Guardianship

Estate Planning Must-Dos For Houston College Students

Published on: September 2, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

After traveling to Mexico for spring break, Alex developed a severe intestinal bug that landed him in the college infirmary. Franc rushed to visit him there, only to find that doctors refused to discuss his son’s condition, citing privacy concerns.

If you have a college-aged child, you may need to get their estate planning started sooner than you think.

Consider these two fundamental estate planning documents – the durable power of attorney and the health care proxy. Even though they are usually thought of as only for older adults and seniors, younger people need them just as much. If a young adult does not have these, typically parents will not have the authority to make health care decisions or manage money for their kids after they are 18. It does not matter if they pay their college tuition, include them on their health insurance, and claim them as dependents on their taxes. In fact, without these fundamental documents, parents might need to seek court approval to act on behalf of their young adult children in the event the children are in an accident and become disabled.

Houstonians Can Back Up Life With An Estate Plan

Published on: September 1, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

…As with hard drives, our limited shelf life requires that we make the most of each day while also planning for a peaceful transition. Having loved ones struggle with managing unorganized financial affairs with no assistance only prolongs grief and blemishes fond memories.

Why do most of us give more attention to backing up our PCs than we do to our estate plans? This question was explored in a recent Time article, titled "How Writing a Will Is Like Backing Up Your Hard Drive." To make sure our computers work effectively, we conduct updates, check for viruses, and clean up unwanted material. Being unorganized only leads to trouble and added expense. Making our loved ones deal with unorganized financial affairs and estates only creates more stress and adds to the grief.

In one way, if you do not back up your PC's hard drive or do not have an estate plan, you are not alone. However, that really is not good news. Just because a lot of people flunk the final exam does not make the conversation with your parents any easier. So too, in estate planning—being unorganized only makes more work for your family and your estate planning attorney. On top of that there will be more expenses involved.

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?

Houston Parents: Do Your Children Need Guardians?

Published on: August 22, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Who will be your child's guardian, and who will be the guardian of your estate? Experts say it's a difficult decision many families agonize over, and there's no one-size-fits-all scenario.

In the event that you pass away suddenly and unexpectedly, what will happen to your kids? Just the thought of this scenario is probably heartbreaking. Even so, a recent article in TheStreet, titled "How to Give Away Your Kids,"says that it is a scenario you must address. Due to the complexity of this task, the article explains that some families with young children will be "frozen in place" without making a decision.

When drafting your will, you have the option to select two different guardians. You can have a guardian for your child or children and a guardian for the property or the estate. In fact, they can be the same person if you want, but need not be. Typically, people choose two different individuals because the one who cares for the children might not be the person you would want to handle their inheritance. The two-guardians approach may require separate and distinct skill sets.

Beneficiary Designations: Do Houston Families Update Key Documents?

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

You may have made a giant estate planning mistake without even knowing it — forgetting to update the names of your beneficiaries for your employer-sponsored retirement plans, IRAs, life insurance policies, mutual funds, bank accounts, brokerage accounts, annuities and 529 college savings plans.

The recent MarketWatch article, titled “Don’t make the No. 1 estate-planning goof,” outlines several reasons for updating your beneficiary designations. Here are a few:

A change of jobs. A job change can mean that you will need to roll over your retirement plan. If this happens, beware! Moving money from your former employer’s retirement plan into your new one or into an IRA could eliminate your beneficiaries’ claims to those assets. You should make sure you have them as beneficiaries on the new account, too.