Estate Planning

What Lessons Learned from Fox’s “Empire?”

Published on: April 23, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Empire is based on fictitious music company called Empire Enterprises. Lead character Lucious Lyon (played by actor Terrence Howard) is racing to name a successor for his company after learning he has months to live due to an ALS diagnosis. His sons Jamal, Hakeem, and Andre duke it out to see who will become the new head of the company. Meanwhile, Lucious’s ex-wife Cookie (played by actress Taraji P. Henson) fights to keep the brothers from destroying their father’s legacy.

What can we learn from this show? Here are a few financial lessons, as reported in a recent article by The Cheat Sheet titled “Top 4 Financial Lessons to Take from Fox’s ‘Empire’.”

Always take the money. When Jamal rebuffs Lucious’s attempt to offer him money for living expenses, Lucious says: “You’re disobeying the very first rule of music, son. Always take the money.” For those of us not in the record biz, we should take advantage of our employer’s retirement plan match program. The article says that only about 77% of employees contribute enough to receive a match, according to a recent survey. Contribute up to the amount required by your employer in order to receive the match. Once fully vested, all of the matching funds are yours. Always take your money.

Retirement Planning Issues for Small Business Owners

Published on: April 22, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Now is the time for small business owners to evaluate their year-end retirement planning while building a retirement budget line item for next year.

A recent article in The (Great Falls MT) Prairie Star, titled “Review estate, tax and retirement planning issues now,” argues that a farm or ranch operation should include retirement savings for the owner and/or employees as a part of annual budgeting. These retirement funds provide tax savings now and may provide liquidity and income when the decisions for retirement and/or farm transition take place.

Small businesses, including self-employed taxpayers, have two choices after the end of the year to establish and contribute to a retirement plan. These two choices are the Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plan and the individual retirement arrangement (IRA). A taxpayer has until the due date of the business federal tax return (including extensions) to set up and fund a SEP, but IRAs can’t be funded after the due date of the taxpayer’s personal federal income tax return.

Death and Debts: What Can You Do?

Published on: April 21, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Sometimes, a loved one’s estate may include debt. Do you know what to do should if you are the spouse or heir that inherits debt?

If you aren’t sure what to do with a loved one’s debts after they pass – or what to tell others to do with your own debts – you may want to read a recent article in The Huffington Post titled “Debt and the Deceased: How Should Spouses and Heirs Proceed?”

Be honest about your financial situation. It’s not that easy for some family members to discuss debt issues, especially older Americans who hoped for better at the end of their lives. Even so, parents and their adult children or spouses should thoroughly talk about any outstanding debts that could affect the borrower's estate.

Paper Stocks – What Did Ronald Read Teach Investors?

Published on: April 17, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Individual investor Ronald Read has made the news because his personal investing strategy relied heavily on paper stock certificates. Today, investment advisors encourage individual investors to convert stock certificates to electronic form and consolidate stocks with a professionals so that heirs will have an accurate record of ownership.

In addition to his paper stock certificates, Ronald Read had stock positions held directly at transfer agents (the official record-keepers for share ownership), as well as in a Wells Fargo brokerage account.

Is this a good idea?

It’s National Healthcare Decisions Day! Do You Have Your Advance Directives?

Published on: April 16, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

April 16 is National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD). And now that you’ve met the big deadline for filing your tax return, it's a great time to turn your attention to ensuring that your estate planning documents are in place, beginning with your own advance directives.

Everyone needs current and valid advance directives. This simple outline of the care that you wish to receive when you may not be able to communicate your wishes provides a clear and concise roadmap for your loved ones and health care providers. This single step is so important, because your family won’t have to guess or assume what “Mom or Dad would have wanted” in the event that you cannot give direction to your family. Your instructions can be clearly spelled out in a legally recognized document.

We encourage you to consider taking a step forward in planning for your family’s peace of mind by making a decision on the the following — today:

Houston Family Caregivers Should Ask Important Questions

Published on: April 15, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Family caregivers face many details every day and estate planning may not be a top priority amidst the day-to-day caregiving tasks.

However, there are many things caregiving expert Amy Goyer wished she would have asked before her mom and sister passed away.She says that it’s harder for her to feel that she totally lived up to her responsibilities as executor of their estates.

Her recent AARP article, titled “5 Questions I Wish I Had Asked Before They Died,”explains that she is going to ask her other sisters and other loved ones about this type of information now—long before she hopes she’ll ever need it. She has in place the proper advance directives, estate and financial planning, but she says that she’ll also be more thorough with the finer details. To that end, the author recommends asking these questions:

Coach Dean Smith Leaves Legacy to Players Via Trust

Published on: April 14, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Legendary Coach Dean Smith's estate is making news and not for vast wealth. The North Carolina basketball coach left $200 each to almost 200 players via his revocable trust. Typically, trusts are a private matter but Coach Smith's legion of admiring basketball players shared the news via social media.

Revocable trusts are a very popular estate planning tool used by many to keep the details of an individual’s estate private. Wills, by contrast, are public documents. Coach Smith may not have intended for his gifts to be public knowledge, but his generosity is clearly treasured by his players.

Read the full story in a Bloomberg.com article, titled “Dean Smith's Generosity Got Lots of Press. His Estate Plan Deserves Some Too.”

Should An IRA Trust Be Part of Your Houston Estate Plan?

Published on: April 13, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

An IRA Trust can be a beneficial estate planning tool for families under certain conditions. However, many investors are unaware of the IRA Trust and the benefits that it may provide.

Trusts are only for the super wealthy, right? Wrong!

The Kokomo Perspective recently posted an article titled “Are You Trustworthy?” The article explains that due to all the recent rule and distribution changes to IRAs and other retirement accounts, the IRA Trust has become much more popular and effective. An IRA Trust is a special type of revocable living trust that’s designed to receive your IRA accounts for the benefit of your loved ones after you pass away. The IRA Trust offers both protection and control.

Divorcing? Re-Visit the Details of Your Houston Estate Plan

Published on: April 10, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Once you're divorced you should immediately create a new estate plan — a will or revocable living trust, a healthcare power of attorney, and a living will ("pull the plug") designee. Read on for more estate planning must-do’s regarding divorce.

A recent article in the The Huffington Post, titled “Divorce and Money,”says that you should always listen to your attorney about the applicable laws in your state regarding divorce and your estate. In addition, the article says that you should also look at the following issues.

The division of property in a divorce is typically not taxable to either party. However, if instead of dividing marital property, one spouse agrees to monthly maintenance (alimony), this will be taxed as ordinary income. And it’s deductible to the paying spouse. The original article also notes that the spouse receiving the maintenance checks must make a quarterly estimated federal and state tax payment, so you need to plan accordingly.

Don’t Just Think about Your Houston Estate, Plan It!

Published on: April 7, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

The sad truth is that most of us — some 70% of adult Americans — have neglected to write a will. Some think their assets are just too puny to worry about, others worry that the costs of writing a “last will and testament” are too high. But wills aren’t just vehicles for the wealthy or the morbid. If you’ve got a family and a home — not to mention a savings account — you should definitely have one. Cost is no excuse.

A recent MarketWatch article, titled “Why wills aren’t just for the wealthy,” sheds light on this important life-planning topic.

Like many people in the U.S., you may not think about estate planning until you have kids. A will is critical when you have children, because people think about what would happen if both spouses die at the same time. Without a will, a probate court judge will be tasked with selecting the individual who will care for your minor children as a guardian. That could be just about anyone, including a person you would never ever pick to take care of your kids! Why not name someone yourself right now? You also should name an alternate guardian in the document in the event your first choice is unable to serve.