Houston Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney Blog

What Is Your Houston Family’s Long-Term Care Plan?

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

Do you have a plan for long term care? It can be costly and prohibitive for many families, especially for dementia care. Several key points about long term care are clarified in a recent article from The Arizona Daily Star, “Costs pile up fast for dementia care.”

Don’t count on Medicare. The median annual cost for a private room in a skilled nursing facility in Tucson last year was more than $90,896. Assisted living costs about $45,000. In a 2015 annual Cost of Care survey, results showed that Americans paid approximately $16,060 more per year in 2015 for a nursing home than they paid in 2010.

Remember that Medicare doesn’t pay for long-term care, including home care, aside from 100 days of skilled services or rehabilitative care. After that, it’s up to the family to figure out how to pay. The options include long-term care insurance, public assistance through Medicaid programs for people over 65, Veterans Aid, or private pay. On average, an American turning 65 today will incur $138,000 in future long-term services. This cost could be financed by setting aside $70,000 today.

Medicaid Planning: Estate Planning AND Elder Law Skills Required

Published on: October 7, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

The Huffington Post published an interesting article on the ethical and legal issues posed by two related legal practice areas, “Some Legal Issues at the Intersection of Elder Law and Estate Planning.” There are legal and ethical issues that arise when determining courses of action in both areas.

One is whether to dispose of assets through pre-need planning to qualify for means-tested government programs such as Medicaid that might pay, for example, the cost of long term nursing home care. This is very complicated, and you should work with a qualified elder law attorney.

If you want to maximize eligibility for means-tested governmental benefits, a common income reduction technique is to create a Qualified Income Trust (QIT), also called a “Miller Trust.” There are also other types of "special needs trusts" that can be created without reducing government benefits. Again, this is a highly complex area that requires help from an elder law attorney.

Intrafamily Loans: An Estate Planning Tool for Houston Families

Published on: October 6, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Utilizing intrafamily loans and trusts is one way that wealthy families can maximize their estate planning strategies. A recent issue of Barron’s features, “How Family Loans and Trusts Can Create Big Wins,” and outlines the specifics on intrafamily loans as an estate planning tool. The note has a fixed value, no matter how big the underlying asset grows.

With low interest rates, families with taxable estates can benefit from structured trusts and intrafamily loans. Not that these intrafamily loans have their own rates and rules – the rates on intrafamily loans allow parents to lend their children cash at rates far lower than a comparable commercial loan. Plus, they can be part of a broader wealth-transfer strategy.

For instance, an aging millionaire can fund a trust for his children’s benefit with a $100,000 gift. He then loans it $900,000 at the allowable 1.82 percent interest rate for five years, which the trust invests. The trust makes regular payments on the loan and then repays the principal in full at the term’s end. Any investment gains over that extremely low interest rate are tax-free in the trust for the next generation – it’s all legal and great planning.

Inheritance and Disbarred Attorney Leads to Messy Family Dispute

Published on: October 5, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

When Fritz Detmer passed away, he left his son, Tols Detmer, an estate worth several hundred thousand dollars. The terms of the will were that Tols was not to get his inheritance until he turned 18.

Now, Tols is 19 and he is suing his own mother, Charlinette Detmer, for hundreds of thousands of dollars he says she improperly received from the estate.

The lawsuit alleges that Charlinette was supposed to receive $60,000 from the estate, but instead the lawyer administering the estate, Peter Capece, gave her $311,000. It is alleged that Capece gave Charlinette this windfall because she knew that Capece was misappropriating money from the estate for his own benefit.

Judge Sealed Probate Records in Rare Oklahoma Case

Published on: October 2, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Probate records are open to the public and many individuals seek planning methods that may protect the privacy and security of survivors. Estate planning is one tool where individuals may keep the contents of their wills, details of assets, and private matters private.

Interestingly, judges have the authority to seal probate records on a case-by-case basis if there is just cause to do so. However, that authority is rarely used. Nevertheless, in the case of Mark Costello, an Oklahoma judge has sealed his will.

So, who was Mark Costello? The Labor Commissioner in Oklahoma.

Contract Term Plagues Stevie Wonder

Published on: October 1, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Early in his career Stevie Wonder signed a contract with Motown Records. Like thousands of other recording artists, the terms were more beneficial to the record companies than for the artists. Wonder secured an attorney, Johanan Vigoda, to help him disengage from the Motown contract.

Vigoda was also able to secure a lucrative new contract for Wonder that was considered to be one of the best in the industry. Vigoda passed away in 2011.

Vigoda’s widow now claims that Wonder has failed to live up to that contract. A provision in it gives 6 percent of Wonder’s royalties to Vigoda and to Vigoda’s heirs in perpetuity. The 6 percent is higher than music industry standards and the perpetuity clause is also irregular.

Is the Rent Due When Tenant Passes Away?

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

An aging woman posed a question to The New York Times “Ask Real Estate” columnist regarding her rented apartment. The woman asked if her daughter would be responsible for the older woman’s signed lease, if she passed away while still a tenant in the apartment. Her question appeared in a recent column, “A Noisy Cafe Next Door.”

The expert’s opinion?

The woman’s estate would owe on the lease and need to make regular payments. However, New York law does provide that the tenant’s estate can attempt to find a new tenant which the landlord must accept if reasonable.

It’s 100 Birthday Candles for Estate Tax

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

Our nation’s estate tax celebrates the hundred year mark in 2015. The often controversial estate tax stands to gain even more attention as the 2016 Presidential election draws near.

The estate tax has been central to many debates during past Presidential elections. Republicans continue to call for the abolition of the estate tax, while Democrats ask that it be strengthened.

The two sides could not be further apart on the issue.

Do You Have a Plan in Mind?

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

We’ve been taught since childhood to plan for college, plan our careers, plan our families, and plan for retirement. However, end-of-life planning advice is rarely followed.

Survey after survey reveals that most Americans do not have estate plans. Recently, the Huffington Post published “5 reasons to Plan Ahead for the End-of-Life.” A doctor gives reasons why you should plan ahead, including:

Financial Legacy – If you do not have an estate plan, then your estate will be divided according to a default law that determines who gets what. Any wishes that you have about what will happen to your assets will be disregarded.

James Brown Estate Remains in Dispute

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

The ongoing James Brown estate battle continues and the complexities begin with the value of the estate.

As you may recall, his estate plan called for his music empire to be put into a charitable trust and used to help needy students. Nevertheless, despite the fact that his will contained a no-contest clause that stated that anyone who contested the will could receive nothing, the will has been the source of ongoing challenges since the musician passed away in 2006.

At one point a settlement was brokered by none other than South Carolina’s Attorney General Henry McMaster. However, that settlement was ultimately rejected by the South Carolina Supreme Court.