Houston Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney Blog

Guardianship Nightmares Surge in Unregulated Environment

Published on: April 4, 2018 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

With a growing population of elderly, the lack of regulations and oversight has led to a disastrous situation for adults who lose civil liberties via guardianship proceedings.

A review by the Reading Eagle of court documents in three Pennsylvania counties show that when it is necessary for Adult Protective Services to intervene, agencies prefer having professional guardians rather than family members.

The story, “Finding solutions to Pennsylvania's troubled system of naming guardians,” reports that over the past two decades, filings statewide have risen 28%, faster than the increase of people 60 and older—the demographic most likely to be in a guardianship. In fact, the system in Pennsylvania already shows signs of strain: the Philadelphia Orphans Court is willing to retain a felon convicted of financial fraud as guardian to dozens of incapacitated adults, because of a shortage of professionals able to assume her caseload.

Does Your Estate Plan Match Your Life Right Now?

Published on: April 3, 2018 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Remember to update your estate plan, especially if your life includes events like new kids, a new marriage or the death of a loved one.

If you love your family, you’ll keep them in mind when considering whether to make an appointment to update your estate, as you go through the inevitable changes of life. Not doing so can create financial and emotional burdens. That’s probably not how you want to be remembered.

According to a recent Newsday article, “Make sure your estate plan keeps up with life changes, experts say,” estate planning may seem overwhelming and depressing because it deals with issues of aging. Some people believe that estate planning is just for the very rich.

Are You Saving Enough for the High Cost of Assisted Living?

Published on: March 13, 2018 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

If you haven’t been saving for retirement, maybe you’ll do better if you are focused on saving for assisted living. One well known survey, 2017 Genworth Cost of Care Survey, reports that you’ll need $1,517 a month for adult day health care. Those fees are only going in one direction—up!

Adult health day care is not inexpensive in our country. If all you need is adult day health care, consider yourself lucky. It’s a bargain at more than $1500 a month, compared to $3,750 for an assisted living facility, $3,994 for home care services, and $4,099 for home health aides.

If you want some privacy, the median cost is $7,148 for a semiprivate room at a nursing home and $8,121 for a private room. Will you be able afford it? Wealth Advisor poses this question in its recent article, “Have Clients Planned For Long-Term Care?”

Lucky Enough to Have an Employer Match?

Published on: March 12, 2018 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

You’d think no one would want to turn down free money. Yet that’s exactly what many working Americans do!

One out of five Americans—20%—don’t take advantage of a terrific benefit: employee sponsored retirement savings accounts that include an employer match of some and sometimes all the employee’s contributions. Most workers do contribute more than enough to enjoy the benefits of their employer’s match, but what’s up with those 20%?

USA Today recently ran an article, “1 in 5 Americans are making a terrible 401(k) mistake” that says this may be one of the worst retirement mistakes you can make. While it may not look like a lot of money to ignore right now, you’d be surprised at the difference it can make when you retire.

Gifting Your Own Funeral: Reasons to Pre-Plan

Published on: February 27, 2018 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Planning your own funeral sounds morbid, but if you think of it as a gift that alleviates pressure and decision making for your loved ones during a very difficult time, it might make it easier to move forward.

Usually the call comes to the estate planning attorney from a child or close family friend: did Mrs. Jones leave any documentation behind about her wishes for her funeral, did she want to be cremated, or what kind of memorial service did she want? In most cases, there are no instructions, and the family must make quick decisions and hope that they have done what their loved one would have wanted.

Inside Indiana Business’ recent article, “The Gift of Pre-Planning a Funeral” explains that if your wishes are documented, it can help eliminate your family’s stress during a highly emotional time. A 2017 study by the National Funeral Directors Association found that while 66% of Americans believe that pre-planning is important, only 21.4% had actually completed the exercise.

Have the Discussion Now About Inheritance and Estate Plans

Published on: February 26, 2018 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

This is easier in some families than others, but discussing your parent’s estate plan and assets while they can still have that conversation is important for millennials.

Think of it this way: you can have an awkward conversation with your parents now and everyone can get more comfortable with the discussion and the topic, or you can launch into a screaming match when Mom and Dad are gone, the family is grieving and there are no parents around to soothe embattled siblings.

No matter how you look at it, this conversation will be uncomfortable. This is because it’s based on one ominous certainty: that the people we love are going to die.

What You Need to Know About Evictions from a Skilled Nursing Facility

Published on: January 26, 2018 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

With legal actions and media attention surrounding resident evictions, skilled nursing facilities (SNF) are learning more about what they can and cannot do. Seniors and families also need this information.

It’s hard to imagine an 83 year old being booted out of a nursing facility, but as seen in the case of Gloria Single, a resident of a California facility, it does happen. In this case, a legal battle over an allegedly improper eviction has followed.

A recent Skilled Nursing News article, “What SNFs Should Know About Proper Protocols for Resident Eviction,” reports that the whole eviction and proceeding appeals process can be daunting, and residents are often so intimidated by the process that when they receive an eviction notice, they just pick up and leave. They’re too afraid to do anything else.

Top Three Tax Mistakes by Retirees

Published on: January 24, 2018 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Many things change when you retire, including tax strategies. Steps that you took when you were working, may now work against you. Knowing what has changed and what you need to do can help avoid unnecessary tax liabilities.

Tax planning is different after retirement. You might think that a lower income level and fewer deductions are the only changes, but it’s not that easy. You have to understand how retirement benefits and investment returns are impacted by federal and state laws, according to a recent article in Kiplinger, “3 Tax-Planning Mistakes Retirees Too Often Make.” Here are the three most commonly made mistakes:

Tax Loss Harvesting. Tax loss selling means selling a capital asset, like a stock, for a loss to offset a gain realized by the sale of other investments. The result is that the investor avoids paying capital gains on recently sold investments. Retirees with stock holdings should review their holdings every year to determine their market exposure and any tax consequences of selling stocks with substantial capital gains.

Add Digital Planning to Your Estate Planning Checklist

Published on: January 23, 2018 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

With few exceptions, most of us are living digital lives. That includes basics like sharing family news on social media and storing photos in the cloud, as well as financial information. Your digital life needs to be part of your estate plan, now more than ever before.

Your executor and your heirs are likely to run into trouble if you don’t have a digital estate plan, advises a recent Morningstar article, “Do You Have a Plan for Your Digital 'Estate'?”

The article reminds us that not every aspect of an estate will be addressed quickly, even six months later. This includes questions about how to handle the files on the decedent’s computer or the stuff on his smartphone. His social media accounts may also still be up and running.

Who Pays Taxes When Mom and Dad Make a Generous Gift?

Published on: January 22, 2018 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

First, say thank you. Then, learn more about the rules about paying taxes on a financial gift.

Couples whose families are generous enough to give them help towards buying their first home are often concerned with what, if any, tax liability may be created. Do they have to pay taxes on the gift? Do their parents or in-laws pay taxes?

The tax laws on gifts can be pretty confusing, says nj.com in an article, “Are taxes owed on gift from in-laws?”