Houston Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney Blog

The Reason For Your Giving Season in Houston

Published on: December 31, 2013 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

As the year comes to a close, it is time to consider how we show our generosity, so we can allocate our resources deliberately and effectively.

There is still time to give those charitable gifts for 2013! And there are countless worthy causes to choose from. So the question is: do the charities you select fulfill the purpose behind your contribution?

While you are in the “holiday spirit,” you might want to survey a recent Forbes article titled “What Kind Of Philanthropist Are You? A How-To For Aligning Your Giving With Your Personal Values.”

Year-End Giving: What, How, And Why for Houston Families

Published on: December 30, 2013 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

“What we’ve found is that donors give — and give more — when confident the money will actually make a difference."

Understanding The “Do Not Hospitalize” Directive for Houston Families

Published on: December 27, 2013 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Often, proxies are confused about how “do not hospitalize” orders work. Several proxies believed, mistakenly, that a such an order was equivalent to a request to withhold medical intervention altogether.

For elderly loved ones in nursing homes, there is a very powerful tool found in a little known directive known as the “do not hospitalize” directive. Unfortunately, it also happens to be underused and misunderstood, as pointed out in recent article in The New Old Age Blog titled simply “A Misunderstood Directive.”

Advanced directives, as you may well know, are your medical choices reduced to black and white. They are intended to speak for you when you cannot. “Do not hospitalize” does not mean you do not want to receive care. In fact, you can even spell out the circumstances when you really want to go the hospital!

Holiday Table Talk: Financial Discussions for Houston Families

Published on: December 24, 2013 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

You may have to raise some unpleasant issues when you speak with family members over the holidays if you want to ensure a successful retirement.

Soon enough families with be gathering together to celebrate the holiday season. There will be much chatter around the table as families catch up with their loved ones. And while we all know it's best to avoid arguments over religion and politics, there are other potential skunks that can spoil the festivities.

Unfortunately, some of these skunks are subjects that really do need to be addressed while the family is available for discussion.

Houston Families Should Carefully Plan for a Special Needs Beneficiary

Published on: December 23, 2013 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Planning for a special needs beneficiary can be incredibly complex, so it’s generally best to consult with a knowledgeable attorney in your state who specializes in this area.

Estate planning helps to ensure our loved ones will be taken care of when we are no longer here. These plans are done with great care and consideration. Furthermore, our loved ones with special needs will require some extra special planning to make sure their needs are met.

Special planning is, of course, very much tied to the needs of your child with special needs and to the needs of the rest of your family. As you might imagine, such planning entails important tools, rules and guides. To get started, consider a recent article in The Slott Report titled “3 Tips When Planning for a Special Needs Child.”

Houston Families: Pass The Assets, But Don’t Drop The Ball

Published on: December 20, 2013 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

A comprehensive estate plan ensures that wills, trusts, ownership forms and beneficiary designations are in sync with your wishes. Is your plan up-to-date?

As the old adage puts it, most folks do not “plan to fail, they just fail to plan.” In this sense, leaving an inheritance behind can get a bit tricky and can take some expert guidance to do it well.

This business of leaving an inheritance was taken up by Forbes recently in an article titled “How To Inherit Wealth Without Screwing Up.” (Incidentally, it is hard to inherit wealth without screwing it up, but this piece has far more to do with the ways you can leave it behind and screw it up, in spite of the title).

Can Inherited IRAs Be Impacted By Bankruptcy in Houston?

Published on: December 19, 2013 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

While the dispute over inherited IRAs has not arisen often, it may crop up more in the future.

Does an "inherited" retirement account remain a retirement account for the intended heir? This may sound like a rhetorical question, but it is currently one before the U.S. Supreme Court in the matter of Clark et ux. V. Rameker et al.The decision could have important consequences for those who are looking to leave an IRA to their heirs – and NOT to the heir's creditors.

This issue was explored by Reuters in a recent article titled “U.S. high court to chart fate of inherited IRAs in bankruptcy.”

Prep Your Houston Business Sale With These 10 Tips

Published on: December 18, 2013 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

An estimated 70% of businesses don’t have a family member capable or willing to assume responsibility. What are you doing to plan for the sale?

A certain reality will eventually set in when it comes to the future of your business. And that reality is that some day you are not going to be there to run it. It is just a matter of time, and there may simply be no family member there to step up to the task, which is something even further from your control. For many a business, and for the betterment of the family, this means a sale. So what are you doing to prepare the business for sale?

Responsible Wealth Transfers in Houston

Published on: December 17, 2013 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

In the end, the goal is to convert what is otherwise a fleeting inheritance into a perpetual wealth management opportunity for the family. This goal can only be accomplished through proper, coordinated planning.

Our goal of passing along wealth to the next generation is to ensure their wellbeing and happiness well after we are gone, perhaps for generations to come. Unfortunately, if the transfer is not handled responsibly, a lifetime of work can vanish in an instant.

Thankfully, with the use of some powerful legal planning now, you can structure your wealth succession to preserve and protect the family wealth. The power of the trust planning is becoming more widely known, but it is also just as widely understood.

Last-Ditch Will in Texas

Published on: December 16, 2013 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Done right, death-bed revisions may save their families income and estate taxes and prevent misunderstandings and administrative hassles. If not handled carefully, though, it can leave a will open to legal challenges that can drag on for many years …

During one's final hours, people tend to review their last wishes to make sure all will be ok in the end. They may even decide to make some last minute changes. But while it is your Last Will, deathbed revisions can create dangerous challenges to your overall estate plan if not accomplished correctly.

The Wall Street Journal considered this matter in a recent article titled “Changing a Will at the Last Minute.”