Houston Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney Blog

529 Plans and Tax Incentives for Houston Families

Published on: January 23, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

“We see that as a big driver for everyone – the opportunity to put your money into the market and get that appreciation and have all those earnings tax-free when you use them for qualified expenses at a university or trade school, or wherever your child or grandchild, or whoever it is you're saving for, decides to go,” Creonte says.

If you are saving up for your child's (or grandchild's) college education, you'll want to consider a 529 College Savings Plan.

What is a 529 Savings Plan? A 529 plan lets an individual contribute after-tax dollars that are designated for qualified higher-education expenses. These expenses include tuition and fees, books, room and board, computers, and supplies. The distributions of these funds for qualified higher-education expenses are not subject to federal income tax. However, states may treat these disbursements differently. As a result, 529 plan investors need to understand the tax strategies that are available to them.

Staying in Control of Your Houston Business

Published on: January 22, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Many business owners fear losing control. Before they’re willing to address exit or estate planning options, they must first be assured of complete dominion over their business. So let’s look at how to lock in ownership.

Are you worried about losing control of your business?

A recent Forbes article, “Control Freaks Take Heart: How To Maintain Control Of Your Business,” offers some ways to assure firm control of a closely-held company.

New Year…New Financial Goals for Houston Families

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

The New Year is a great time to regroup on your financial plans, reevaluate and/or create new financial goals. By sticking to your financial resolutions throughout the year, you can keep on track towards achieving your financial objectives in 2015 and beyond.

Make the New Year a happy one by getting your finances in order. Setting some basic goals can help make 2015 one of the best years yet.

Make a budget. Creating a budget is the key to long-term financial success. Nonetheless, a 2013 Gallup poll found that only one in three Americans maintained a budget. A budget takes on even more importance when you plan to move into retirement and leave a steady paycheck to live on a fixed income.

Blended Families Can “Step Up” Their Houston Estate Planning

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

Couples planning to blend families often have to make financial arrangements that respect previous relationships with ex-spouses and their families. Issues range from childcare and eldercare to potentially complex matters involving businesses, investment assets and real estate. That’s why involving trained experts in stepfamily financial planning is a must.

Blending families can get complicated quite quickly when dealing with finances and the like, so you should speak with an experienced estate planning attorney on these matters.

The Kenyon Leadergives us a nice checklist of issues and solutions potential spouses and partners should consider in a recent article titled “Yours, mine and ours: planning step-family finances.”

Houston Families: Do You Have Your ICE File?

Published on: January 19, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Create a file that you name sometime like "ICE," which stands for “in case of emergency.” Some people call this their “grab-and-go” file, since that’s what it’s for. Make sure that anyone who needs to have this information knows how to access it. For example, if you have to leave for the hospital in a hurry, this file will contain all your important information. Here’s what to put in there.

Are you prepared for an emergency? Do you have all your files ready to go?

A recent article in the Ashland Daily Tidings, titled “In the new year, be sure you have your 'ICE' file ready,” suggests that you create a file named ICE—“in case of emergency” or the “grab-and-go” file. Make sure anyone who needs to have this information knows where it is, so if you have to leave for the hospital in a hurry, you’ll have all your important information.

Three Questions to Ask Your Houston Elder Law Attorney

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

Three estate planning questions to ask your parents right now.

Caring for aging parents poses many questions, some of which you want to get out of the way early on. A recent article in The Oprah Magazine,titled“Sanity-Saving Secrets For Caring For Your Aging Parents,” suggests three questions to ask your parents right now.

1. Do you have a living will? There are about 72% of seniors who already have advance directives specifying end-of-life medical wishes, according to a recent study funded by the National Institute on Aging. That’s terrific, but make sure your parents are in that group. As long as you’re on the subject, see if their documents have been revised in the last five years and that you know its location.

Finding Financial Resources for Your Houston Parents

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

We asked experts to let us in on a few resources most people overlook.

Need more cash to help care for mom and dad? A recent Oprah Magazine article, titled “Sanity-Saving Secrets For Caring For Your Aging Parents,” has some ideas where to look for funds to support your parents in retirement.

Here are some of those ideas from the original article:

Got Medicaid? Get Prepared, Houston!

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

Here are some "Get's" that will help you prepare for the Medicaid application process.

Get going five years before you think you need to. Medicaid has a five-year look back to all your parents' financial dealings. Which means transactions conducted during that time may be counted in determining their program eligibility. With this requirement, it’s good to have your parents' banks' names and numbers accessible. Regulators are looking at two things: if you're hiding any money and if you've given any away.

Also, if one or both of your parents still live in the family home and you’d like to keep it, you should try to transfer ownership or set up a trust at least five years before they apply for Medicaid. Although there are some exceptions, typically if you don’t address this issue, you will be forced to sell the home.

2015: New Financial Goals for Houston Families

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

If history is a guide, this coming week nearly half of us will make resolutions seeking to improve some facet of our lives, many of which will be focused on personal finance. If one of your goals for the New Year is to get your financial life in order, here are a few key areas which should be included on your 2015 financial planning checklist.

As you begin compiling your 2015 financial goals, one of the first items on your list should be to calculate how much money you'll need in retirement. It’s one of the most significant math problems you’ll do after you finish grade school. Once you have arrived at the answer to this math problem, you need to examine if that answer will create a problem for you as you prepare for retirement.

With that target in place, pay heed to the advice in an article from Seacoastonline.com titled “Start your 2015 financial planning checklist.” Consequently, you should create a strategy that will help you achieve that goal. A savings plan is one method you can use—and take maximum advantage of any tax-deferred savings opportunities available to you along the way.

Lack of Health Insurance Could Impact Houstonian’s 2014 Taxes

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

The Journal has consulted several local professionals with expertise in various financially related realms. We asked each for tips readers can take with them into 2015.

As we enter 2015, many Americans will start to shift gears to tax season and filing their 2014 tax returns. Just make sure you are aware of potential penalties, particularly regarding health insurance.

Starting in 2014, all nonexempt U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents must maintain minimum essential health-insurance coverage. This requirement is discussed in a recent Albuquerque Journal article titled “Tips help prep for improved finances.”