Estate Planning

Estate Planning Rules To Follow

Published on: May 12, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Remember that any mistakes in your estate plan will live long after you. Follow these rules and you’ll end up with an estate plan that works well for you and your heirs.

Planning for the estate is really an ongoing activity. Accordingly, estate planning is not a “one-and-done” event, but rather it is a process to continue as things inevitably change. In this sense, you might say that proper planning, as an activity, is not guided by a checklist but by rules to follow. InvestingDaily offered some useful perspective on the rule-driven process of planning in a recent article titled “10 Basic Rules of Every Estate Plan.”

Here are the ten:

Eight Go-To Estate Planning Documents for Houston Residents

Published on: May 6, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Many of us want to get going but don't know where to start. So, here are eight documents that can help you get your affairs in order. If that sounds like a lot of paperwork, don't worry: You probably won't need every one of them.

A properly planned and executed estate plan will have a few key elements and a number of important documents. So how many pieces is your plan all together? It depends upon your own estate. Regardless of your unique estate, it’s helpful to start with a basic list of documents.

There are a great number of little estate planning lists out there, and a dozen ways to list the documents you might need. That noted, MSN Money provided a helpful guide not too long ago with a helpful list of eight titled “Estate-Planning Documents You Need Right Now.”

Estate Planning No-No’s for Houston Families

Published on: May 1, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

If you wish to ensure that your estate does not fall prey to predators, creditors or taxes, keep reading to be sure you're not committing the five cardinal sins of estate planning.

Just as it's important to know what to do, it's vital to know what NOT to do. Take estate planning for example. It takes a great deal of training to know what to do to best plan and structure an estate plan. That’s why you consult competent and experienced legal counsel. And knowing what NOT to do is part of that planning.

Maybe you’ve yet to start and maybe you’ve been working with an estate planning attorney for some time and piecing together some foolhardy designs. Either way there are some basic types of blunders that can befall anyone not wary enough to look for them.

Wealth Transfer Goal: Keeping the Houston Family Together

Published on: April 21, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

“I had this fear that wealth could dissolve the family and the business would disintegrate,” Mr. Wiener, 68, said. So he hired coaches and consultants, had family meetings and set up a family foundation — all with the goal of keeping his family together after he died. “It’s not perfect; it’s an evolving process.”

Whether rich or poor, homey or worldly, it’s about keeping the loved ones together and passing on the family wealth most efficiently.

Whatever your station, you might learn a thing or two from the problems faced and solved by others. As the New York Times notes in a recent article titled “Looking for Ways to Keep Money From Dividing a Family,” you can especially learn from those who happen to be part of an exclusive club like Tiger 21.

Stepping Up with Portability in Estate Planning for Houston Couples

Published on: April 18, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

One of the key advantages of a portability-based estate plan over a credit shelter trust-based estate plan is that portability allows the married couple to obtain a second step up in basis upon the death of the second spouse.

With the new ability to minimize estate taxation, known as “portability,” there is now a choice between the automatic portability plan and the old standby of the trust-based plan, notably the credit shelter trust plan.

One important detail driving the choice is the “step up in basis,” as pointed out in a recent Forbes article titled “Portability Plans Vs Credit Shelter Plans Round 1: Step Up in Basis.”

The Family Limited Partnership: Your Key To Control In Houston

Published on: April 15, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

FLPs offer multi-layered benefits by providing senior family members with several advantages—all without ceding control of the assets to junior family members.

Estate Planning is often a game of give and take. So what if you want to give away your assets, but not just yet?

As is so often the case, where there’s a need there’s a tool. A particularly powerful tool in this case is the Family Limited Partnership (FLP). An FLP can do double duty as a tool for asset protection as well as for estate planning.

Deciphering The Technical Language Of Trusts

Published on: April 11, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

NING, Ding, Grat. Ilit, Crat, Crut, Qtip.

So what are these oddly named trusts and what do people who need them need to know?

Ever been to a place where you don't understand the language? Learning a new language is no easy task. At least when it comes to French or Italian (or Hindu, Swahili or Balinese, if you happen to be that well-travelled) most us of who can’t speak a lick can get through with pointing and smiling. However, when it comes to technical languages there is a different type of difficulty.

Is An Inheritance Helpful Or Hurtful For Houston Families?

Published on: March 24, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

One of the most common themes among my affluent clients is a desire to see their children make it on their own. Over 90% of these clients are first-generation wealth builders, meaning they didn’t inherit their money but accumulated it from saving, investing or building a business. They value hard work and frugality and feel leaving a large inheritance to a child is more hurtful than helpful.

When it comes to planning for one's estate, most children assume their parents will leave it all to them. Is that really in the cards?

A recent Forbes article takes a different tack and asks “Why Bother Leaving an Inheritance for the Kids?”

Unequal Inheritances: How Do Houston Families Slice the Pie?

Published on: March 7, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Advisors say it doesn’t happen often, but parents who divide their assets unevenly are playing with fire. That said, there are things they can do to try to keep the fire under control, so it doesn’t become a conflagration that blows the family up.

Sometimes it is easy to split up your assets like pieces of the pie, with equal pieces for everyone. Sometimes, the assets just do not split that way or maybe you do not want to split them equally. For those who receive something less than equal, they may feel spurned or sense favoritism.

How do you split your estate unevenly and still keep the peace in the family or, at the very least, keep it out of the courts?

Houston Families Can Plan A Family Business Legacy

Published on: March 6, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

These two experiences taught me a lesson about family businesses. Making a family business a family legacy takes planning and preparation. While each family business has its own unique issues, there are some common strategies associated with succession planning.

Sometimes, passing along your assets to the next generation is simply a matter of passing them along. You just let the gift and the potential represented by that gift be your legacy (emphasis on the “sometimes”). However, when the asset is a business, it is rarely that simple.

A business is not merely a thing. No, a business is a mindset, an activity and, oftentimes, even a lifestyle. It can get complicated. If your legacy is the family business, then with great responsibility comes the need for equally careful planning, preparation and dialogue.