These are the "Estate Planners" To Run Away From
This article in Courthouse News Service seems to be the only mention I can find of a class action brought against two men who called themselves estate planners. If the allegations are true, these men are the types of estate planners which might have prompted the Smart Money article about estate planners I blogged about last week.
According to the article, Richard Holody and David Sherr engaged in exaggerated scare tactics (maybe to the point of outright lies) to scare people into paying thousands of dollars for worthless services to "pre-qualify" for Medi-Cal, California's version of Medicaid. As the article points out, you can't "pre-qualify" for Medicaid. You can do Medicaid planning to increase the likelihood of qualifying when you need it or qualify sooner rather than later, but that apparently wasn't what happened here.
These men weren't licensed attorneys and apparently didn't hold themselves out to be attorneys. According to their listing on the website of the San Jose Better Business Bureau (where they got an "A" grade -- puts those of us with similar grades in bad company), Holody represented himself to be a C.E.P. which usually stands for Certified Estate Planner. This designation is fairly easy to obtain from the National Institute of Certified Estate Planners. It also doesn't come with any ethical standards or disciplinary provisions. Lawyers stand to lose their license for the kinds of activities alleged against these men, but without any type of licensure these types of "estate planners" have much less to lose from slash and burn business activities.
So, I'll repeat the mantra: Look for a licensed professional to do your estate planning and business planning. Do some research about what those letters after the name mean (look for a future blog post on the alphabet soup of certifications financial professionals can have). There are scammers in every field, from website building to medicine to estate and business planning. But don't paint all of us with the same brush. The Smart Money article is good if it prompts you to ask questions, just don't come at it from the perspective that no one is to be trusted. If that's your approach, then you'll never be able to have the type of relationship which allows a good attorney or other advisor to provide real and lasting value.
According to the article, Richard Holody and David Sherr engaged in exaggerated scare tactics (maybe to the point of outright lies) to scare people into paying thousands of dollars for worthless services to "pre-qualify" for Medi-Cal, California's version of Medicaid. As the article points out, you can't "pre-qualify" for Medicaid. You can do Medicaid planning to increase the likelihood of qualifying when you need it or qualify sooner rather than later, but that apparently wasn't what happened here.
These men weren't licensed attorneys and apparently didn't hold themselves out to be attorneys. According to their listing on the website of the San Jose Better Business Bureau (where they got an "A" grade -- puts those of us with similar grades in bad company), Holody represented himself to be a C.E.P. which usually stands for Certified Estate Planner. This designation is fairly easy to obtain from the National Institute of Certified Estate Planners. It also doesn't come with any ethical standards or disciplinary provisions. Lawyers stand to lose their license for the kinds of activities alleged against these men, but without any type of licensure these types of "estate planners" have much less to lose from slash and burn business activities.
So, I'll repeat the mantra: Look for a licensed professional to do your estate planning and business planning. Do some research about what those letters after the name mean (look for a future blog post on the alphabet soup of certifications financial professionals can have). There are scammers in every field, from website building to medicine to estate and business planning. But don't paint all of us with the same brush. The Smart Money article is good if it prompts you to ask questions, just don't come at it from the perspective that no one is to be trusted. If that's your approach, then you'll never be able to have the type of relationship which allows a good attorney or other advisor to provide real and lasting value.
Posted by Karen Brady at 3/23/2010 11:04 AM 
Categories: asset protection, estate planning, business planning
Tags: class action lawsuit unauthorized practice of law Medi-Cal Medicaid estate planning business planning
Categories: asset protection, estate planning, business planning
Tags: class action lawsuit unauthorized practice of law Medi-Cal Medicaid estate planning business planning
There are a LOT of people advertising they are Estate Planners who really are just product peddlers (annuities, life insurance); there are a LOT of lawyers advertising they are Estate Planners that barely can draft a will (if it's "off the shelf." It's really tough for lay people to locate a really good professional. We need to do a better job of promoting how to do that. Your blog is a good start.
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Very interesting. My husband and I recently met with Mr. Holody regarding my in-laws and accessing benefits for a dementia facility for my father-in-law while preserving their estate for my mother-in-law. I googled Mr. Holody to see if there were any recommendations or bad press. Do you know the outcome of the class action suit or where I can find more info? He just sold his services to a friend of ours and I'm now afraid they have been swindled. Any help would be appreciated.
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