Estate Planning Lawyer

Robin Williams Set Up Trusts To Protect His Children From “Affluenza”

Published on: August 29, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Some people decide, as Robin Williams apparently did, that it's better to hand down wealth to adult children while you, the parent, are still alive. (Of course, you have to have more than enough assets for yourself to be able to do that.) One benefit is that you will have some ability to help guide your children's decisions, and it can be hugely rewarding to watch them build their lives responsibly with the help of the gifts you have given them.

Early reports indicated that Robin Williams created a trust to control the distribution of assets to his children. His children, 22-year-old Cody, 25-year-old Zelda, and 31-year-old Zachary each were reported to receive money in incremental stages, not all at once. At age 21 they each would receive one-third of their share; at 25 they would receive half of what remains; and when they reach age 30, they each would receive the remainder of their full share.

Now, it is being said that these trusts are not currently part of his estate planning. But the trust talk begs the question: how much should you give to your heirs in trust and when should you give it?

Baby On Board in Houston? Have You Discussed Life Insurance and Estate Planning?

Published on: August 28, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Why would parents procrastinate on something that it so important to their family’s well-being? The fact of the matter is that life insurance and estate planning are two topics that most people just don’t want to talk about. It is no fun to think about your own demise and picture your growing family without you in it.

If you are expecting a new baby or are already new parents, you're biggest concern may be having enough diapers in the house. But there's so much more to discuss than diapers and formula. Have you had the life insurance talk yet? What about estate planning?

A recent article in The Kansas City Star, titled "Money Matters: Two things that new parents should not put off…but usually do," lists several items that new parents should consider when examining their life insurance.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s Passing Spurs Estate Planning Lesson

Published on: August 27, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

His Will was written before the birth of his last two children and never updated; thus, his estate plan is completely silent about his wishes for them. The actor's death also highlights the effect that marriage can have on an estate plan.

It seems that once a high-profile celebrity passes away, news of their estate floods the media shortly after. A recent article in The National Review, titled "A Hollywood Lesson for Everyday People: Trusts," emphasizes how one of the biggest misfortunes in the passing of actor Phillip Seymour Hoffman is that everyone now knows his business. We all know what assets were left to whom, who was left out, and how much money he had. These are typically private concerns, but because Hoffman only had a will, which is publicly probated in open court, everyone has access to these public records. Fortunately, there is a simple way for people to keep their estate plans from becoming blog material (like this!): create a trust.

A revocable living trust is a common type of trust that can help secure your privacy. According to the original article, Hoffman said he did not want his kids to be "trust fund kids." This meant he did not want his kids to be spoiled by his acting fortune. However, his definition of a trust could have used some better intel. Hoffman's children actually would have been better off with a trust that set out specific distributions tied to some conditions or events, such as their 25th birthdays or to use for college tuition.

Estate Planning Pointers for Blended Families in Houston

Published on: August 26, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

No one wants to leave their heirs with a mess to sort out or fight over. Here's a look at the top six things to remember when you're estate planning for a blended family.

If you are remarried, how does the new marriage affect your estate planning? There are many things to consider when blending two families.

A recent article in TheStreet.com, titled "6 Things to Consider When Estate planning for Your Second Family," suggests that you first consider how long your family has been together. If you and your second spouse married when your children were still young, or if you had your own children together, your family is hopefully just one family. If you look at all of your family's kids as "our" kids, then make provisions in your will that show that harmony, according to the original article. This is a truly blended family.

Houston Estate Planning Step 1: Identify Your Assets

Published on: August 25, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Your first step? Take stock of all your assets. These include your investments, retirement accounts, insurance policies, real estate and any business interests.

According to CNN Money's "Identifying your assets" (i.e., part of its Money Essentials Series), a good first step for estate planning is to review and inventory all of your assets. This includes your investments, pensions, retirement accounts, life insurance policies, real estate, and businesses. While you are at it, be sure to categorize your important papers, like birth and marriage certificates, Social Security cards, insurance policy numbers and current statements, and mortgage information, along with updated contact information for each.

The second step is to determine what you want to accomplish with those assets—do you want to pass them to your children, set up a trust for a favorite charity, or a combination of these? Maybe you want to go in a different direction all together.

Houston Twenty-Somethings Can Be Savvy About Estate Planning

Published on: August 13, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Now is the time to adopt financial habits that determine a successful retirement,
even if you’re still in your 20s.

(Note: Parents, here is a great article to share with your twenty-something adult children!)

If you are a twenty-something, you have plenty of time to think about investing, right?

Breaking Taboos – It’s Time to Talk About Your Houston Estate Plan

Published on: August 12, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

If there is a boogeyman when it comes to family conversations about inheritance, it is not death. It’s the $40 trillion that financial advisers say their baby boomer clients are going to pass to their children either in an orderly way — or in a chaotic mess. A report by UBS on why families should talk about inheritance confirms the reluctance of people to talk about death and money.

Remarkably, a recent New York Times article, titled "What’s Almost as Certain as Death? Not Talking About the Inheritance," noted that it is easier to have a will (83% do) than it is to discuss the will with your children (only half). It is even more difficult to give them details about those assets (34%).

Regardless their levels of financial wealth, those surveyed were equally deficient when it comes to discussing estate plans with their children. Roughly 55% of people with more than $1 million talk to their children about an inheritance, and 53% of people with fewer than $1 million did. As you might expect, the majority of parents want the transfer of money to their children to go smoothly (84%) without creating bad feelings among siblings (66%).