Houston Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney Blog

Houston Seniors: Beware of Scammers!

Published on: February 18, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Seniors make up about one-fifth of financial abuse victims nationwide, Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman said Thursday. They're tempting prey for scammers because old age often comes with reduced cognitive abilities. Financial scammers who target elderly or vulnerable Minnesotans would face stiffer penalties under a law Gov. Mark Dayton included in his two-year budget proposal.

As of late, seniors are falling victim to financial scams more than ever before. They make a tempting target for scammers when their cognitive abilities decline, making it easier for scammers to take advantage of their vulnerabilities.

As reported in a recent Minneapolis Star Tribune article titled “Dayton wants new financial protection law for elderly, vulnerable to protect from scams,”Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has a plan to combat scammers. Dayton has proposed a plan that would add a $1 fee to insurers for every life insurance or annuity product they sell, which would help hire outreach employees, a senior ombudsman, and an investigator.

Houston Parents: Leave Legacy via Roth IRA

Published on: February 17, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Roth IRAs intrinsically make phenomenal transfer of wealth vehicles. With reduced estate taxes and no income tax for heirs to pay on withdrawals, establishing a Roth IRA or even converting to one from a Traditional IRA seems to be a simple decision. Just know what you are doing ahead of time.

When planning your estate, keeping all parties in mind is important. So it is with Roth IRAs.

A recent Benzinga article, titled “Legacy And Estate Planning With A Roth IRA,” says you should think about not only the account holder's tax situation, but the heir’s as well and consider the tax burdens your heirs may inherit.

High Wage Earners in Houston Should Mind Tax Tips

Published on: February 16, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

There is less emphasis on estate taxes because the exemption—$5.43 million per person—is so high now. But income taxes are higher, so know what you are in for.

Maybe the estate tax doesn’t apply to you, but what about rising income taxes? How should you plan accordingly?

According to a recent post on cnbc.com, titled Tax planning tips for high-income earners,” tax planning is better done looking ahead three or five years. If you see a trend, such as an increase or reduction in income, you can alter your deductions or deferrals.

Shoot for an “Ace” in Retirement Planning in Houston

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

You wouldn't play golf without a full set of clubs. Don't go into retirement without a fully equipped retirement toolbox. Retirement brings the freedom to explore a new stage of life. But for many, after years of working for others, it also means assuming responsibility for generating a paycheck for decades. Having a few basic resources at hand can make it easier to navigate the challenges that come with retirement.

A recent Wall Street Journal article, titled "Have the Right Tools for Retirement," says you need a full set of golf clubs to play the game as intended. Similarly, you need a full set of retirement tools to ensure that you are planning wisely. These should include all of the following:

a realistic budget and an efficient plan for withdrawing money from savings;

Guardianships Used by Nursing Homes to Collect from Residents

Published on: February 12, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Lillian Palermo tried to prepare for the worst possibilities of aging. An insurance executive with a Ph.D. in psychology and a love of ballroom dancing, she arranged for her power of attorney and health care proxy to go to her husband, Dino, eight years her junior, if she became incapacitated. And in her 80s, she ended up in a nursing home as dementia, falls and surgical complications took their toll. He sings her favorite songs, feeds her home-cooked Italian food, and pays a private aide to be there when he cannot. But one day last summer, after her husband disputed nursing home bills that had suddenly doubled Mrs. Palermo's copays, and complained about inexperienced employees who dropped his wife on the floor, Mr. Palermo was shocked to find a six-page legal document waiting on her bed. It was a guardianship petition filed by the nursing home, Mary Manning Walsh, asking the court to give a stranger full legal power over Mrs. Palermo, now 90, and complete control of her money.

A New York Times article titled "To Collect Debts, Nursing Homes Are Seizing Control Over Patients" states that few people are aware that a nursing home can do this. Guardianship cases are usually confidential, but the Palermo's situation isn't uncommon.

More than 12 percent of guardianship cases are brought by nursing homes. Many of these may have been brought as a means of bill collection, which was never intended when the New York legislature enacted the guardianship statute. Some courts have ruled that this legal tactic by nursing homes is an abuse of the law, but these petitions—even if unsuccessful—make families spend time and money in costly legal ordeals.

Do You Know Your Long-Term Care Options in Houston?

Published on: February 11, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

When asked about long-term care insurance, one senior said, "I've thought about it. I don't think it's worthwhile to buy at my age." She's 83. "I've thought about it but I really haven't looked into it," another woman said. Others simply don't want to talk about it. But a don't-ask-don't-tell attitude toward paying for long-term care isn't an effective strategy for the 75 million baby boomers, the oldest of whom will start hitting age 70 in 2016.

A recent article in the Memphis Daily News, titled "OK, Baby Boomers: Time for Some Hard Decisions," reminds us that care for seniors can come from family members or from outside services such as adult day care, assisted living centers, home-care services and nursing homes. These services often include assistance with daily activities, home health care, respite care, hospice care, adult day care, care in a nursing home, and care in an assisted living facility.

People pay for long-term care by using personal resources, long-term care insurance, and Medicaid if they qualify. Medicare, Medicare supplement insurance, and private health insurance typically don't pay for long-term care. Individuals may also look to other resources such as veterans' benefits, Social Security, community services, and family caregivers.

Can You Get Out of Dodge?

Published on: February 10, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

One attorney calls it the "Get out of Dodge plan"—the best way to keep your assets intact before applying for Medicaid to cover nursing home costs. New Jersey is one of the most restrictive states when it comes to permitting residents to preserve assets for their benefit while Medicaid pays for nursing home care. In the Garden State, there are steps that should be taken before applying for Medicaid, the government insurance program for people of all ages who are too poor to afford health care including long-stay nursing home care. Nursing homes can cost $120,000 a year in New Jersey, sometimes more.

Even though Medicaid is a federal program that's regulated by each state, the way in which the money is distributed can vary. Restrictive states are siding with protecting public money over letting individuals and their spouses keep assets, the Asbury Park Press article titled "Protecting assets: Three things to know before Medicaid" explains. So your retirement strategy can be quite different based upon your state of residence. Not everyone can Get Out of Dodge, meaning not everyone can move into a second home in Florida.

But do-it-yourself planning may not be the way to go. Elder law and Medicaid planning is constantly changing, and your assets can easily be wiped out by nursing home costs without careful planning. For example, when a husband places his wife in a nursing home, their home may be excluded from assets that must be spent for nursing home care before Medicaid pays for it. So the husband is still able to live there. However, if the husband dies before the wife enters the nursing home, it gets complicated: the house could be lost to the nursing home for the cost of her care.

DIY Estate Planning May Not Work for Houston Families

Published on: February 9, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

People have many options today for creating their own estate planning documents. Forms can be purchased quickly from websites and books. However, trying to create your own estate plan can actually be more expensive than hiring an attorney.

Everyone knows that attorneys can be expensive. This is just as true for estate planning attorneys as it is for other types of attorneys. An entire industry has sprung up to give consumers a cheaper option for some supposedly routine legal matters, like estate plans. Forms are available for downloading online that promise buyers they just need to read the instructions and fill in the blanks to create their own wills and trusts.

One major problem with these services is when estate planning is not done properly it is much more expensive to fix things than it would have been to hire an attorney to do things right in the first place.

Health Care Costs: Integral Part of Retirement Planning

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

Consulting financial and tax advisers as part of planning the retirement process is essential to get the health-care piece covered. Enjoying truly golden retirement years means a lot of different things to different people, but it should include planning for long-term health care now so we obtain the end-of-life care we desire without becoming a burden on our children or the state.

According to a recent article in cincinnati.com, titled “Consider health care when retirement planning,” long-term health care may be a considerable expense during our retirement years, with most of this spent during the last three years of life.

Health care spending has outpaced inflation over the past decade—from a 6percent increase to just 2.5 percent for core inflation.

Houston Families Have Tax Advantaged College Savings Options

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

There are three basic tax advantaged vehicles to help save for college: 529 plans, Coverdall Education Savings Accounts and Roth IRAs.

Saving for college? Consider three tax advantaged tools to help fund your child’s or grandchild’s education: 529 plans, Coverdall Education Savings Accounts and Roth IRAs.

A recent Forbes article, titled “How to Save for College,”reports that each of these plans allows the funds to be used for college tuition and fees, and some also permit the funds to go towards books and room and board expenses. In addition, the Coverdall accounts allow you to use the funds to pay for K-12 schooling. 529 plans have the fewest restrictions and so the broadest appeal.