Houston Probate Attorney

What To Do If Additional Assets Discovered After Estate Taxes Have Been Filed

Published on: April 21, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Here's an ethical dilemma. You learn that your late mother had a safe with $100,000 cash in it after the estate has been finalized. Do you pocket the cash and tell no one, or add it to her assets? The temptation is obvious, but the right and legal thing to do is correct the error.

New Jersey 101.5 says in its recent article, "Why it's important for executors to report all estate assets," that the executor of an estate must prepare and file the necessary returns. In doing this, he or she has to collect, value and report all of the assets of the estate.

If a failure to include the cash in the inventory of the estate assets keeps the estate below the reporting threshold and no return was filed, the unpaid tax on the cash will accrue interest. Plus, the estate and executor may be subject to penalties for nonpayment, as well as facing civil and criminal penalties if this failure to file is deemed fraudulent.

Estate Planning: Preventative Therapy for Houston Family Members?

Published on: April 15, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Something happens when money and possessions are involved, putting even the best of family relationships at risk, according to "Keeping the Peace Between Adult Children in Estate Planning" from The Huffington Post. The best strategy is advance planning and lots of candid discussions.

Although American retirees have been ranked high as some of the most generous in the world in terms of amount of assets passed to family members, a new retirement trend has emerged. About 43% of U.S. retirees now say they continue to provide regular financial support to at least one other person, with 10% saying they were supporting at least one adult child. These changing demands on the resources of some retirees shows that inheritance planning may become a bit more complex in some families. This could mean added stress between aging parents and adult children.

You need to remember that your financial well-being needs to be the priority. Make sure that your estate plan is updated to fully coordinate with your complete financial picture. This should be adjusted when significant life changes happen or if there is a major shift in assets—like when a child needs help. For some families, dividing up assets fairly equally among adult children is not a problem. But when it's not fair for everyone involved, it can be tougher. Varying situations for each child might mean it won't be an even split.

Every Houston Family Needs Estate Planning, Especially When It’s Complicated

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

A will is the best known estate planning document; it provides instructions about how to distribute your assets after death. There are many different kinds of trusts, and whether you need one or more than one is best determined with the help of an experienced estate planning attorney.

There is no simple estate—everybody has complexity, says The (Eugene, OR) Register-Guard article "Wills, trusts, big decisions." The basic questions are whether: (i) you're married; (ii) you have children, or children from multiple marriages or step-children; and (iii) there's real estate you own outside of the state. The larger the estate, the more questions there will be about how best to distribute the assets.

If it is a one-time married family, an estate-planning attorney can provide for financial assets to go straight to the children without probate administration in many cases. But things can be more complicated with blended families. There may be one spouse with children by a prior marriage and children from a subsequent marriage. If that is the case, then you may want to be sure that the children by the first marriage will be treated the same when the surviving spouse will have control of all of the assets.

Beneficiary Designations: Do You Know Who’s Who in Houston?

Published on: March 21, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

If you don't remember who your beneficiaries are for your investment accounts, insurance policies or annuity contracts, then you need to carve out some time to go through your accounts and see who you named as your beneficiary. If it's been a while, you may be in for a rude awakening.

Beneficiary designations allow certain assets owned by an individual to transfer efficiently at her or his passing. These include retirement accounts like IRAs, Roth IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, 457(b)s, and pensions, as well as life insurance death benefits and the residual value of annuities.

These types of assets with designated beneficiaries will transfer automatically, despite anything written to the contrary in a person's will or trust. These assets with designated beneficiaries are also excluded from the decedent's probate estate unless the "estate" is the designated beneficiary.

Farming Future Depends on Planning Now

Published on: March 15, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Regardless of the ultimate outcome – passing the farm to the next generation or selling it – creating a plan for the future requires a lot of groundwork and the help of an estate planning attorney with experience in family farm matters, according to The High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal's article, "Planning for the future of your farm operation."

A business plan can be an important tool in estate and succession planning. This is a roadmap for the farm business, and it gives your business direction, helps you make decisions, and can assist in the future.

Make sure that you have the terminology correct. "Estate planning" deals with the disposition of your assets during your lifetime or after your death, while a succession plan is the transitioning of your farm to the next generation or others to ensure the continuation of the business.

Author Harper Lee Protect Privacy Throughout Life

Published on: March 9, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

When the author of "To Kill a Mockingbird" was found to have written another novel, "Go Set a Watchman," there was much mystery about the second book, which generated a fortune. Now the mystery surrounds the estate of Nelle Harper Lee.
While the value of her estate isn't exactly known, an old lawsuit showed that Lee earned nearly $1.7 million during a six-month period in 2009 — before she announced the release of her second book last year, sales of which were well over $40 million.

The International Business Times says in its recent article, "Did Harper Lee Have a Will? Here's What Could Happen To The 'To Kill A Mockingbird' Author's Money," that Lee never married and had no children. Her parents and siblings died years ago—and those closest to her have been accused of scamming her. So what happens now?

Lee once publicly said she had a will, but only her friends and family know for certain. She most likely didn't die without her affairs in order: her father and sister were both practicing lawyers (and her estate has been involved in several lawsuits). But given her reclusive nature, she may have created a trust rather than a will. Wills become public record when they are submitted to probate court, but trusts are continued by a successor trustee and administered accordingly. Some reports say

Checklist Serves as End-of-Life Care

Published on: February 25, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

For a generation that is proud of their ability to ignore all kinds of taboos, millennials are no different than any other generation when it comes to discussing end-of-life care and estate planning with their parents. It's up to you, Baby Boomers, to initiate the conversation with your millennial children and make sure that they – and you – understand the basic documents needed for estate planning and end-of-life care.

Benzinga's recent article, "Millennials and Estate Planning: How to Get Started," says that when you do begin discussing end-of-life care, you need to understand the documents involved.

Here is a list:

Executor Fees Can be Complicated if Will Does Not Specify Details

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

A jumbo sized battle in a high profile and seemingly never-ending estate matter highlights what may appear to be a minor detail in estate planning but what is in fact an important consideration: the executor fee.

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, "Battle Involving Leona Helmsley Estate Spotlights Issue of Executor Pay," the New York attorney general has challenged the proposed fee on the estate of real estate mogul Leona Helmsley. The $100 million sought by the executors, including two of Helmsley's grandchildren, is "astronomical" and should be reduced by 90%, the state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said.

An issue in this case is that the will does not specify how the executor fees should be calculated, while ruling out the use of a fee schedule in state law, according to the attorney general's filing.

Bishop’s Large Estate: Church vs. Family Members

Published on: February 16, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Family members are fighting to lift a shroud of secrecy following the death of a successful bishop who built a real estate empire and a megachurch. As reported in The Detroit News in "Family battles over megachurch founder's estate," the estate of a Pentecostal bishop from Detroit could be valued at up to $10 million. The bishop's heirs want their inheritance, and the church is pushing back.

Bishop William Bonner's two adult grandchildren say his survivors are being shut out of their inheritance, and they believe officials with a Harlem church are hiding money and records about property that belongs to the family.

Bonner died in April at age 93, after suffering from dementia and complications from a stroke. He founded Solomon's Temple in 1944, which has grown into a 2,500-seat sanctuary. His real estate empire includes as many as 30 homes and other properties in several states, his family says. His survivors want the church to open its books on his financial affairs to give them more information about the bishop's Will detailing property and cash that they claim should be part of their inheritance.

New Baby? Good Time to Review Houston Estate Planning Documents

Published on: February 15, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Few things in life are more joyous than the arrival of another new baby in the family. Among the necessary tasks is a review of your estate planning documents. If you had a will prepared for your first child, it is possible that the existing documents simply need to be updated. But don't wait. Make sure that you also address guardianship issues, should anything tragic occur in your family.

In the post "Will another baby affect your current will?"New Jersey 101.5 advises checking on your will to see whether it identifies your "children" or "descendants" as your beneficiaries—and then defines those terms to provide that children born after you executed your will are included.

If it does, then it is probably not urgent to update your will to include your new child's name. However, if the will was drafted without that flexibility and only identifies your first child by name as the beneficiary, then you need to talk with your estate planning attorney and have your will updated.