters
and planning tools
Plus
Professionally printed
Seminar Handouts by topic
Seminar Evaluation
forms
Slides/Script
PowerPoint file for
LCDs
Instruction/Coaching
on room arrangements and followup. |
| What types of
tools are available for building relationships with professionals and cultivating
referrals or private speaking engagements? |
Numerous complete
CE courses available (Basic Planning, IRA, Business Succession Planning
etc.) for Members to educate professionals in their area, including course
approval, set-up and marketing materials to draw participants.
Monthly fax/email alerts
for Members to send advisors (archive of more than 100).
Endorsed Seminar Marketing
Module.
Sample introduction
or follow up letters and proposals.
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| What Public
Relations/Image Building tools are available? |
New monthly ghostwritten articles ready for publication (archive of more
than 250).Talking
Points Press Kit for Media Interview.
Office Image
Package with professionally designed:
- Business
Cards, Stationery
- Law firm
brochure.
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“The marketing is ingenious. Stick with the call-to-action marketing at least until you are very well established in the community. It is tried and true and will give you a steady flow of clients. The same is true of the seminar presentation. Whenever another attorney tells me he or she is thinking about doing seminars, I encourage them to do it because I know they will spend a lot of money to get a few people into a seminar where they will give a disjointed, lengthy seminar all the while talking over the heads of the attendees. They will not quote fees or come to a proper close and will realize few if any clients as a result. My results are the complete opposite.
The documents are complete and without rival. The education is superb as is the customer service, collegiality and professionalism.”
Brad A.— Reno, Nevada Member
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