Missouri's senior population is climbing year after year, with close to one in five residents now 65 or older. Families in St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield and small towns across the state are going to need attorneys who can actually navigate MO HealthNet, guardianship and long term care planning, not just draft a basic estate plan. The Elder Law Coach helps Missouri attorneys build that skill set through one on one elder law coaching with Todd Whatley, delivered by phone and video so distance never gets in the way.
Most new attorneys leave law school having barely touched Medicaid planning. So when a Missouri attorney decides to build an elder law practice, they are often left teaching themselves MO HealthNet eligibility rules, asset protection strategies and spend down calculations with no one to check their work. Elder law coaching exists to close exactly that gap.
Todd Whatley has spent more than 25 years building his own elder law practice and turned that experience into a coaching program centered on real client fact patterns rather than lecture style theory. Whether you practice solo in a smaller Missouri community or work inside a growing firm in St. Louis or Kansas City, coaching gives you a place to ask the hard questions before you are standing in front of a client asking them.
Todd is a Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) who has personally built and sold four law practices. He has met with more than 15,000 clients face to face, trained close to a dozen attorneys who went on to earn their own CELA certification, and spoken at more than 100 events on elder law and practice growth.
In his words: “I’ve spent years honing my career as a nationally recognized elder law attorney, mentoring younger lawyers along the way. Now I want to bring that experience to attorneys across the country, including Missouri, who want to build a confident, thriving elder law practice.”
That blend of legal depth and hands on business experience is what separates his coaching from a typical CLE credit course.
You will never need to fly out or block off a travel day to work with Todd. Coaching happens over the phone and by video, which means an attorney in Springfield or Columbia gets the same direct access as someone practicing two blocks from his office.
Premium Coaching combines a complete library of forms, slide decks and educational content with two or more one on one calls each month, plus a direct line to Todd’s cell phone for the fact patterns that cannot wait. Elite Coaching adds weekly calls and scheduled in office visits for Missouri attorneys ready to rebuild an existing practice from the ground up.
Elder law attorney training with Todd covers Medicaid planning, VA benefits, guardianship and trust work, along with the practical side of running a firm built around aging clients. Missouri administers Medicaid through MO HealthNet, overseen by the Missouri Department of Social Services, and coaching includes help applying Todd’s core planning strategies to the rules Missouri attorneys actually work under.
This is also where Todd functions as an elder law consultant in the truest sense. Some attorneys book a single call to work through one difficult MO HealthNet fact pattern. Others keep him on speed dial for years, treating every new issue as a reason to check in.
Legal knowledge only gets a practice halfway there. Todd also works as an attorney business coach, helping Missouri attorneys sort out marketing, intake, staffing and the daily decisions that decide whether a young elder law practice grows or quietly stalls.
If you are searching for how to grow an elder law practice in Missouri, this is the half of the equation most CLE courses skip entirely. Todd built and sold four practices himself, so this advice comes from someone who lived the business side, not someone who read about it. Attorneys chasing elder law business mastery coaching, not just legal education, usually land in Elite Coaching, where Todd works more like an of counsel partner than a distant instructor.
A CLE seminar teaches you the law as it stands today. Elder law mentorship helps you apply it case after case, as both the law and your practice keep changing. That ongoing relationship, not a single day of instruction, is the real difference between The Elder Law Coach and a weekend course.
Attorneys who finish Todd’s programs come away sharper on Medicaid fact patterns, steadier in front of a worried family, and clearer on how to run a practice that can carry that work for the long haul.
No. Every session happens by phone or video, so attorneys anywhere in Missouri, from St. Louis to a rural county seat, can join without leaving their desk.
No. Premium Coaching fits attorneys transitioning into elder law for the first time, while Elite Coaching is built for established Missouri practices looking to expand further.
CLE programs teach the law. Coaching applies it, working through real client situations with you and helping you build the business behind it, backed by ongoing access to Todd rather than a single seminar day.
Todd’s coaching is built on core Medicaid and elder law planning principles that apply nationwide, then helps you layer in the rules specific to Missouri, including how MO HealthNet and the Department of Social Services handle eligibility and long term care benefits.
If you are ready to stop wondering how to grow an elder law practice and start doing it, book a free consultation. Todd will talk through where your Missouri practice stands today and which level of coaching fits where you want to take it next.
