Houston Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney Blog

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.”

Insurance And Financial Planning Go Hand In Hand in Houston

Published on: December 13, 2013 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Discomfort with the details prevents many people from obtaining the necessary coverage.

The kinds of insurances we are “required” to buy help us with the minor bumps and scrapes in life and are sometimes easy to think about, shop for or ensure that we have adequate coverage. Auto and homeowners insurance, for example, come immediately to mind.

On the other hand, disability insurance, long-term care insurance and life insurance are another matter entirely. As USA Today points out in a recent article titled “Insurance is most ignored in financial planning,” these three insurances are all too often ignored, misunderstood and difficult to think about emotionally. Nevertheless, they are often essential.

When An Inheritance Hinders Financial Aid in Houston

Published on: December 12, 2013 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

"Kids inherit money. We don't want it."

Sometimes too much inheritance all at once is a threat to moral development, it’s true, but sometimes a gift can threaten a college education by complicating financial aid.

As parents of the college-bound understand to a dizzying degree, financial aid is a difficult calculus of have and have not. It is often an entirely necessary salvation. Unfortunately, the types of income a parent or a student of a parent receive will have dramatic influences both on the availability of financial aid and the ease with which it is attained.

The “Appreciation” Of Giving to Houston Charities, Literally

Published on: December 11, 2013 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

I know that most people will simply write a check to their charity of choice but for many, there is a more tax efficient way to gift, right?

With the end of 2013 fast approaching, have you considered your year-end charitable gift strategy? While it is sometimes hard to figure out to whom you are going to give to, also remember to consider what you are going to give. In addition to your time and/or your money, there are other special (yet common) assets to donate.

Most seasoned donors are already well acquainted with the fact that there are many great tax advantages to charitable giving. In that spirit, keep in mind that those appreciated securities you have may be the perfect gift to benefit your charities rather than the IRS.

Empathy for Aging Loved Ones in Houston… Even If They Grumble

Published on: December 10, 2013 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Now I am 86 and almost blind. I cannot read the bills that come in the mail nor sign my own checks. I must be escorted to medical appointments. My busy children are kind beyond measure, but I am uncomfortable in these situations. And being uncomfortable makes me sharp and unpleasant.

The challenges of living with and caring for an aging loved one can be stressful, for all involved. You have to remember, just as it is difficult to provide care, it is not an easy thing to be the one receiving the care either. Over and above all the medical issues, the time crunches, or the money concerns, oftentimes it is the emotional issues (and even the fighting) that can wear on you.