Houston Wills

Dementia: Don’t Wait Too Late For Estate Planning

Published on: December 28, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

It’s very important for individuals who are diagnosed with dementia to appoint a trusted family member or friend to make a commitment to help them make important financial and medical decisions when they no longer can do these tasks. According to an article in Money, "5 Essential Documents for Protecting a Loved One with Dementia," the time to make this assignment is when the person is still mentally competent and has the legal capacity to make sound decisions.

If you delay with the paperwork, your family member's dementia may progress to the point where he or she cannot legally turn over power. At that point, your only option is to petition for guardianship and ask a judge to declare the person incapacitated. That can take about two months and may be expensive. It can get even worse if your loved one—or another family member—contests the application.

Laws vary by state, and mistakes can be costly. You should draft these documents with the help of an experienced elder care attorney. Here are the key documents that are recommended:

Family Discord Likely When No Will Exists

Published on: September 18, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

A recent article in Marketwatch’s Moneyologist column, "What to do when a parent dies and leaves no will," starts with a sad example of how families fall apart when the lack of estate planning pits children against each other.

The woman recounts how her father told her and her sister that he was making the sister a signatory on his bank account so that she could pay any bills of his estate out of it. He said that the rest of his estate would be divided equally between them.

Five months later the father passed away without a will.

History Buffs Note: Old Wills Searchable Online

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

Historical wills can offer a window into the past and provide researchers a new perspective on history. Today, old wills for such luminary figures as Herman Melville, Samuel Morse, J.P. Morgan and many other historical figures, can be easily accessed on the web.

The well-known genealogical website, Ancestry.com, spent two and half years scanning 170 million pages of old wills and probate records, and put them in an online database.

While many other countries have previously placed the contents of old wills online, this is a first in the United States on this large of a scale. This development appeared in a recent CNN article, "Paul Revere, J.P. Morgan wills among millions now online."