Houston Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney Blog

Wealth Distribution Options for the Single or Childless

Published on: June 12, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

"We say to people: 'If you do nothing, your money will go to the state. Is that what you want?' That's enough to make them want to consider something else," says Andrew Russell, a certified financial planner in San Diego.

If you have no spouse or children, you may feel like you have an estate planning dilemma. How do you plan when there is no one to plan for? For an increasing portion of the population there are no direct descendants, and those individuals are pondering their wealth distribution options.

Reuter’s summarized the issues in a recent article titled “Estate planning for the young, rich and childless.” It’s in one sense a case of there being no easy or automatic options. This means that the sky is the limit. The other side of the coin, however, is that there is much room for option paralysis. For most, the most rewarding decision is to find a way to give back to the community and to the causes about which you care most through charitable giving.

Prenup Vs. Domestic Asset Protection Trust

Published on: June 11, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

So how do DAPTs work in a marriage to protect assets? Do they need to be set up before the marriage? Can they be set up during the marriage?

Marriage might be that last step in bringing two people and two lives together. Nevertheless, that moment often causes one to pause, however idyllic a match may be. Cold feet is cold feet.

When it comes to bringing two financial lives together, there are some hard numbers to work through and some tough decisions to make before opening each other up to one another’s liabilities or the liability of divorce itself. You can use a prenuptial agreement – the so-called “prenup” of courthouses and tabloids alike. Alternatively, as pointed out in a recent Forbes article, titled “How To Protect Yourself In A Divorce Using A Domestic Asset Protection Trust,” you might have better luck with a Domestic Asset Protection Trust or DAPT. It’s a big topic.

End-Of-Life Decisions – What Would The Doc Do?

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

[Dr. V.J. Periyakoil] and her colleagues wanted to learn more about the attitudes of young doctors toward advance directives. So the researchers asked what choices they would make for themselves if they were terminally ill.

How do people make their end-of-life decisions? Everyone varies medically, intellectually and culturally. In addition, there are some important religious questions that may come into play. It can be very helpful to learn from the practices of others, too.

A very important perspective to consider may well be doctors themselves. According to a recent post in the New Old Age Blog of The New York Times, there is a bit of a consensus among those who wear the white lab coats.

Should Houston Women Look At Estate Planning In A Different Light?

Published on: June 9, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

It’s not that there are different estate-planning tools for each sex. But women are likelier to live longer, they’re likelier to be custodial parents and, speaking generally, women often approach the topic differently than men.

Do you think estate planning for women is different than it is for men? Gender isn’t and shouldn’t be important when it comes to so much in life. However, it actually should be something you take into account when it comes to estate planning. Men and women are simply different and often have different legal folds to their life.

On that note, MarketWatch had a bit of advice for women worth sharing in a recent article titled “How women can make estate planning easier.” The challenges that end up arising for women can seem subtle or can be outright life-altering. Either way there are important aspects to account for whether planning as a married couple or as a single person.

Retirement Across The Border: An Option for Houstonians

Published on: June 6, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

One of your first considerations should be where to keep your money. When you move abroad, you will most likely need to open a bank account in the new country in order to pay local bills.

An increasing number of people are retiring on foreign shores. If you’re thinking about retiring abroad, then there is much to dream about and also much to plan.

The romance of the move aside, retiring abroad has an appeal not limited to wanderlust. It can mean lower cost of living, more favorable healthcare costs, taxation benefits, and a whole new lifestyle. But since retiring abroad means planning to move internationally, planning your retirement and, yes, planning for your eventual estate, it’s no small step. You’ll very much need to look into your future home and the laws that exist there, and work with competent counsel to guide you back here in the States. To help you in thinking about the transition and the steps to take to make the dream a reality, there is a helpful recent exposition in ElderLawAnswers titled “Things to Consider Before Retiring Abroad.”

The Federal Estate Tax Exclusion: Get The Facts for Houston Families

Published on: June 5, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

What is the $5 million federal estate-tax exclusion, and how does it work?

Now that "tax time" is over for many Americans, the subject of taxes may not come up as often. In fact, when it comes to the estate tax you may not think about it until you sit down to plan for your estate. So what is this tax anyways?

A reader recently put these questions to the Q&A in The Wall Street Journal, which found its way to publication in “The Federal Estate-Tax Exclusion.” If you find yourself asking, “What is the $5 million federal estate-tax exclusion, and how does it work?” you’re not alone and here’s a start.

Houston Estates Can Include Plans For Everything – Plants Included!

Published on: June 4, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

"This plant will definitely outlive me," said Ms. Scoratow, a landlady who is 63 years old and in good health. "After I pass, I don't want her to go unloved."

Your estate plan should include everything that is dear to you. Once you are gone you'll want to make sure your wishes are carried out accordingly. A recent article in The Wall Street Journal illustrated one way of making sure everything is taken care of after you are gone. The article is titled “A Woman's Will Provides Funds for Trusty Houseplant Upon Her Death.”

The article chronicles the curious case of Ronna Scoratow, her will, and her trusty 42-year-old philodendron. Ms. Scoratow, having no children or horticulturally-minded next-of-kin, simply had no automatic option for the future care of her prized plant. Beside, this is not your average houseplant that is easy to move around.

Does Your Better Half Know The Plan For Your Houston Estate?

Published on: June 3, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Estate planning isn't exactly my idea of fun, but it's absolutely necessary. Just like you're planning for retirement, you need to plan for the inevitable.

If you have taken the vow of “until death do us part,” have you considered what will happen if you are no longer here? Does your spouse know and understand your estate plan? Will your spouse be able to manage what you leave behind?

Estate planning for married persons begins with thinking about the future security of your spouse in a world without you. In many ways, you likely assume that your spouse is prepared to take over. However, this is a potentially dangerous assumption and one that should not be taken for granted. In fact, many things can go awry, both practically and legally, unless you and your spouse have specifically talked them over.

Houston: Don’t Make These Three Legal Mistakes!

Published on: June 2, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

I think it’s important for people to understand the consequences of inattention to legal matters and of not involving an attorney. “Penny wise and pound foolish” can be a particularly compelling adage when dealing with legal matters.

More often than not, when an estate plan fails and litigation follows it is because the estate plan was not a good plan at all. Legal mistakes and cut-corners are liabilities not worth keeping on the books, as a growing body of case law goes to show. Do not let a legal mistake haunt your estate, your assets or your family after you are gone.

When it comes to estate planning, the liability of legal mistakes and cut-corners has a special kind of edge to it since it is so often the family or your partners who end up feeling the burden or even winding up in litigation. What do these cases look like and what terrible mistakes have been made?

Giving To A Houston Graduate

Published on: May 30, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

When her son recently turned 18, Lisa Kirchenbauer and her husband had him sign papers to take control of an account for minors they had long ago set up as a college fund – which had grown to about $60,000. "What if I ran out and bought a car with it?" he asked.

It is graduation season, which means it is graduation gift-giving season. If you hope to mark your loved one’s accomplishment with a sizeable gift, then how do you ensure that such gift is not squandered?

To mark a milestone with a financial gift can be something of a carrot-and-stick opportunity. If that is the case, then the trick is to ensure that the gift encourages positive possibilities instead of some shiny mess with a new car smell. Reuters recently provided some advice on this timely topic in an article titled “Four ways to influence how new grads handle money.”