Houston Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney Blog

Catching Up in Retirement Savings Later in Life

Published on: May 9, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Nearly half of American households older than 55 have no retirement savings. The U.S. Government Accountability Office says that this number is actually better than in the past.

According to the article from CNBC, “These people are on the verge of retiring—and they have nothing saved,” an analysis of the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances shows that 52 percent of households had nothing saved for retirement in 2013. The number is now at 48 percent. It is not much of an improvement.

If your household is behind on retirement savings, here’s what you can do:

The Most Generous Givers Are 65 Plus

Published on: May 7, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

At 65, Americans are shifting their focus from accumulating to giving of time and resources. It seems like a natural progression: after living for more than six decades, there’s a greater understanding of what matters.

The generosity of the 50 million Americans over 65 may be in part because of their perspective, but it may also reflect their controlling more assets and having a higher net worth than any prior generation. The Federal Reserve says that the average net worth for Americans age 65-74 is $1,066,000. The median American net worth is $224,000.

The Denver Post reports in the article “On Philanthropy: Giving in the last third of life,” that older Americans are the most generous generational group in the country. Those born before 1964 are responsible for almost 70% of all charitable giving.

Lucky Enough to Work for a Company That Matches 401(k) Contributions?

Published on: May 6, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

There is no such thing as a free lunch, except when it comes to employers who match their employee’s 401(k) contributions. This is the closest to free money you’ll ever get.

If you’re fortunate enough to work for a company that has a matching plan, congratulations–not everyone does! A matching plan means that the company you work for contributes a certain amount of money to your retirement savings plan. How much it contributes will depend on the 401(k) plan, how much you contribute to your 401(k) and how generous your company is. Many will match a percentage of employee contributions, with a cap on a portion of the total salary, while others match up to a certain dollar amount, regardless of the salary. Investopedia published an article, “How 401(k) Matching Works,” that explains the mysteries of employer match contributions.

The specific terms of 401(k) plans vary considerably. Other than the requirement to adhere to certain required contribution limits and withdrawal regulations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the sponsoring employer decides on the specific terms of each 401(k) plan. Whatever the match amount, it’s free money added to your retirement savings.

Gen Xers Are the New Sandwich Generation

Published on: May 1, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Balancing careers, children, college funds and aging parents present the same-old scenario, but this time to a new generation with a different value system.

Members of Generation X, who straddle a fairly wide age range, from late 30s to early 50s, are feeling the crunch of being responsible for their children and their parent’s needs. How will they ever get a handle on their savings for their own retirement?

U.S. News & World Report reminds us in its article “Essential Strategies for Generation X” that with the right strategies, Gen Xers can find a money-life balance.

Boomers Should Prepare For Life

Published on: April 29, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Boomers are more willing to plan their own funerals, than to prepare for an extended stay in a nursing home. Both are inevitable events for most of us.

With more than 10,000 people celebrating their 65^th birthday every day in America, and the startling statistic that 70% of us will need long-term care at some point during our lifetimes, it would make sense that more of us would be planning for long-term care. And yet…boomers seem to be more comfortable making plans for a memorial service, than they do for a nursing home visit. The cost of long-term care is big, and it’s not covered by Medicare. Surprised? So are families, when the bill comes.

The Motley Fool’s recent article, “Baby Boomers Are More Prepared for Death Than Life,” says most baby boomers are either unprepared or haven't planned for a long-term care expense, according to a Bankers Life survey of 1,500 middle-income Americans aged 54 to 72. The results show that baby boomers were more likely to plan for their own death, than to have a long-term care plan. About 81% made some kind of funeral arrangements for when they pass away, but just 32% have a plan for how they’ll get care in retirement. The lack of long-term care planning is a significant issue, when you compound this with the harm that such a huge unexpected expense has on a person’s retirement savings, especially in cases where a nest egg is small to begin with.

5 Biggest Mistakes of Beneficiary Designations

Published on: April 25, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

There’s an easy way for select assets to be passed to heirs, with no need for probate. It’s called the beneficiary designation.

Your will is a document that is used to pass property and assets to your heirs, but it’s not the only way.

Certain accounts or assets have beneficiary designations, where you provide instructions on who is to receive assets when you die. Most people don’t realize that the beneficiary designation is more powerful than the will, and directions in a will are overruled by the beneficiary designation.

Legitimate Power of Attorney Use Leaves Widow Impoverished

Published on: April 23, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

This is a cautionary tale about what can happen, when the wrong person is given power of attorney. The problem here is that a man changed his power of attorney without any review or oversight from any family members, including his own wife.

Why Dorothy Jorgenson’s husband changed his power of attorney just days before his death, is something that only he and the relative he named will ever know. However, the relative acted fast and took more than $70,000 from the couple’s joint bank account, says WPRI.com in the article, “Son questions power of attorney after mother's bank account is drained.”

"When I went to pick up a prescription for my mother, there was insufficient funds to pick up a prescription," Dorothy's son, Gene Weston, said. "I can’t believe that someone would do that to an elderly woman."

Congress Recognizing Need to Help Those with Early Onset Alzheimer’s

Published on: April 19, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

A hearing of the Senate Special Committee on aging is looking at bipartisan legislation that would make changes to the Older Americans Act to give individuals younger than 60 with a diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s a chance to access support programs.

Senate Bill 901, which is called “Younger-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease Act” was introduced in late March by a number of Senators who crossed party lines to support the amendment to the Older Americans Act. According to McKnight’s Senior Living’s article, “Bill would aid those with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease,” Senate Bill 901 was introduced by Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), chairman of the committee, Senator Bob Casey, ranking member and Senators Doug Jones (D-AL) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV). In the House of Representatives, the bill H.R. 1903 introduced was introduced by Representatives Kathleen Rice (D-NY), Pete King (R-NY), David Trone (D-MD), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Maxine Waters (D-CA), and Chris Smith (R-NJ).

Nutritional programs, supportive services, transportation, legal services, elder-abuse prevention and caregiver support have been available through the OAA since 1965. However, under the current law, only individuals over 60 are eligible.

What If I Don’t Want to Give My Kids the Same Inheritance?

Published on: April 15, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

One of the challenges of asset distribution comes when your children’s lives have taken different turns. Do you leave your successful daughter the same amount of money that you would leave to a son, who can’t seem to find a direction? It’s not always easy, but decisions do need to be made.

What and how you leave your wealth can be a hard decision, if you have more than one child. This is particularly true, if your kids’ circumstances are dramatically different or you’re much closer to one than another. The easiest solution might be to split whatever you have equally among them. However, is equal the same thing as fair?

Ladders.com’s recent article, “More parents are leaving unequal inheritances to their adult kids” says that a growing number of parents say that answer is a resounding “no.”

Special Needs Planning With Special Needs Trusts

Published on: April 11, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

It is important to understand the basics of special needs planning, so that you can plan for your child’s future. There are many issues to address, but an experienced Houston estate planning professional will be able to help.

Special needs planning is challenging. It’s important to have a strong team to work with. An estate planning attorney with experience in helping special needs families will be able to guide you through the process. They will also likely have access to other professionals to help.

A recent Forbes article, “Special Needs Kids Require Specialized Estate Planning,” says that if you have a child with special needs, it’s critical that you look at your planning options with your estate planning attorney and discuss your child’s health, capabilities and prognosis. You can then customize a plan that works for your child, with as much flexibility as possible.