Will Category Archives — Page 10 of 14 — Houston Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney Blog Published by Houston, Texas Estate Planning and Elder Lawyers

Australia Court Upholds Promise Based Upon Family Secret

Published on: August 28, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

A promise to give an inheritance that is not fulfilled in a will can be challenged, if the promise can be proven and if the court agrees. The nature of the promise made to one woman in Australia is a sad reflection of a troubled family, but it does illustrate how courts treat promises.

Not every family story is a happy one, as illustrated in a case reported in The Age Victoria, "Woman sues mother over inheritance after keeping father's sexual abuse secret. A woman was sexually abused by her father starting when she was 14. The abuse continued for a year. She told her mother, who promised to end the abuse, but who did not leave the marriage. The mother asked her daughter not to tell the police.

The mother's reasoning was that the couple was putting together a large estate and if she left the marriage, her daughter would not get any of it. In exchange for not telling authorities about the abuse, the mother promised the daughter half of her estate.

Jimi Hendrix Family Battles Estate Planning Snafus

Published on: August 25, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

It’s hard to imagine legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix preparing a will; only 27 when he died, he likely did not have a great deal of assets. However, his estate grew after his death, and his not having a will, combined with a lopsided will of his father, led to years of legal battles between the Hendrix siblings.

It’s ironic that when Jimi Hendrix died at the tender age of 27, only one of his legacies was his amazing artistry with the electric guitar. The second legacy was his estate, which grew to vast proportions after his death, as did his fame.

His brother Leon Hendrix and his adopted sister Janie Hendrix have been fighting with each other over that legacy. Both of them have sought to profit from it and have worked at cross-purposes. The latest battle between them was over a trademark infringement lawsuit.

NY Psychiatrist Accused of Undue Influence Over Vulnerable Patient

Published on: August 13, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

The classic story of a vulnerable wealthy elderly person being influenced by a caretaker who seeks to enrich him or herself has been updated in a dispute between a disinherited brother and psychiatrist/girlfriend of a Texas woman who is alleged to have been manipulated out of millions.

A successful and wealthy attorney with undisclosed health problems took a medical leave of absence from her law practice and traveled to New York City for treatment by a psychiatrist. Five months after treatment began, according to a statement submitted in court, things became complicated.

Several years later, the heavily-medicated attorney, Amy Blumenthal, passed away. What is alleged to have happened during those years might shock some people.

Family Feud: Sibling Rivalry Extends Beyond the Grave

Published on: August 3, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Wealthy mining magnate Harry Magnuson thought that his estate plan was all settled, and it was, while he was alive. But his wife did not follow the plan he had created, and as a result, one of the Magnuson children is now suing his siblings over an inheritance.

When Harry Magnuson and his wife Colleen had their estate plan created in 2002, the structure was relatively straight-forward: if Harry died first, everything would be left to the surviving spouse. When Colleen died, the entire estate was to be divided equally among the couple’s five children.

Harry passed away in 2009 and Colleen received everything as planned. However, when she passed away, everything was not divided equally between all of the children.

Having THAT Conversation with Your Houston Heirs

Published on: July 21, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

While some estate planning is better than none, most Americans don't speak with their heirs about basic issues – like where the wills can be found – and most wills are not updated. A recent study from the Center on Wealth and Philanthropy at Boston College, estimates that between 2007 and 2061, as much $59 trillion will be transferred from 93.6 million American estates. The numbers are clear, but little else is. How assets are being distributed, what plans are in place for potential beneficiaries and other critical issues are murky at best, and in most cases, completely undefined.

If you've got heirs, you may want to do something few Americans do – tell them where your will can be found, and discuss your intentions for your estate. These two conversations would put you miles above what happens to most heirs – according to "5 Biggest Estate Planning Mistakes You Can Make," seen in The Street. According to a caring.com survey of adult children more than half (56 percent) of U.S. parents have a will or living trust document in place while nearly one-third of parents (27 percent) don't have estate documents in place; and 16 percent of adult children have no idea about what's in their parents' estate plans. Looks like we are setting up for a generational scavenger hunt – even when parents have an estate plan in place, most adult children don't know where the documents are located (52 percent.) Even worse, 58 percent don't know what the estate planning documents say!

The article cautions that even when you have a will or a trust, there's no absolute guarantee that your assets will be distributed without a hitch. Wills and trusts have kept families in litigation and at odds with each other for years if the estate plan isn't administered properly. To make things easier for your family and make sure your wishes are carried out properly after you pass, try to steer clear of these monstrous errors:

Don’t Let Texas Decide What Happens to Your Houston Assets

Published on: July 14, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Drafting your will and testament is not exactly on most summer to-do lists. For many, the process is a memento mori, a task more foreboding than mowing the overgrown lawn. It's no surprise that according to the American Bar Association, 55 percent of Americans do not have a will or other estate plan in place when they die. And for families, the statistics are not much better, according to a survey done by the online legal service Rocket Lawyer. The firm found over half of Americans with children did not have a will in 2014. The reason most Americans said they didn't have a will, according to the survey: "They just haven't gotten around to making one."

The Denver Post says that the consequence of having no will is there's no guarantee who’s going to get your assets. The article, “How estate plans protect family assets far better than a will,”also says that you can be placing your children at risk. They could end up in Child Protective Services or in the custody of someone you wouldn’t dream of parenting your kids.

"If you don't have an estate plan, you have a 'plan' written by the state," the article states. This means you're relying on the state to decide what happens with your kids and your assets. It means that your family will be required to go through the courts, and probate may take months or even years, according to the American Bar Association. Most states have waiting periods for creditors to respond, during which time the probate estate can’t be distributed—and that's only if an individual's affairs are in order. Anything hairy means delays and more work.

Should Houstonians Write Their Own Wills? Probably Not.

Published on: July 8, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Most people do it to save money, but they may overlook or forget to take care of some important details – details that may eventually cost them much more than the amount they could save.

Wills, trusts and estate plans should be crafted with the help of an estate planning attorney. Don’t try this at home all alone!

The Meridian (MS) Star’s article, titled “Reasons not to write your own will,” says that some of the big mistakes include these:

Estate Planning Tips for Houston Widows

Published on: June 30, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

For the last several decades, you’ve always made these kinds of decisions together. What can already be an emotional task of drafting a will is even more so after the loss of a lifelong partner. Even in the event of a terminal illness diagnosis with time to prepare in advance, Senior Vice President and Financial Advisor Cinda J. Collins of RBC Wealth Management often felt overwhelmed during the settlement of her husband’s estate after he passed away from leukemia.

While the best course of action is always to plan together ahead of time, Forbes published estate planning advice for surviving spouses in “The Widow's Guide To Estate Planning And Wealth Transfer.”

Make Sure You Have a Professionally Drafted Will. To be as prepared as possible in the event of a spouse’s passing, talk to an experienced estate attorney together as a couple to ensure all your affairs are in order. If a spouse passes away unexpectedly without planning, the surviving partner will have headaches.

Don’t Have a Will? Do You Know What Happens?

Published on: June 29, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

In some parts of the U.S., like West Virginia, without a will, your estate is first distributed according to your marital status and children, including those of previous marriages. However, if you have no spouse or children, you may want to pull out your family tree to see who could be in the running.

When there is no will in place, commonly in West Virginia, the current spouse of a married couple with or without one or more descendants receives the full estate. However, your spouse would receive only 60% of the estate if he or she had children with you and also a previous marriage. Your children would then receive the remaining 40% of the estate. But if you were the spouse with kids from a previous marriage(s), then all your children will inherit one-half of your estate, and the other half to your current spouse.

Confused yet? That’s what The (Huntington, WV) Herald-Dispatch asks us in its recent article titled “Planning ahead: What happens if you don't have a will.”

Report Notes Regional Causes of Death in U.S.

Published on: June 15, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

See where boating accidents, law enforcement intervention, firearms and other unexpected events caused deaths at abnormally high rates. Lesson? Get your estate planning in order; you never know when your time will come to an end.

Death can be unexpected and some Houston families can be caught unprepared following a loved one’s sudden death.

A recent issue of Time magazine discussed cause of death statistics in an article titled, "The Surprising Ways Americans Die in all 50 States."