Houston Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney Blog

What is Planned Giving in a Houston Estate Plan?

Published on: September 8, 2020 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

For many, philanthropy and charitable giving is an important part of their life. For these philanthropic individuals, it is common to leave assets at the time of their death in order to continue the legacy. However, at the same time, it is still important to minimize their tax burden both during their life and for their family after their passing. Utilizing a planned gift is a great option. A Houston planned giving strategy allows individuals to make larger gifts to charitable organizations than they would be able to from their ordinary income.

By definition, a planned gift is any major donation to a non-profit made during a person’s lifetime or at their death as a part of the person’s estate planning. These gifts include life insurance, real estate, personal property, and cash.

Types of Charitable and Planned Giving

Helping Pay for College Through a Texas Qualified Tuition Plan

Published on: September 4, 2020 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

With colleges starting the fall semester around the country, worries about paying for higher education and making ends meet often come to students’ minds. Family members, like parents and grandparents, will often want to help their loved one pay for college if they are able to; however, at the same time, they do not want to do so at a detriment to their own financial future. One popular method to help a student with their college costs is a qualified tuition plan. A qualified tuition plan is a type of Houston estate planning tool that allows a person to contribute to another’s higher education expenses without having to pay taxes on these contributions.

What is a Qualified Tuition Plan?

A qualified tuition plan lets a loved one, called a contributor, to either prepay their student’s qualified expenses at an educational institution or to contribute to a designated account to pay these costs. A contributor can put their funds toward tuition as well as fees, books, supplies, and equipment required to participate in the educational program. However, contributions to a qualified tuition plan cannot exceed the amount necessary to provide for the beneficiary’s expenses.

What Happens if You Die Without a Will in Texas?

Published on: August 26, 2020 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Although creating a will in Texas may not seem vital in the moment, passing away without having a will in place can have major consequences. Intestate succession laws dictate where a person’s assets and property go if they die without a will. There are many rules surrounding intestate succession. While these are only a few, below are commonly asked questions about what happens when a person passes away without a will or estate plan in place.

What Assets Are Impacted by Intestate Succession?

When a person dies without a will, their assets will go to their closest relatives. However, not all assets are affected by intestate succession laws. These non-affected assets include life insurance proceeds, funds in a retirement account, and property jointly owned. For these assets, they will pass onto the surviving co-owner, or named beneficiary, even when there is no will in place.

Resource and Income Limits for Houston Medicaid Applicants

Published on: August 25, 2020 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

As we have discussed in other posts, planning for the eventual need for long-term care is a crucial element of any Houston estate plan. With the costs of nursing home care rapidly increasing across the country, more families are taking a proactive approach when it comes to deciding how to pay for these future costs.

For families with significant assets, the concern is not necessarily whether they can pay for the necessary care, but how they can limit the amount their own assets will go towards paying for the care. Thus, Medicaid planning is focused on how to strategically structure familial assets in a way that will enable the family member in need of long-term care to quickly and easily qualify for Medicaid while preserving their assets.

Medicaid is a needs-based program, and applicants must meet strict asset and income limits to qualify for benefits. One of the most important elements of Houston Medicaid planning is understanding these asset and income limitations. Applicants with excess assets or income will be required to “spend down” the excess before they can qualify for benefits. Of course, this can leave a spouse who is not in need of care in a challenging spot, because the money they need to continue to live independently may be diverted to pay for long-term care.

What Does a Houston Medicaid Planning Attorney Do?

Published on: August 20, 2020 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

While Medicaid planning is a term often tossed around, not many people know exactly what the process entails. In general, Medicaid planning is any assistance provided to an individual in advance of their Medicaid application. These tasks widely vary depending on the needs of the person, but may include anything from collecting documents to restructuring assets. Medicaid eligibility is complicated and even a simple mistake in the application may result in being denied benefits. Because of this, people will often consult a Houston Medicaid planning attorney to help them with the process and ensure their family’s assets are maintained while their loved one receives the long-term care they need.

Reviewing Medicaid Eligibility

It is important for an individual to determine their Medicaid eligibility in order to have a full grasp of the potential benefits that they could receive. The consequences of being denied Medicaid benefits can be detrimental not only for the individual, but also for their family. The American Council on Aging provides a free eligibility status checker to determine eligibility.

Who Can Benefit from a Houston Asset Protection Plan?

Published on: August 18, 2020 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

It takes confidence and courage to start a business. In fact, many believe that the best business owners are those who are comfortable with some level of risk. However, there are acceptable risks and unacceptable risks, and any business owner knows that avoiding unnecessary risk is the cornerstone of running a successful business. Because of this, many business owners take the proactive step of creating a Houston asset protection plan.

What is an Asset Protection Plan?

An asset protection plan is a strategy that business owners can use to protect their assets in the event they get sued or end up going through a divorce. The reasons why a business owner decides to create an asset protection plan vary. For some, it is the fact that their business operates in a field that sees a significant amount of litigation. Examples include certain types of doctors, who may face a medical malpractice lawsuit. For others, it is the fear that they will be targeted for litigation based on their substantial assets. Whatever the reason, an asset protection plan can help preserve what a business owner has worked so hard to create.

The Importance of a Letter of Intent in a Houston Special Needs Plan

Published on: August 14, 2020 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Parents know their children better than anyone else. While this stands true for any parent-child relationship, it is especially applicable in families who have a child with special needs. Given the challenges that many children with disabilities face, parents may have valid concerns about what will happen to a child with special needs once they are gone. Creating a Houston special needs plan is an important step in the estate planning process that parents can take to provide themselves peace of mind, as well as provide their child with the support they need to live a long, fulfilling life.

One crucial element of a Houston special needs plan is the letter of intent. A letter of intent is simply a letter, drafted by parents, that includes vital information about their child to future caregivers. Unfortunately, letters of intent are often overlooked by parents who intend on having another family member take over the care giving role once they are gone. However, even if relatives are close with a child, they may not know all of the necessary information that a parent would hope to pass on. Further, in the event a familial caregiver passes away or becomes incapacitated themselves, vital information about the child would be lost. Thus, even if a family member is planning on assuming the caregiver’s role, a letter of intent is still important.

Letter of Intent Checklist Items:

Making Special Needs Planning Easy with the Texas ABLE Program

Published on: August 12, 2020 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Texas ABLE Program

Having someone in your life or family who has a disability can often mean disability-related expenses. For some, it can also mean needing additional assistance in order to maintain the individual and family’s personal and collective health, independence, and quality of life. The Texas Achieving a Better Life Experience (Texas ABLE) Program exists in order to encourage and support individuals with disabilities and their families. The program helps individuals with special needs save money that can be used to pay for disability-related expenses. The program is established and maintained by the Texas Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Board with support from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

To be eligible to receive assistance through the program, an individual must be a Texas resident who developed their qualifying disability before the age of 26. Texas ABLE’s website also includes an Eligibility Wizard, which is an easy online tool that can determine your eligibility to open an account with the program. To open an account, the individual must be 18 years of age and manage their own account. If the eligible individual is under the age of 18 or is unable to exercise signature authority over their account, they will need an Authorized Legal Representative who will help with opening and managing of the account. This individual can be a parent, legal guardian, or a trustee or agent acting under power of attorney.

Houston Estate Planning Tips for the “Sandwich Generation”

Published on: August 9, 2020 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

It can often be tricky enough to raise children; however, for those raising children and taking care of their own aging parents, the workload is doubled. The “sandwich generation” is a term that refers to those who are simultaneously caring for their own children as well as their elderly parents. While the stress may seem insurmountable for those juggling both of these tasks, there are ways to plan ahead and manage these challenges through the use of an effective Houston estate plan.

Compile Emergency Information about Aging Parents

Even before it seems necessary, it is important for people to have emergency information about one’s parents readily available. Having the following information easily accessible can save people from frantic moments after an unforeseen medical emergency has occurred: copies of insurance and prescription cards, the contact information of primary care physicians, basic medical history, and a current list of medications and dosage. Additionally, it is critical to have an elderly parent’s financial information on hand, such as contact information for banks and a list of financial accounts, in case of incapacitation or other emergencies. Check out our wonderful Family Document Checklist Tool.

The Importance of Choosing the Correct Trustee in Your Estate Plan

Published on: August 6, 2020 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Ensuring how a person’s assets and property will be handled after death is a critical first step when drafting a Houston estate plan. Often, a comprehensive estate plan involves the creation of one or more trusts. Thus, the second step of estate planning, determining who to name as a trustee, is often just as vital.

Serving as a trustee is time-consuming and complex. Although individuals often select a family member or close friend to serve as the trustee, picking a professional trustee can often eliminate a lot of the common issues that trustees face when executing an estate plan. Because a trustee will be responsible for ensuring an individual’s assets are distributed in a fair and legal manner, there are factors to consider when choosing a person to serve as the trustee of the estate:

Ability to Make Difficult Decisions