Estate Planning

Don’t Let an Inheritance Come Between Your Houston Family

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

Everyone knows someone who hardly speaks to his brother or sister or aunt simply because of a misunderstanding over an inheritance.

Inheritance planning can be a direct mode of expression, whether of appreciation for a person or an extolling of virtues. But can these expressions be taken the wrong way depending upon who gets what? As a family-loving person, you can express yourself far more subtly by ensuring that your heirs and the entire family can come together even after your passing and that no fight is to break out with regard to the inheritances you leave.

Estate planning for the entire family is a difficult balancing act. It can take a good deal of thought, but is well worth the effort. Forbes recently offered a bit of wisdom on the topic and a goal too: “How To Make Sure Your Children Keep Speaking To Each Other After You Die.”

Wealth Distribution Options for the Single or Childless

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

"We say to people: 'If you do nothing, your money will go to the state. Is that what you want?' That's enough to make them want to consider something else," says Andrew Russell, a certified financial planner in San Diego.

If you have no spouse or children, you may feel like you have an estate planning dilemma. How do you plan when there is no one to plan for? For an increasing portion of the population there are no direct descendants, and those individuals are pondering their wealth distribution options.

Reuter’s summarized the issues in a recent article titled “Estate planning for the young, rich and childless.” It’s in one sense a case of there being no easy or automatic options. This means that the sky is the limit. The other side of the coin, however, is that there is much room for option paralysis. For most, the most rewarding decision is to find a way to give back to the community and to the causes about which you care most through charitable giving.

Should Houston Women Look At Estate Planning In A Different Light?

Published on: June 9, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

It’s not that there are different estate-planning tools for each sex. But women are likelier to live longer, they’re likelier to be custodial parents and, speaking generally, women often approach the topic differently than men.

Do you think estate planning for women is different than it is for men? Gender isn’t and shouldn’t be important when it comes to so much in life. However, it actually should be something you take into account when it comes to estate planning. Men and women are simply different and often have different legal folds to their life.

On that note, MarketWatch had a bit of advice for women worth sharing in a recent article titled “How women can make estate planning easier.” The challenges that end up arising for women can seem subtle or can be outright life-altering. Either way there are important aspects to account for whether planning as a married couple or as a single person.

Retirement Across The Border: An Option for Houstonians

Published on: June 6, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

One of your first considerations should be where to keep your money. When you move abroad, you will most likely need to open a bank account in the new country in order to pay local bills.

An increasing number of people are retiring on foreign shores. If you’re thinking about retiring abroad, then there is much to dream about and also much to plan.

The romance of the move aside, retiring abroad has an appeal not limited to wanderlust. It can mean lower cost of living, more favorable healthcare costs, taxation benefits, and a whole new lifestyle. But since retiring abroad means planning to move internationally, planning your retirement and, yes, planning for your eventual estate, it’s no small step. You’ll very much need to look into your future home and the laws that exist there, and work with competent counsel to guide you back here in the States. To help you in thinking about the transition and the steps to take to make the dream a reality, there is a helpful recent exposition in ElderLawAnswers titled “Things to Consider Before Retiring Abroad.”

Houston Estates Can Include Plans For Everything – Plants Included!

Published on: June 4, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

"This plant will definitely outlive me," said Ms. Scoratow, a landlady who is 63 years old and in good health. "After I pass, I don't want her to go unloved."

Your estate plan should include everything that is dear to you. Once you are gone you'll want to make sure your wishes are carried out accordingly. A recent article in The Wall Street Journal illustrated one way of making sure everything is taken care of after you are gone. The article is titled “A Woman's Will Provides Funds for Trusty Houseplant Upon Her Death.”

The article chronicles the curious case of Ronna Scoratow, her will, and her trusty 42-year-old philodendron. Ms. Scoratow, having no children or horticulturally-minded next-of-kin, simply had no automatic option for the future care of her prized plant. Beside, this is not your average houseplant that is easy to move around.

Inheritance Problems for Houston Families: Fighting Over “Stuff”

Published on: May 21, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Dividing money is easy. But who gets Mom’s tea set?

When we hear about heirs fighting over an inheritance, most of us think about money as being the main issue. But money isn't everything! How you split up priceless family artifacts and other physical goods can start or end fights before they happen. So how do you plan to fairly spread the relics and keep the peace?

Sure, there are many inheritance fights over dollars and cents. On the other hand, there are even more fights leading to protracted probate battles and just plain old hurt feelings over the disposition of physical goods, relics and family keepsakes. Unfortunately, it can be more difficult to plan for the disposition of these “things” in contrast to cash.

What Do You Do With Your Houston Estate If You Have No Heirs?

Published on: May 20, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Today, with smaller families and more women choosing not to have children, “the dynamic has changed pretty significantly for the generation of baby boomers. The option of doing something charitably significant with their estates is a change,” he said.

The New York Times recently touched on the subject of estate planning without a family. It is an important topic for those without future generations to inherit their assets. If this issue affects you or someone you know, then be sure to read the article titled “In Estate Planning, Family Isn’t Always First.”

In the beginning and in the end, estate planning is always about disposing of your assets. Both in popular imagination and in the laws on the books, this commonly means the how and why of giving it to family members. Nevertheless, even with no lineal heirs to inherit your assets, there remains important decisions to be made. Optimistically, this means the sky is the limit.

Ask Yourself These 3 Questions About Estate Planning in Houston

Published on: May 15, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

…There are a few important questions many of us don’t think about. They’re the often overlooked issues of estate planning that could make all the difference for your relatives and heirs after you pass.

Estate planning encompasses so many areas of your life. For starters, you'll likely consider your values and your family. Then there is the nitty-gritty you might be overlooking: the financial, the legal, and the shared understandings. Make time for some real thinking, but also take some time to begin thinking about what you might be overlooking before planning in earnest.

The bits and pieces that are easiest to overlook are the kinds of things best uncovered by some friendly self-interrogation. To help get that conversation started, consider reading a recent article in US News & World Report titled “3 Important Estate Planning Questions.”

Houston Parents: Give The Inheritance Now Or Later?

Published on: May 14, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Ultimately, the decision about whether to leave your children money now or later depends entirely on your financial and family circumstances.

Deciding whether or not to leave an inheritance is only part of the equation. When should you give it – now or later?

Forbes recently tackled this difficult issue a short while ago in an article titled “Should I Gift Money To My Children Now Or Later?”

Estate Planning Rules To Follow

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

Remember that any mistakes in your estate plan will live long after you. Follow these rules and you’ll end up with an estate plan that works well for you and your heirs.

Planning for the estate is really an ongoing activity. Accordingly, estate planning is not a “one-and-done” event, but rather it is a process to continue as things inevitably change. In this sense, you might say that proper planning, as an activity, is not guided by a checklist but by rules to follow. InvestingDaily offered some useful perspective on the rule-driven process of planning in a recent article titled “10 Basic Rules of Every Estate Plan.”

Here are the ten: