Family

Cost of Adoption Can be Offset with Tax Credits

Published on: November 20, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

The average family can face high expenses when adopting a child. But there are tax benefits that will provide some help, as reported in The Middlesboro (KY) Daily News article, "Thinking of adopting? Be prepared for expenses." Among the benefits are an exclusion from your taxable income of employer-provided adoption assistance and a credit for qualified adoption expenses.

The maximum tax benefit you can claim for this year is $13,400, which is reduced if your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) exceeds $201,010 and is completely phased out if your MAGI is $241,010 or more. The adoption tax credit is nonrefundable, so it's limited to your tax liability for the year.

For example, say that you pay $13,400 in qualified adoption expenses in 2015, and your employer reimburses you for $3,400. If you meet the MAGI guidelines, you can exclude $3,400 from your gross income for 2015 and can claim $10,000 ($13,400 minus $3,400) for the adoption tax credit.

529 Colleges Savings Plan – “Super-Fund” It!

Published on: January 10, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

You can stuff a lot of money into a 529 college savings plan now and then do the same thing at the beginning of 2014 – a strategy that advisers say they are seeing many wealthy clients adopt this year.

Funding a 529 College Savings Plan before year-end is a great gifting strategy your college-bound grandkids. They will surely appreciate your gesture! And if you wanted to take that gift one step further, did you know you can actually super-fund it?

As though just funding a 529 were not good enough, Reuters provided the skinny on super-funding recently in an article titled “Should you super-fund your 529 college savings plan?”

Use Family Meetings As A Forum For Estate Planning in Houston

Published on: November 21, 2013 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

A productive family meeting can have a profound impact not only on the individual family members who attend, but also on all those they interact with afterwards.

Communication is key when it comes to estate planning. In fact, the entirety of an estate plan – from the advance health directives covering your end-of-life decisions down to the distribution of your assets – is all about communication. However, not all decisions are easily and clearly communicated in writing. What you may need is a “family meeting.”

If the term “family meeting” conjures little more than memories of classic TV shows, (e.g., the “Brady Bunch”), then you are not alone.