Family

Gifting Your Own Funeral: Reasons to Pre-Plan

Published on: February 27, 2018 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Planning your own funeral sounds morbid, but if you think of it as a gift that alleviates pressure and decision making for your loved ones during a very difficult time, it might make it easier to move forward.

Usually the call comes to the estate planning attorney from a child or close family friend: did Mrs. Jones leave any documentation behind about her wishes for her funeral, did she want to be cremated, or what kind of memorial service did she want? In most cases, there are no instructions, and the family must make quick decisions and hope that they have done what their loved one would have wanted.

Inside Indiana Business’ recent article, “The Gift of Pre-Planning a Funeral” explains that if your wishes are documented, it can help eliminate your family’s stress during a highly emotional time. A 2017 study by the National Funeral Directors Association found that while 66% of Americans believe that pre-planning is important, only 21.4% had actually completed the exercise.

How Estate Planning Protects Your Loved Ones

Published on: January 19, 2018 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Estate planning is not just for people who live in mansions. Quite the opposite! Everyone needs to have an estate plan to protect themselves while they are living and to protect loved ones when they pass.

Having an estate plan can eliminate confusion, expensive delays and overall bad outcomes, according to an article appearing in The Martha’s Vineyard Times, “Estate planning.” Think of it as a way to communicate your wishes and cushion your family during a really tough time.

Work with an experienced estate planning attorney. If you’re a couple, you each need to have your own will to say who gets your property following your death. In many instances, the spouses select each other.

Latest Trend in Senior Housing: A Micro-House for Grandma

Published on: December 12, 2017 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Parking a “granny pod” in the backyard may be the best way to have aging parents near, but not under, your own roof.

Finding suitable and affordable housing for aging parents is a real challenge for many families. A senior lifestyle community may be too expensive, but living on their own may be risky for them and worrisome for adult children. AARP reports that about 23 million Americans are caring for their elderly parents, but may not be able to or want to have their parents move in with them.

Older adults relocating to be closer to relatives, may soon have another alternative: a "granny pod" or micro-house. These small homes are designed for accessibility, but are compact enough to fit in a backyard.

Fire Safety for the Whole Family

Published on: December 5, 2017 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

With the holidays fast approaching, it's a great time to think about keeping grandparents—and their grandchildren—safe at home.

In the U.S. today, multigenerational living is on the rise, due to the higher cost of housing, student loans, and the more challenging career path faced by younger adults today. Money isn’t the only driver; many families enjoy having several generations under the same roof. Our longer lifespan means more families are providing care for elderly family members. And these grandparents and great-grandparents might babysit even while receiving help with their own care needs—a win-win for many families.

If yours is one of the over 4 million inter-generational households, it’s important to consider the safety needs of both children and the elderly. This includes fire safety, say experts from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). “Home is a sanctuary for these families. But let’s not forget that home is the place where people are at greatest risk of fire.”

Leaving a Vacation Home to the Next Generation

Published on: June 21, 2017 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Unintended consequences can occur when dividing up real property, which is often harder to distribute than investment accounts or savings accounts. Planning for real property division must take into account the different circumstances of your heirs.

You may have envisioned a time in the future, when your children and grandchildren enjoy the same lakeside home as you have for years after you’re gone, and are pleased with the idea of leaving the family vacation home to the next generation. But think again, says a recent article in Financial Planning, “Save clients from tax pitfalls, family strife when passing on that lake cabin,” because your vision may not translate into reality.

Some of the kids may be attached to the family vacation home and want to keep it. If possible, the best solution is a buyout among the siblings. That’s not as simple if finances don’t allow it, and the sentimental siblings are forced to sell, resulting in hard feelings. Another option is to put the vacation home in an irrevocable trust to remove it from the estate.

Why “Regular Folks” Need an Estate Plan

Published on: May 26, 2017 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

An estate plan does a lot more than distribute your assets among family members and organizations that share your values. It also protects you and your loved ones. That’s why everyone needs an estate plan, especially if you have minor children.

It’s amazing that some people still think they don’t need an estate plan. According to an article in Trust Advisor, “Why An Estate Plan Is Beneficial,” a small estate needs the protection that an estate plan can offer against unnecessary expenses and ensures that personal, financial and charitable goals will be fulfilled. There are four key reasons why everyone needs an estate plan:

Stipulating Care for Yourself. This includes a healthcare proxy, power of attorney and living will that states how you want to be cared for, if you become incapacitated.

Britney Spears Pets Live Large, but Without a Pet Trust, Their Luxe Life Is Vulnerable

Published on: May 25, 2017 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Britney Spears five dogs enjoy the same quality of life as she does, but without a pet trust, if anything happened to her, their lavish lifestyle would be at risk.

Pet trusts are no longer the exclusive province of the rich and famous, but a recent article in Trust Advisor reports that while Americans spend lavishly on our pets, they are still considered property and don’t have legal status or protection. According to “Britney Spears Pet Fetish Feeds New Estate Planning Craze,” whether you’re talking about protecting Britney’s pampered pooches or just an average American pet, you’ll need a pet trust to protect companion animals, if you become incapacitated or pass away.

While most of us want to ensure that our pets have loving care, rumors of the expense of Britney’s dogs gives us a view of some of the upper limits—or lack thereof—of how much modern pet pampering can cost. Britney spends about $30,000 a year on her dogs. This is enough to support over 100 typical American pets. One haircut for one of her dogs would feed an average animal for a year.

Daughter Sues Mom, Charging Her with Draining Her Inheritance

Published on: May 15, 2017 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Legal battles that lasted longer than the marriage, continue to plague the daughter of a real estate investor.

A court action brought by a young woman, whose mother devoted nine years to gaining control of her trust fund, is now trying to free herself from her mother’s financial grip. Her daughter claims that her mother sold as many as seven Gramercy Park co-ops and an apartment building in Brooklyn and pocketed $13 million.

The New York Post reports in “My mom swiped more than $13 million from my inheritance,” that the daughter, Elizabeth Marcus, has tried for years to get a hold on a trust fund from her mom, Geraldine Lettieri. The trust was established for Marcus by her dad, real-estate investor Alan J. Marcus, before his death in 1994. The fight over his estate has been going on in Bronx Surrogate’s Court, where Lettieri first won control of the trust in 2003. Elizabeth says that Lettieri used the fund like a piggy bank, buying fancy cars and a mansion in the Hamptons.

Leave a Legacy of Peace for Your Family with Conversations and Estate Planning

Published on: November 29, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

When the greed nerve gets tapped, relationships suffer. There are things you can do now that will lessen the likelihood of family battles after you pass.

Every family has its own dynamics, and some siblings that never resolve their differences, no matter how many years go by. When both parents pass away, siblings either make peace with each other (and regret the lost years) or go at it even more intensely. Adding money to the mix can spell disaster and split families permanently.

Motley Fool’s article, “Avoid family fights over inheritance,” says you might be surprised at the amount of money that can cause arguments. It doesn’t have to be a fortune—deep-seated feelings of rivalry and jealously are, in many instances, at the root of the problem. With that in mind, let’s look at four ideas to consider in an attempt to avoid a battle royal over your assets:

When Naming a Guardian for Minor Children, Don’t Stop at One

Published on: November 7, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Many people put off doing their wills because of the difficulty of deciding on a guardian for their minor children. But if choosing one is difficult, choosing two might actually make the process easier.

This is the situation no one wants to even think about: both parents dying unexpectedly and young children being raised by someone else. But it does happen. That’s why having a will and naming a guardian is so important for anyone who has children. Usually the problem is deciding between someone who is really good with your kids but who might not be so good or experienced with handling money and investments. But there is another way, as explained by NJ 101.5 in “Choosing guardians for your minor children.”

Yes, you can appoint one person as a guardian of the person—he or she will care for your child—and designate another person as a guardian of the estate—this person will care for your child’s assets. Typically when minors are part of estate planning, the parents’ assets are put into trust until the minor reaches a specified age(s) when distributions are authorized or required to be made. As an illustration, the trust can dictate that a third of the balance be distributed when the beneficiary reaches age 25, a third when he or she reaches age 30, and the remainder when the beneficiary reaches age 35. At that point, the trust will be terminated.