Estate Planning

Create a Legacy Based on What Matters to You

Published on: July 5, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Whether your love is animal rights or protecting the planet, a trust donation creates a legacy that reflects your values and supports the future.

A woman’s love for animals was reflected in a significant trust donation given to the Little Rock Zoo, as reported in The Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette article, “Animal lover leaves Little Rock Zoo nearly $3M, biggest gift ever.” A trust created an endowment fund, the Jayne and Fletcher Jackson Foundation, which will fund many programs at the zoo for years to come.

"Animals are what made her happy,” a zoo representative commented. “It was no surprise after we got to know her that the zoo was what she wanted to leave her estate to upon her passing."

Picking an Executor, a Critical Part of Your Estate Plan

Published on: July 1, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Choosing an executor is not easy, but it is very important. A person who is not capable of managing the tasks can drive even the best estate plan off the path.

Part of creating an estate plan is naming an executor who will be responsible for carrying out the wishes of the decedent, according to a recent item on InsuranceNewsNetMagazine.com, “The Wrong Executor Can Destroy Even the Best Estate Planning.” These tasks include everything from making sure that assets are distributed to tidying up outstanding debts and cleaning out houses. It’s important to select a person who can manage these tasks and—if they are stymied—who will recognize when they need help from professionals.

Executors sometimes are under the impression that it’s a quick and easy job. This might be the fault of the testator or the person who has executed the will. They select an executor and believe that he or she possesses the ability, acumen, time, and desire to carry out the duties of the position. Many don’t inquire as to whether the executor is interested in and capable of serving, or the chosen executor may be hesitant to say no.

How to Make Your Houston Family Business the Exception That Survives

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

Whether on the evening news or a serial drama, we love to watch the inner workings of family businesses—in large part because of the drama and the high likelihood of failure.

The narrative of family dynasties is intriguing. According to the Yakima Herald in "Passing the baton: 6 challenges for family business succession," that is because successfully transitioning from one generation to the next is extraordinarily challenging and statistically unlikely. The low levels of success are matched by high expectations of business owners who believe that somehow, someway, their family will continue to control the businesses. Their viewpoint is highly optimistic and—most often—wrong.

Whether it's a national chain of supermarkets or a mom and pop corner grocery, owners will face several obstacles when seeking to ensure that their business legacy continues with and through their children. Here are some common challenges to consider.

New Rules You Need to Know About Social Security

Published on: June 6, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Rules on claiming benefits were never simple and recent changes have eliminated "file and suspend" techniques. Here's what you need to know about Social Security benefits right now.

Social security was originally designed to serve the elderly and destitute, but today, working Americans depend on Social Security benefits to fund part—and often all—of their retirement expenses. Kiplinger's "10 Things You Must Know About Social Security" explains the new rules about Social Security.

Here are some of the essentials you need to know.

Not Your Everyday Yard Sale: Houston’s New Estate Sale

Published on: June 3, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Whether for reasons of death or divorce, an estate sale can be an emotional roller coaster. Prepare yourself for challenges so that you are not taken by surprise when possessions unleash a flood of memories.

It's not always easy to make rational decisions when handling the logistics of an estate sale, explains a recent post on WCPO, "4 tips for dealing with the emotional side of estate sale planning." Here are four good suggestions for dealing with the emotions that often accompany such an endeavor.

Get advice. Don't take on this responsibility alone. As you begin the process of selling the contents of an estate, find yourself a support system. This can include members of your family, friends, and experts (like an estate planning attorney). These folks can provide you with valuable advice, and you may feel more comfortable when you've considered input from others. Given that this is an extremely emotional experience; you might also want to talk with a member of the clergy or a counselor as you go through the steps of preparing for the estate sale.

Most Americans Still Don’t Have a Will

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

Despite countless celebrity estate battles, most Americans still put off having a will created. Think of a will as an itinerary for your family that will make their lives easier once you are gone.

Prince was clearly busy with performing, writing, recording and creating. But that's still not a good reason for him to not have put a will in place. The very public court processes that are now underway could have been completely avoided had he devoted the time to creating an estate plan.

The Huffington Post, in its May 3 article, "Like Prince, A Majority Of Americans Don't Have A Will," stressed that wills are important as they establish beneficiaries, distinguish who gets what (and how much of it), and prevent the state from deciding what happens to your property.

Survivorship Life Insurance Can Serve As an Estate Planning Tool

Published on: May 18, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Survivorship Life Insurance is a very useful part of an estate plan, but it is not as widely discussed as many other forms of life insurance. A skilled insurance professional and your Houston estate planning attorney should work together for the best outcome.

In "Survivorship Life Insurance Useful for Estate Planning," Insurance News explores how this kind of policy works in an estate plan to benefit heirs or to help make a charitable donation. As the name implies, proceeds are not paid until the last survivor passes—typically the spouse.

This is a real advantage for lower pricing. Another benefit to consider is the benefit of the female spouse. Since women far outlive men, this fact is also reflected in lower premiums. This means you can typically buy twice as much face amount in a survivorship policy as you could in an individual policy for the same money, which is important in estate planning scenarios. Typically, we need to have very large dollar amounts when it comes to death benefits, which in turn, means higher premiums. Affordability and cash flow are always major concerns, so this strategy can help to keep these costs down.

Adopting? Congratulations! First, Your Financial Homework

Published on: May 17, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Financial planning needs to be part of the equation when doing all of the work involved in bringing a new family member into your lives.

The cost of adoption can start at a few hundred dollars or it can easily exceed $40,000, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. There are many different ways of adopting a child into your home, but however your adoption occurs, you need to do some financial planning.

Biz Times' recent article, "Getting your finances ready for adoption," says that in order to get your finances ready for adoption, you have to do your homework and be certain the price and processing work of adoption won't wipe out your plans for essential financial goals like retirement, saving for your future child's education, and higher daily living expenses with a new family. Begin with these tips:

Recent Changes in Estate Planning Laws May be Cause for Review of Your Houston Estate Plan

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

Recent change in tax laws have many people rethinking their estate plans. Also, changes in the normal course of life make it a good idea for persons with estates that range from small to large to review wills, trusts, powers of attorney and beneficiary designations of insurance, IRAs, and other interests to achieve the most beneficial tax advantages.

In the beginning of January 2013, Congress made permanent the ability of a person to acquire his or her deceased spouse’s unused estate tax exemption through portability, and approved the larger estate and gift tax exemption of $5.45 million (for 2016) per person adjusted every year for inflation. For a married couple the exemption is potentially double that amount, or $10.9 million (for 2016). We believe that it is important for you to know that you may have an alternative to simplify your current trust structure without paying any estate tax, and in fact, for your beneficiaries to pay less income tax.

You may have an “AB Trust” or “ABC Trust,” or a Family Trust that creates a Decedent’s Trust (also referred to as a “Bypass Trust”) and a Survivor’s Trust on the death of the first of you or your spouse. The recent legislation makes it useful to examine whether such trusts should be changed to simplify their operation. The trust could be simplified by eliminating the need to create new trusts if one spouse passes away survived by the other. Simplification of a trust would result in several benefits:

Estate Planning and Financial Planning—Two Areas Where Houston Military Families Need Help

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

It is not easy to be a member of a military family. They face many challenges that civilians do not, and—all too often—they do not receive the support in two critical areas that could make a difference.

Risks for Houston military families include accidents during training, battlefield injury and the stress of frequent moves. Service members have a far greater than average chance of becoming disabled or dying prematurely. This makes it especially important for military families to have access to financial and estate planning advice.

The Wall Street Journal article, "How to Serve Military Families," says that in many instances military spouses are young and financially immature. Military families don't settle in one place for very long, so a nonmilitary spouse may have trouble finding a steady job that would provide a second income and a retirement plan. In that situation, if something happens to the service member, and benefits are paid out, they need to be able to access them immediately. It's more likely that young military families will need help getting these estate documents in order and updating their beneficiary designations.