Houston Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney Blog

Funding a Charitable Remainder Trust with Houston Real Estate

Published on: July 9, 2025 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

You love giving back to Houston and hold significant real-estate equity. Selling property triggers hefty capital-gains tax, but funding a charitable remainder trust (CRT) turns that hidden value into lifetime income and future philanthropy. When structured correctly, a CRT slashes taxes, boosts cash flow, and leaves a legacy in the Bayou City.

CRT Basics in Plain English

A CRT is an irrevocable trust that pays you, or another non-charitable beneficiary, income for life or up to twenty years. At term’s end, the remaining assets go to one or more charities. Because the remainder benefits charity, the IRS grants an immediate income-tax deduction and exempts the trust from capital-gains tax on property sales.

Selecting the Right Houston Property

Appreciated rental buildings and undeveloped land make ideal CRT contributions. Homesteads do not qualify for capital-gains exclusion inside the trust, so focus on investment real estate. Obtain a recent appraisal and verify no environmental issues exist, because cleanup liabilities follow the trust and reduce the charitable deduction.

Planning for Long-Term Care in Dallas

Published on: July 8, 2025 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

The cost of long-term care in Dallas can topple even solid retirement plans. Private-pay nursing homes run well over $7,500 a month, and assisted-living facilities are not far behind. Without a strategy, you risk draining savings meant for your spouse or children. Taking proactive steps today protects your nest egg and provides peace of mind for tomorrow.

Assess Your Likelihood of Needing Care

Start with family history and current health. Even healthy adults have a 70 percent chance of needing some long-term assistance after age 65. Knowing the odds pushes you to act early, when premiums and planning options remain affordable.

Evaluate Long-Term Care Insurance

Traditional policies reimburse daily care expenses, while hybrid life-insurance products offer death benefits if you never file a claim. Shop carriers that provide inflation protection, especially if you’re under fifty-five. Review elimination periods and maximum benefit caps so you understand out-of-pocket exposure.

Top Five Reasons Austin Entrepreneurs Need Buy-Sell Agreements Inside Their Estate Plans

Published on: July 2, 2025 | By Thomas W. McCulloch

Running a successful Austin startup demands grit, vision, and contingency planning. Yet many founders overlook one critical tool: a buy-sell agreement. This contract dictates what happens to your ownership interest if you die, become disabled, or decide to exit. Embedding the agreement inside your broader estate plan keeps your company stable and protects your family’s financial future.

Reason 1: Prevent Unwanted Partners

Without a buy-sell agreement, your membership units pass to heirs under Texas intestacy law or your will. Your spouse or children could inherit voting rights but lack industry insight. Co-founders may face friction working with relatives who never wrote a line of code. A buy-sell lets remaining owners purchase your interest, preventing outsiders from steering company strategy.

Reason 2: Guarantee Liquidity for Your Family

Business equity is notoriously illiquid. If you die, your heirs might struggle to pay estate taxes or living expenses while negotiations drag on. A buy-sell backed by life-insurance funding creates immediate cash so your family avoids fire-sale discounts. The company or co-owners receive policy proceeds, buy your shares at a pre-set value, and your loved ones walk away with money instead of uncertain paper.

Choosing a Corporate Trustee vs. Family Member for a Houston Special-Needs Trust

Published on: July 2, 2025 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

A special-needs trust (SNT) safeguards government benefits while providing a financial cushion for your loved one. Your most important decision involves choosing the trustee. Many Houston families feel torn between naming a relative who knows the beneficiary well or hiring a corporate fiduciary with professional expertise. Weighing the pros and cons now helps you avoid future headaches and keeps the trust running smoothly for decades.

Emotional Insight vs. Professional Distance

A family member understands your loved one’s daily routines, favorite activities, and personal goals. That intimacy can make trust distributions feel caring rather than transactional. Yet close ties also create blind spots. Relatives may bend rules—purchasing gifts that jeopardize Supplemental Security Income—or struggle to deny unreasonable requests. A corporate trustee, by contrast, keeps decisions objective and compliant with state and federal regulations. Professional distance shields the trust from favoritism and maintains harmony among siblings who could accuse one another of misuse.

What Relocating to Austin Means for Your Community-Property Estate Plan and Probate Exposure

Published on: June 30, 2025 | By David W. Miller

Moving to Austin brings tacos, live music, and new legal rules. Texas follows community-property principles that treat most marital earnings as jointly owned. If you relocate from a common-law state, your existing estate plan may no longer fit. Understanding how community property affects probate ensures your legacy passes smoothly and tax-efficiently.

Distinguishing Community and Separate Assets

Income earned after you establish Texas domicile becomes community property, even if only one spouse works. Separate assets include property you owned before moving, inheritances, and gifts. Tracing funds is essential; mixing separate and community money in the same account risks transmutation into community property. Accurate records protect your premarital nest egg from unintended division and simplify probate inventory later.

Updating Wills and Trusts for Texas Law

Wills drafted elsewhere remain valid, but they may reference statutes that do not exist here. Updating your documents ensures Texas-specific executor powers, independent-administration clauses, and self-proving affidavits. If you used a living trust for privacy, Texas probate may be simple enough that a muniment of title could achieve your goals with less upkeep. A local review prevents surprises and aligns language with Travis County practice.

Keeping Rental Properties Cash Flowing during Dallas Probate

Published on: June 30, 2025 | By David W. Miller

A vacant rental loses money fast. Mortgages, insurance, and property taxes continue, yet rent checks stop when tenants move or confusion reigns. You, as the one in charge of probate proceedings, can protect estate income and property value with a proactive, business-minded plan. Your approach affects heirs’ inheritances and prevents neighborhood decline.

Why Cash Flow Matters to the Estate

Monthly rent covers fixed costs and supplies liquidity to pay debts without selling assets at fire-sale prices. Positive cash flow also maintains a steady property value, reassuring lenders and keeping insurance in force. When tenants sense instability, they delay payments or break leases, so visible leadership from day one keeps income predictable.

Handling Royalties and Intellectual Property for Austin Musicians and Creators in Probate

Published on: June 20, 2025 | By Thomas W. McCulloch

Handling Royalties and Intellectual Property for Austin Musicians and Creators in Probate

Austin’s creative pulse produces songs, films, and digital art that live long after their makers. These works often generate royalties that become part of a probate estate. If you manage or inherit intellectual property, you must juggle copyright terms, royalty contracts, and valuation challenges that differ from ordinary assets. A misstep can cost the estate years of income and erode a hard-won artistic legacy.

Understanding Copyright Duration and Renewal Rights

Copyright lasts for the creator’s life plus seventy years. After death, heirs inherit those rights and the revenue streams tied to them. But older works may include renewal terms that require filings within specific windows. Missing a deadline can push valuable compositions into the public domain. Keeping a calendar of renewal milestones—especially for songs released before 1978—is crucial for protecting ongoing income.

Locating and Auditing Royalty Contracts

Music publishers, streaming platforms, and performance-rights organizations each collect and distribute royalties. You need to identify every contract and confirm payment accuracy. Unreported plays or streams can produce significant back pay. Auditing statements against independent tracking tools like SoundExchange and Chartmetric helps you catch underpayments that add up quickly. Prompt audits also preserve legal claims before statutes of limitation expire.

Valuing Intellectual Property for Probate Inventories

Courts demand a dollar figure for each asset, yet royalties fluctuate. Appraisers look at historic earnings, growth trends, and genre popularity to project future cash flow, then discount that income to present value. A solid appraisal satisfies probate requirements and aids tax reporting. Without it, you risk IRS challenges and disputes among heirs who believe certain works deserve more weight. Proper valuation also protects you when negotiating catalog sales to publishers or private-equity funds.

Handling Out-of-State Heirs in a Dallas Probate Case

Published on: June 20, 2025 | By Thomas W. McCulloch

Your loved one’s funeral ends, and family members fly back to California, New York, or Florida. Now you must probate the estate while heirs spread across different time zones. Distance complicates signatures, asset inspections, and emotional decisions. With thoughtful planning and modern tools, you can keep everyone informed, on schedule, and satisfied.

Distance Creates Unique Hurdles

Out-of-state heirs cannot easily attend court hearings or view estate property. They rely on your updates, and silence breeds suspicion. Time-zone gaps also slow decisions when documents need quick approval. Anticipating these frictions helps you design a communication plan that keeps goodwill intact.

Serve Required Notices Correctly

Texas law demands personal representatives send certified letters to heirs and beneficiaries. Mail delays stretch even longer for international addresses. Track delivery with return receipts and photograph every envelope before mailing. Digital scans provide backup if a package goes missing. Meeting notice rules early prevents challenges that could undo months of work.

Leverage Remote Technology

Video tours of real estate, secure e-signature platforms, and cloud document folders give distant relatives a front-row seat. Schedule regular video calls where you screen-share the probate inventory, bank statements, and upcoming deadlines. Seeing the paperwork in real time builds trust and reduces repeat questions. When court appearances arise, many Dallas judges now allow Zoom participation, sparing heirs the cost of last-minute flights.

Protecting Dallas Heirs from Creditor Claims during Probate

Published on: June 12, 2025 | By David W. Miller

Facing probate creditors while grieving tests even the calmest families. Some collectors call daily, others file aggressive lawsuits, and a few slip inflated invoices into the mailbox. As personal representative, you guard heirs from those tactics. By mastering Texas claim priorities and using the tools the Estates Code provides, you keep legitimate debts paid and shield beneficiaries from unjust demands.

Know the Statutory Pecking Order

Texas classifies debts into categories—administration costs, secured claims, funeral expenses, and so on. You must pay them in order, or a lower-priority creditor may sue you personally. Learning this ladder helps you stretch limited cash and avoid court sanctions. Most heirs never see this list, so your early explanation builds trust and lowers stress.

Confirm Debts before Cutting Checks

Collectors sometimes chase accounts already settled or outside the statute of limitations. Before writing a check, request written verification, original contracts, and payoff figures. Texas gives you thirty days to approve or reject a claim after presentation. Use that window to compare the paperwork against the ledger. Reject any claim that lacks evidence, then mail a certified notice so the deadline to sue the estate starts ticking.

Use Exempt Property and Allowances

The Estates Code shields the homestead, one vehicle per family, and certain personal items from most creditor reach. You can also request a family allowance for one year of living expenses. Designating property as exempt removes it from the pool creditors divide, preserving key assets for spouses and children. Filing the exemption inventory early blocks collectors who might otherwise place liens on valuable household goods.

Probate Considerations for Austin Couples in Long-Term Cohabitation Without Marriage

Published on: June 11, 2025 | By David W. Miller

You share a mortgage, two dogs, and a life, but you never signed a marriage license. In Texas, that choice carries serious probate consequences. When one partner dies, the survivor may face costly court battles with distant relatives unless you plan ahead. Understanding how intestacy rules treat unmarried partners helps you protect the person who stays behind.

Texas Intestacy Does Not Recognize Your Partnership

If you die without a will and never established an informal (common-law) marriage, Texas law passes your estate to blood relatives, not your partner. Parents, siblings, and even nieces can inherit ahead of the person who paid half the bills. A properly executed will is the only way to override that statutory hierarchy and keep property where you intend. Waiting until later risks putting your home and savings in the hands of relatives who may not respect your partner’s needs.

Proving or Disproving Common-Law Marriage

Texas lets couples create a marriage without a ceremony if they agree to be married, live together in Texas, and hold themselves out as married. Yet proving those elements after death invites litigation. Old tax returns, joint bank statements, or shared last names may convince a judge, but the process drains money and emotions. You can avoid the uncertainty by signing a simple declaration of informal marriage at the county clerk or by drafting mirror wills that leave everything to each other. Either step removes doubt and shields the survivor from relatives who might challenge the relationship.