Houston Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney Blog

The New Veterans Identification Card – What You Need To Know

Published on: December 4, 2017 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

The Veterans Administration recently announced their new application process to apply for the Veterans Identification Card (VIC). Back in 2015, The Veterans Identification Act ordered the VA to issue a VIC to veterans, also referred to as the universal photo ID. The VA was supposed to have this card available by 2016, and just released it's plan to apply this November. It's said that veterans who apply this December, should have their physical cards within 60 days, and their electronic cards by mid-December.

Veterans with honorable service will be able to apply for the ID card, which is supposed to be safer, and more convenient than carrying around your standard DD-214, and the card provides a photo. The VIC will be accepted by majority of vendors and retailers that offer discounts to veterans as well as government agencies.

Can You Make Charitable Donations from Retirement Accounts Without Triggering Taxes?

Published on: November 16, 2017 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

If you roll the money over to an IRA first, you can donate funds from your 401(k) Required Minimum Distribution tax free. Be very careful to follow the rules, so that you don’t create a tax or penalty problem.

First, let’s define the RMD (Required Minimum Distributions). This is the least amount of money that someone who owns a retirement plan is required to withdraw every year, starting the year that the individual turns 70½, or, if they retire later, the year when they retire.

However, if the retirement plan account is an IRA or the account owner is a 5% owner of the business sponsoring the retirement plan, the RMDs have to start once the account holder is age 70 ½—even if she’s not retired. The rules of what can and cannot be done with retirement plans are very strict, so you may need help from a professional.

Best Time to Start on a Succession Plan? The Day You Start Your Business

Published on: November 15, 2017 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

It may sound whimsical, but the moment you open a business is also the time to start thinking about how you’ll exit the business, whether you intend to sell to a partner, leave the entire business to a family member or sell as soon as you come up with the next big idea.

One of the biggest mistakes made by entrepreneurs is failing to create a written plan for their long-term exit strategy. What they don’t understand is that by creating a succession plan, which includes ways to boost the value of the business years before you want to sell or retire, they’ll have a created a road map for a more successful business.

Springfield (MO) Business Journal’s recent article, “Starting a business? Plan your exit now,” advises that you begin with creating a culture of success with your employees, especially the key people. That means fostering an ownership mentality, so they see their critical role in the company’s long-term success and their role in helping that to continue in the future, long and short term.

Spotlight on Abuse of Elderly through Guardianship a National Issue

Published on: November 14, 2017 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

It sounds like a nightmare scenario, and for many elderly, it is a reality: a court appoints a guardian and they lose the ability to make decisions about their assets and their lives, often with no advance warning.

An article in Reuters reports on a journalist’s investigation that revealed a case where a private guardian was appointed by a court in Nevada and got a court order making her guardian of a couple who had an adult daughter. With no advance notice to the couple or their daughter, the guardian sold all of their assets and got them admitted to a nursing home.

Reuters’ article, “With U.S. elder abuse in spotlight, a look at guardians,” reports that the abuses of private-guardian systems in some states have been known by policy and legal experts for years.

Data on Retirement and Health for Americans Presents a Challenge

Published on: November 13, 2017 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Americans in their fifties and sixties may want to think twice about putting off their “bucket list” trips and accomplishments. Recent statistics indicate you may be better off enjoying life now.

As the government shifts retirement ages higher and employees are working later in life, the health of Americans is changing, and not for the better. According to a recent article in Think Advisor, “Americans Are Retiring Later, Dying Sooner and Sicker in Between,” millions of Americans will likely have shorter and far less active retirements than their parent’s generation.

The U.S. age-adjusted mortality rate, which is a measure of the number of deaths annually, increased 1.2% from 2014 to 2015, according to the Society of Actuaries. It’s the first year-over-year increase since 2005, and only the second rise greater than 1% since 1980.

Lawmakers in Michigan Want to Make Elder Abuse a Felony

Published on: November 1, 2017 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

A recent case of elder abuse in Michigan that resulted in only a misdemeanor, may have been the last straw for legislators. They introduced a law that would make it a felony, if a person was convicted of harming a vulnerable adult or senior citizen.

The punishment for causing serious physical or mental harm to a vulnerable adult in Michigan is only a misdemeanor, according to a recent article in WZZM, “Lawmakers introduce tougher laws to protect vulnerable senior citizens.” However, that may be changing soon.

Legislation that was recently introduced in Michigan's House of Representatives would toughen the penalties for somebody who "assaults another person that he or she knows or reasonably should know is an elder adult or vulnerable adult", which "causes physical injury, pain, or mental suffering" to them. The individual would be guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for more than four years or a fine of not more than $5,000.

How Can a Roth IRA Reduce the Tax Burden Facing Your Heirs?

Published on: October 30, 2017 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

There’s more than retirement savings power in a Roth IRA. Used properly, it can help cut your beneficiary’s tax liability, regardless of if and when tax reform becomes reality.

If you’re interested in reducing the taxes your heirs will have to pay, you’re probably concerned about the discussion about tax reform going on in Washington these days. Unfortunately, there’s no way to be certain what, if any, changes will actually occur. In the meantime, your estate planning attorney can help you structure your estate, so that less of it ends up being consumed by taxes. That includes moving funds into non-taxable accounts, including Roth IRAs.

Motley Fool’s recent article, “A Clever Way to Cut Your Heirs' Income Taxes,” says the money you put into a Roth retirement savings account has already been taxed. It was taxed on the contributions you made or as a rollover from a tax-deferred retirement savings account. As a result, everything in that account is now non-taxable for income-tax purposes. As the Roth has been open for at least five years prior to your death, the money in that account won’t be subject to federal income taxes.

Living Trusts and Trustees: What You Need to Know

Published on: October 18, 2017 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

For living trusts, the person or people who set them up are usually named the initial trustees, but after that, there needs to be a successor trustee. Think carefully about who you would want to take on these responsibilities.

When the first spouse dies, the surviving spouse usually becomes the sole trustee, according to the article, “Women on Money and Mindset: Estate planning: choosing a trustee,” in The (Riverside CA) Press-Enterprise. When the second spouse dies, the trust passes to a successor trustee or trustees. Most people name an adult child, trusted friend or a family member who they trust. You can also name a bank or a professional fiduciary.

Children: Married couples often will name their oldest child as the successor trustee or they name all their children to act as co-trustees. This can work if there’s never been a divorce; there is only one child; she lives close; she doesn’t work and all the assets are investment accounts. However, most adult children will have full-time jobs. Adding the job of trustee can be a strain because it’s time-consuming and technical. The administrative burden of taking care of your final business can be overwhelming.

The Big Mistake People Make About Medicare and Assisted Living

Published on: October 16, 2017 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

A large percentage of Americans require assisted living care at some point during their senior years. Their understanding of how that gets paid for is way off base. It’s a hard lesson to learn.

Approximately one-third of Americans (34%) thought that Medicare would cover their nursing home costs, as reported in a survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Another third, 27%, may have been a little smarter to say that they weren’t sure.

That’s not true, says WRAL’s recent post, “Expect Medicare to cover assisted living? Think again.” These results may correlate with the fact that only 37% of Americans think they’ll need any care in their later years, but in reality, about 70% will require this care.

What You Need to Know About Wills

Published on: September 29, 2017 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Your best bet for making or changing a will, is to sit down with an experienced estate planning attorney, so that your will won’t be invalid. Mistakes in wills are not easily fixed.

Having an estate plan in place and discussing your estate plan with your loved ones in advance, can help eliminate some of the emotional turmoil that accompanies death. The South Coast Register from down under offers some worthwhile suggestions in “Dying to Know Day: Wills and won’ts of estate planning.”

A will is a legal document that lets you choose the relatives, friends, and charities who you want to inherit your assets when you die.