Estate Planning

Preserving Genetic Material for Offspring – How Does this Affect Your Houston Estate Plan?

Published on: June 25, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

As growing numbers of people use reproductive technology to have children later in life or overcome infertility issues, many affluent Americans are leaving behind “genetic material” that could conceivably add a new heir to the family.

Estate planning is all about tying together the loose ends of your life. Easier said than done, right? It seems with every passing generation our lives get even more complicated. Medicine, especially fertility medicine, continues to baffle the legal system. The perfect example of that is posthumous progeny (how is that even a phrase?) through cryogenics, in vitro fertilization, and entirely understandable timing. It’s been in the news before, but MarketWatch recently took up the topic in an article titled “Your frozen sperm could inherit your estate.”

Inheritance, unless you plan otherwise, legally flows from generation to generation or simply the closest kin in lieu of that next generation. It’s an age-old concept and logically follows the nature of human reproduction. On the other hand, that can get pretty complicated when we stop reproducing as they always have (as in only the ways they could) in ages past.

Wealth Distribution Options for the Single or Childless

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

"We say to people: 'If you do nothing, your money will go to the state. Is that what you want?' That's enough to make them want to consider something else," says Andrew Russell, a certified financial planner in San Diego.

If you have no spouse or children, you may feel like you have an estate planning dilemma. How do you plan when there is no one to plan for? For an increasing portion of the population there are no direct descendants, and those individuals are pondering their wealth distribution options.

Reuter’s summarized the issues in a recent article titled “Estate planning for the young, rich and childless.” It’s in one sense a case of there being no easy or automatic options. This means that the sky is the limit. The other side of the coin, however, is that there is much room for option paralysis. For most, the most rewarding decision is to find a way to give back to the community and to the causes about which you care most through charitable giving.

Should Houston Women Look At Estate Planning In A Different Light?

Published on: June 9, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

It’s not that there are different estate-planning tools for each sex. But women are likelier to live longer, they’re likelier to be custodial parents and, speaking generally, women often approach the topic differently than men.

Do you think estate planning for women is different than it is for men? Gender isn’t and shouldn’t be important when it comes to so much in life. However, it actually should be something you take into account when it comes to estate planning. Men and women are simply different and often have different legal folds to their life.

On that note, MarketWatch had a bit of advice for women worth sharing in a recent article titled “How women can make estate planning easier.” The challenges that end up arising for women can seem subtle or can be outright life-altering. Either way there are important aspects to account for whether planning as a married couple or as a single person.

Houston Estates Can Include Plans For Everything – Plants Included!

Published on: June 4, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

"This plant will definitely outlive me," said Ms. Scoratow, a landlady who is 63 years old and in good health. "After I pass, I don't want her to go unloved."

Your estate plan should include everything that is dear to you. Once you are gone you'll want to make sure your wishes are carried out accordingly. A recent article in The Wall Street Journal illustrated one way of making sure everything is taken care of after you are gone. The article is titled “A Woman's Will Provides Funds for Trusty Houseplant Upon Her Death.”

The article chronicles the curious case of Ronna Scoratow, her will, and her trusty 42-year-old philodendron. Ms. Scoratow, having no children or horticulturally-minded next-of-kin, simply had no automatic option for the future care of her prized plant. Beside, this is not your average houseplant that is easy to move around.

Does Your Better Half Know The Plan For Your Houston Estate?

Published on: June 3, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Estate planning isn't exactly my idea of fun, but it's absolutely necessary. Just like you're planning for retirement, you need to plan for the inevitable.

If you have taken the vow of “until death do us part,” have you considered what will happen if you are no longer here? Does your spouse know and understand your estate plan? Will your spouse be able to manage what you leave behind?

Estate planning for married persons begins with thinking about the future security of your spouse in a world without you. In many ways, you likely assume that your spouse is prepared to take over. However, this is a potentially dangerous assumption and one that should not be taken for granted. In fact, many things can go awry, both practically and legally, unless you and your spouse have specifically talked them over.

Giving To A Houston Graduate

Published on: May 30, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

When her son recently turned 18, Lisa Kirchenbauer and her husband had him sign papers to take control of an account for minors they had long ago set up as a college fund – which had grown to about $60,000. "What if I ran out and bought a car with it?" he asked.

It is graduation season, which means it is graduation gift-giving season. If you hope to mark your loved one’s accomplishment with a sizeable gift, then how do you ensure that such gift is not squandered?

To mark a milestone with a financial gift can be something of a carrot-and-stick opportunity. If that is the case, then the trick is to ensure that the gift encourages positive possibilities instead of some shiny mess with a new car smell. Reuters recently provided some advice on this timely topic in an article titled “Four ways to influence how new grads handle money.”

Married? Consider These Eight Estate Planning Goals for Houston Couples

Published on: May 29, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Knowing these objectives help both the couple and their estate planner determine what might be the best way to structure their estate plan. Below are eight of the most common estate planning objectives that influence a couple’s estate plan.

Planning for just you and your hopes takes a lot of work. While you may be of one mind (literally), there is much to think about, values to weigh, and options to select. But what about married couples? However close, married couples are not just of “one” mind and, accordingly, as a couple will have that much more to think through and plan. As a married couple planning for your estates, what should your objectives be?

How, where and why do married couples come together in their planning and what values or strategies should they work to support? There is no one answer because this has everything to do with the couple, their assets, their loves ones, and their many hopes besides. Nevertheless, even unique couples can find themselves pursuing common objectives by one tool or another. Forbes offered a helpful little list of eight common objectives for married couples planning their estates in a recent article titled “Eight Common Estate Planning Objectives Of Married Couples.”

Passing On A Prized Collection To Your Houston Heirs

Published on: May 26, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

It may take some expert help to work out how to pass the pieces to your heirs. Parents' collectibles can hold emotional meaning for adult children, and some collections carry financial value as well.

Estate planning is all about deciding how to dispose of your assets, but when it comes to assets, collections can be fairly problematic. After all, the reason it’s a “collection” is because the whole is worth something greater than the sum of its parts. You simply don’t have an unrelated list of items that you can just casually split up (or do you?). Kiplinger recently explored this challenge in an article titled “Leaving a Collection to Your Heirs.”

The fundamental question is this: what is your hope for your collection? Does the collection live on, and if so, under who’s watch? You might want the collection to stay together or to stay in the family for generations. This commonly is the case when the items are family relics or antiques. In addition, collectible assets can raise other vexing issues like possible taxation or even legal difficulties (an exotic gun collection, for example).

Ask Yourself These 3 Questions About Estate Planning in Houston

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

…There are a few important questions many of us don’t think about. They’re the often overlooked issues of estate planning that could make all the difference for your relatives and heirs after you pass.

Estate planning encompasses so many areas of your life. For starters, you'll likely consider your values and your family. Then there is the nitty-gritty you might be overlooking: the financial, the legal, and the shared understandings. Make time for some real thinking, but also take some time to begin thinking about what you might be overlooking before planning in earnest.

The bits and pieces that are easiest to overlook are the kinds of things best uncovered by some friendly self-interrogation. To help get that conversation started, consider reading a recent article in US News & World Report titled “3 Important Estate Planning Questions.”

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: