Houston Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney Blog

How to Distribute Texas Trust Assets to Beneficiaries

Published on: February 8, 2021 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

While people think about their loved ones receiving their assets—and being financially secure—after their passing, they often do not consider how the loved ones will receive these funds. It may seem simplistic; however, there are a few different ways for loved ones to receive their inheritance. These different methods will all impact how quickly beneficiaries—the individuals who will get the assets after the person’s passing—will receive their inheritance. Below are explanations for the various types of asset distributions utilized by Houston trustees at the end of the estate planning process.

3 Ways To Distribute Assets to Beneficiaries

By creating a trust, a three-party relationship is formed between the grantor—the individual creating the trust, the trustee—the individual who will oversee the trust’s management and ultimately disburse the trust funds—and the beneficiaries. All of these parties play a different role in the estate planning process.

Estate Planning Tips for Texans Going Through a Divorce

Published on: February 3, 2021 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

The Houston estate planning process can be complicated at any point during a person’s life. Generally, when relationships are altered—either in the case of a marriage or a divorce—changing the estate plan is not the first thought in a person’s mind. However, it is imperative to address the estate plan as soon as possible. Otherwise, the former partner could have legal rights if the individual becomes incapacitated or passes away before the divorce is finalized. For a lot people, this is not a pleasant thought.

Below are estate planning documents that should be altered while going through divorce proceedings:

A Last Will and Testament and Declaration of Guardians

What to Bring to a Meeting with Your Houston Estate Planning Lawyer

Published on: February 2, 2021 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Taking the first step in meeting with an estate planning attorney is a noble and critical endeavor. This is setting up an individual’s plans for the future, so after their passing, their assets and property are handled according to their wishes. However, the productivity of a first estate planning meeting depends on the documents the person brings to the meeting; the more information provided to the attorney, the faster the estate planning process can begin. Below are categories of documents that clients meeting with a Houston estate planning attorney should bring to their initial consultation—having these documents ready will not only help to begin the estate planning process, but also allow the individual to assess the attorney and their merits.

Financial Personal Papers and Banking Accounts

It is critical to bring personal financial papers to the first meeting with an estate planning attorney, so they can assess the person’s assets and discuss how they should be distributed. Financial personal papers include an inventory of valuables, car titles, tax returns, rental agreements, and mortgage documents. Of course, individuals should bring other financial documents they believe are important for their estate planning attorney to know about. Additionally, individuals should be able to speak in detail about their bank and credit union accounts and statements. Even if a person does not bring the credit statements to the appointment, they should have these items organized and stored in a safe place.

What is a Texas SLAT Trust?

Published on: January 28, 2021 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

With President Biden’s inauguration, many Americans are wondering if the estate and gift tax exemption will revert to a lower level, as well as what they can do to protect their assets. While there are many Houston estate planning options for individuals to shelter funds from the estate tax, SLAT trusts may be the right option for married couples. Because most Texans are unaware of a Texas SLAT—and how it could benefit them—below are the common questions and explanations of why a SLAT might help their loved ones.

What Is a SLAT Trust, and What Are Its Benefits?

A Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT) is a gift from one spouse to an irrevocable trust for the other spouse’s benefit. When creating a SLAT, one spouse gifts funds to an irrevocable trust for the other spouse to access once they have passed away. A person creates a SLAT for their spouse to allow them to (i) receive assets up to the federal estate tax exemption; and (ii) prevent the value of the trust from being included in the surviving spouse’s gross estate tax when the spouse dies. The spouse that benefits from the SLAT—often called the beneficiary spouse—can receive assets that are sheltered from the gift tax.

How You Can Pay for Long-Term Care in Houston

Published on: January 27, 2021 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Planning a person’s future—especially as they are aging and struggling to take care of daily tasks—is both daunting and stressful for the individual and their loved ones. Long-term care is a type of service that individuals often need if they cannot care for themselves, either due to illness, disability, or diseases like Alzheimer’s. Long-term care often includes care in a Houston nursing home, supervision at an adult day care facility, and health services provided at home. However, these services are often extremely costly, so loved ones worry about paying for such care. Below we discuss a few options for paying for long-term care, along with explaining long-term care insurance.

How Can I Pay for Long-Term Care?

The cost of the services is based on numerous factors, including the type of care needed, how long the care is required, where the care is given, and what type of medical professional provides it. Because of this, there are a variety of ways to pay for long-term care. These options are personal savings, Medicaid; Medicare; benefits from a life insurance policy; or long-term care insurance.

Why Texans Need an Advanced Health Care Directive

Published on: January 21, 2021 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

While individuals often think about who would receive their assets when they die, they do not always think about the medical care they want if they cannot speak for themselves. This is a critical aspect in the Houston estate planning process, called an advanced health care directive. An advanced health care directive is unique to each individual, and it can often be confusing to know what should be included in such a directive. Below are common questions that Texans have about health care directives and how to implement one as part of their estate plan.

What is a Health Care Directive?

A health care directive allows an individual to express their values and desires related to end of life care. A person can adjust their health care directive as their situation changes because of new information or a change in their health. Research has shown that advance directives often make a difference: individuals who document their preferences are more likely to receive their preferred care at the end of their life than people who do not document their wishes.

How to Create a Succession Plan for Texas Small Business Owners

Published on: January 19, 2021 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

For individuals who own a company, passing the business to another individual may not be at the forefront of their mind; but it should be. Succession planning involves creating a plan for another individual to either own or run the business after the person retires, becomes disabled, or dies. This process simply passes control of the business—or a share of the business—to another person through their estate plan. While passing a business to a loved one or employee may seem like an easy endeavor, it can often be more complicated than one would assume; for this reason, there are some detailed explanations to common Houston business succession questions below.

How Do I Pick a Successor for My Business?

Each business owner will look for different qualities when choosing a successor. For some, they know of a loved one that is excited to continue the success of the business. For others, individuals will select their successors from a pool of existing employees who have a hard work ethic and loyalty to lead the company. Business owners should carefully consult with potential successors to determine who they believe will manage the business best, once they have passed away. They should then name the successor in their estate plan as the new owner of the company.

What is a Gun Trust and Should Texans Get One?

Published on: January 13, 2021 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

The firearm industry is heavily regulated, and a mistake during the ownership transfer of a firearm can become a felony. A gun trust can prevent these errors from occurring. But because gun trusts are not well-known, many people have questions about what a gun trust really is, and if they would benefit from getting one.

What is a Gun Trust? What Does a Gun Trust Do?

A gun trust is a term for a revocable or irrevocable trust to take title to firearms. In practice, this allows the orderly transfer of the weapon upon the death of an individual to their designated beneficiary.

Texas Estate Planning for Adoptive Parents

Published on: January 11, 2021 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

There are unique challenges that families with adopted children face; however, most of these families do not know that estate planning is one of them. A Houston estate plan is essential for all people, but especially for families with adopted children because of the different laws they are subjected to. Texas law treats families differently, based on whether the children are legally adopted or not. Below are various estate planning and inheritance situations, all of which depend on the legal make-up of a person’s family.

Legally Adopted Children

When children have been legally adopted into the family, they have the same legal rights as biological children. This includes equal rights in estate planning situations, and biological and adopted children will receive the same inheritance and property when their parents have passed away. Therefore, legally adopted children will be treated the same if the parent has a will and trust in place. This occurs even if the adoption is finalized after the will or trust has been created.

Houston Estate Planning as a New Year’s Resolution

Published on: January 7, 2021 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

At the beginning of every new year people make resolutions they hope to accomplish over the next twelve months. While the most common resolutions involve things such as exercising more and being kinder to others, resolutions about estate planning should also be at the top of this list. Because there are many resolutions people can make about estate planning – depending on where they are in the planning process – below are a few estate planning resolutions to consider with the new year.

1. Resolution: Create an Estate Plan

For individuals who do not yet have an estate plan in place, this is the year to do so! Life often has unexpected twists and turns, so it is always better to be prepared and have an estate plan. Even for people who do not think they need an estate plan – either because they do not have any assets, or their assets will go to their intended beneficiary even without a will – these are often mis-assumptions. In fact, drafting an estate plan is not a complicated process, especially when there are experienced estate planning attorneys able to help.