Houston Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney Blog

How to Talk To Your Houston Parent About Their Will

Published on: April 25, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

The natural tendency, according to "How to handle a parent not having a will" in New Jersey 101.5, is to postpone the preparation of a will after a husband or wife has passed. Grieving a loved partner is difficult and painful. The last thing they may want to do is get involved with their own will.

Also, if Dad has recently passed away, Mom may be hearing a different message in between the lines: "You're gonna die soon, so please leave me an appropriate share." This makes matters even harder. And talk of drafting a will may bring back painful emotions linked to the father's death. These feelings are to be expected.

But instead of the children pressuring Mom, they should point out some of the benefits a will can provide, such as how a will allows her to specify how her assets will be transferred at her death. This can include making bequests of family heirlooms to specific people or include charitable contributions. If there's no will, Mom won't have any control. Her assets will pass according to the intestate laws of the state.

Creating an Eldercare Plan is Important to Comprehensive Estate Plan

Published on: April 22, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

There is an expression among elder law attorneys called being "elderproofed," according to the Huffington Post in "Writing an Eldercare Plan." This takes planning to the next level, and includes things like how the person wises to be cared for, medical treatment preferences, whether they want to be cared for at home or in a facility, and more. These cover the day-to-day decisions to ensure that desires are followed once a person is unable to make those decisions known.

It's very important for seniors and their loved ones to discuss a care plan for the future before disease or dementia come into play, or a crisis causes eldercare services to become urgently needed. Get the plan drafted while the senior is still fully cognizant and rational. They can be signed when other end-of-life documents are put in place.

In truth, everyone wins with early discussions. When the patient is involved in the decisions for his or her potential care, the family has a better understanding of their preferences and are prepared for tough questions.

What To Do If Additional Assets Discovered After Estate Taxes Have Been Filed

Published on: April 21, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Here's an ethical dilemma. You learn that your late mother had a safe with $100,000 cash in it after the estate has been finalized. Do you pocket the cash and tell no one, or add it to her assets? The temptation is obvious, but the right and legal thing to do is correct the error.

New Jersey 101.5 says in its recent article, "Why it's important for executors to report all estate assets," that the executor of an estate must prepare and file the necessary returns. In doing this, he or she has to collect, value and report all of the assets of the estate.

If a failure to include the cash in the inventory of the estate assets keeps the estate below the reporting threshold and no return was filed, the unpaid tax on the cash will accrue interest. Plus, the estate and executor may be subject to penalties for nonpayment, as well as facing civil and criminal penalties if this failure to file is deemed fraudulent.

New York Proposes Law to Help Preserve Elderly Victim’s Testimony

Published on: April 20, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

The New York State Senate has passed a bill that will make it possible for testimony given by elderly witness to be preserved and used in criminal cases against their abusers, even if the elderly person has passed away or become incapacitated.

WHEC reported in its news article, "Senate passes bill to better protect senior citizens from abuse," that the legislation would allow elderly witnesses who are age 75 or older to be examined conditionally to preserve their testimony for future use.

"We have a responsibility to protect our senior citizens," Gallivan said. "Elder abuse, whether physical, psychological or financial, is on the rise as our senior population continues to grow. This legislation helps ensure those who abuse and exploit the elderly are held accountable and do not go unpunished."

Protect Your Houston Business with Estate Planning

Published on: April 19, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

It's amazing how quickly a business can get picked to pieces after the death of an owner. With the use of good estate planning, according to The Huffington Post article, "5 Things Estate Planning Can Do for You and Your Business," you can protect your business and your legacy. Otherwise, your business is at the mercy of government taxes, co-owners and even family members who will stake their claims.

Use estate planning to avoid unfortunate events and to prevent seizure and depreciation of the business assets. This can decrease the stress and hassles that occur immediately after you die. Here are some good estate planning ideas to help protect your business.

More options for your business. Solid estate planning gives you the option of buy-sell agreement. If your business has one or more co-owners, this agreement ensures that upon the death of any owner, the interest of the deceased is automatically purchased by the other owner(s). The beneficiaries of the deceased owner, such as the spouse, children, or other family member won't unintentionally become owners. This strategy can alleviate some stress in an already stressful situation, immediately after the death of an owner or part owner of a business.

Estate Planning: Preventative Therapy for Houston Family Members?

Published on: April 15, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Something happens when money and possessions are involved, putting even the best of family relationships at risk, according to "Keeping the Peace Between Adult Children in Estate Planning" from The Huffington Post. The best strategy is advance planning and lots of candid discussions.

Although American retirees have been ranked high as some of the most generous in the world in terms of amount of assets passed to family members, a new retirement trend has emerged. About 43% of U.S. retirees now say they continue to provide regular financial support to at least one other person, with 10% saying they were supporting at least one adult child. These changing demands on the resources of some retirees shows that inheritance planning may become a bit more complex in some families. This could mean added stress between aging parents and adult children.

You need to remember that your financial well-being needs to be the priority. Make sure that your estate plan is updated to fully coordinate with your complete financial picture. This should be adjusted when significant life changes happen or if there is a major shift in assets—like when a child needs help. For some families, dividing up assets fairly equally among adult children is not a problem. But when it's not fair for everyone involved, it can be tougher. Varying situations for each child might mean it won't be an even split.

Will You Need to Apply for Medicaid?

Published on: April 14, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

People put off thinking about or planning to apply for Medicaid because there is nothing pleasant about it, from coming to terms with being ill and impoverished to sharing a nursing home room with a stranger, according to USA Today in "Navigating Medicaid for elder care can be as painful as the ailments." Depending on the policies of your state, you may not be able to spend your final days or years at home.

Up to 30% of Medicaid funding covers long-term care, which is roughly $100 billion annually. More than two-thirds of older adults will require some personal assistance before they pass away, and nearly 50% will need care to such a level that they'd be eligible for private long-term care insurance or Medicaid.

If you want to explore sheltering assets so you can qualify for Medicaid sooner rather than later, then you should talk to a qualified Medicaid attorney. You don't want to be without expert counsel, especially when making hard decisions on how to allocate money you've saved all your life.

Every Houston Family Needs Estate Planning, Especially When It’s Complicated

Published on: April 13, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

A will is the best known estate planning document; it provides instructions about how to distribute your assets after death. There are many different kinds of trusts, and whether you need one or more than one is best determined with the help of an experienced estate planning attorney.

There is no simple estate—everybody has complexity, says The (Eugene, OR) Register-Guard article "Wills, trusts, big decisions." The basic questions are whether: (i) you're married; (ii) you have children, or children from multiple marriages or step-children; and (iii) there's real estate you own outside of the state. The larger the estate, the more questions there will be about how best to distribute the assets.

If it is a one-time married family, an estate-planning attorney can provide for financial assets to go straight to the children without probate administration in many cases. But things can be more complicated with blended families. There may be one spouse with children by a prior marriage and children from a subsequent marriage. If that is the case, then you may want to be sure that the children by the first marriage will be treated the same when the surviving spouse will have control of all of the assets.

Protect Your Houston Retirement – Avoid These Three Mistakes

Published on: April 12, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Reality kicks in when the year or actual date of your retirement is around the corner and you realize that your retirement finances aren't what you had thought they would be. For many, this means their retirement includes part time employment or not retiring at all. Harsh lessons, which can be avoided if you take the advice found in "3 Retirement Errors to Avoid" from CPA Practice Advisor.

Unfortunately, many folks don't spend a lot of time even thinking about retirement because they think it's a far-off time when money will have magically accumulated. That means no money to buy the condo in Cozumel, pay for the grandkids' education, or live a life of leisure. Someone in this situation might have to find a part-time job to make ends meet—and it's not out of the question that they could outlive their money. Don't end up without the money you need for retirement. Avoid these common mistakes.

Not understanding taxes. We know that most of the time our money is taxable right away, like earnings from employment or interest on savings. But with individual retirement accounts, the taxes can be deferred. There's also tax-free money, like municipal bonds, life insurance proceeds, and 529 education savings plans. You should try to move as much taxable money as you can to the tax-deferred or tax-free categories.

Spring Cleaning? Don’t Forget Your Houston Estate Plan

Published on: April 11, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Throw open your windows, put the screens back in and get ready for more outdoor time, whether that means gardening or walks in the park. While you are at it, refresh your estate plan. If it has been three years or more since you last had it reviewed, it is time. This is especially true if your family has experienced any life changes, like marriages, births, deaths or divorce.

Many folks think they don't need estate planning because they don't have enough money for that, or they own everything jointly, says a recent article from CBS Boston, "Spring Cleaning: Estate Planning."

So why bother with a will? What happens when you both die? What if you have kids? Who is going to care for them if you pass away? Do you have things that you would want friends or family to have?