Life Insurance

What You Don’t Know About Estate Planning Could Hurt Your Family

Published on: August 29, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Think of an estate plan as a love letter to your family after you have passed.

You’d be surprised at how many people you know don’t have a will or an estate plan in place. They may be among the many who have an unspoken belief that if they don’t have a will, they won’t die. That would be terrific—if it were true. Or, they think that only people who are wealthy or have complex tax issues require estate planning.

The Sabetha (KS) Herald’s recent article, “Understanding the estate planning process,” says that both of these ideas are wrong because your level of wealth and the ultimate tax consequences of your estate take a back seat to the planning and care of your family and other heirs.

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.

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.

Change in Lifestyle? Change Your Beneficiaries, Too!

Published on: December 15, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Naming a beneficiary for your IRA, 401(k) or any other retirement plan and then making sure that the name is right as you go through the many stages of life could be one of the most important financial decisions you make, according to The (Crystal Lake, IL) Northwest Herald in "Rectifying the retirement minefield."

Of course, if you want to give your retirement savings to your first husband, he won't mind. But your second husband might!

If you're married, you'll want to designate your spouse as the primary beneficiary. Federal law requires your surviving spouse to be the primary beneficiary in employer-sponsored retirement plans, like a 401(k), unless your spouse signs a written waiver letting you name someone else as the primary beneficiary. In most cases, spouses will name each other as the primary beneficiaries to their retirement plans. Those funds help maintain the lifestyle they've enjoyed in their marriage.

Houston: Why Do You Need Life Insurance?

Published on: October 26, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

It's no surprise that many Americans have chosen not to have any life insurance at all, according to NASDAQ's recent article, "Why Have Life Insurance?" A recent study by a life insurance advocacy group, LIMRA, revealed that most Americans think that life insurance is expensive. They were asked to name the price of a 20 year, $250,000 level term life policy for a healthy 30 year old and were off by several hundred dollars. The anticipated annual cost was $400, while the real cost of such a policy is more like $150. The study found that 85% of Americans are not buying life insurance, and this price perception may be part of the problem. That's not including the people who purchase insurance that is not right for their needs, who overpay for insurance, or those who are insured for so little that their unexpected passing will assuredly put their family's financial future at risk.

That's why it's important for you to sit down annually with an insurance professional to review your policy and also to speak with your estate planning attorney about the role life insurance may play in your overall estate planning strategy. Reviewing your life insurance policies is one way to make sure you have the coverage that is right for you and your family as you age and your family situation changes.

Basic Types of Life Insurance

Estate Planning Alzheimer’s Disease Patients

Published on: July 29, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

When a loved one has Alzheimer’s, advanced planning for legal and financial matters becomes even more important than in day-to-day estate planning. Ideally, planning well in advance, before the disease has taken a toll on the person’s cognitive abilities, may give them an opportunity to express their wishes for their care. The debilitating nature of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia is extremely stressful for family members who are charged with being caregivers and decision makers. Planning early with the help of an experienced professional can alleviate some of the stress that results.

Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or a different type of dementia is a challenge that requires a great deal of planning in advance. An article in The Lincoln (NE) Journal Staraddressed a number of financial, legal and medical care issues – “Planning the future of a loved one with dementia.”

You will encounter a number of costs in caring for a person with dementia. Planning for these expenses and costs throughout the course of the disease will involve examining all the costs you could possibly face now and in the future. These can include prescription drugs, personal care supplies, adult day care services, in-home care services, and residential care services.

Pre-Retirement To-Do’s for Houston Boomers

Published on: June 9, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Don’t wait until the very last minute to make sure you are prepared, says Michael H. Milarski, a partner and senior financial advisor with Signature Financial Planning.

Have you checked your list and you’re sure you’re ready to retire? You may have a few items to address before your golden years can begin.

A recent Fox Business article, titled “5 Things to Do Now if You’re Near Retirement,”says that these are the five important things to work on in the five years before you retire.

Are Houston Boomers Neglecting Their Estate Planning?

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

"If you are looking at Baby Boomers, they are looking at what their cash flow will be in retirement," says Carol Kroch, managing director, wealth and philanthropic planning at Wilmington Trust in Wilmington, Del. "Can they do the things they want to do? Can they retire? Can they keep the house? They are not focused on death."

Failure to consider wills and estate planning is a frequent issue, and not just for Houston Boomers. Seniors usually think that it’s something they can put off and deal with later.

USA Today recently published an article, titled “Big retirement mistake: Boomers with no estate plan,”that offers several tips for people who might be lagging behind in their retirement savings. The article emphasizes that there are three very important things to think about when you start your estate planning (this week!):

Retirement Planning Mishaps Can Impact Houston Seniors

Published on: April 27, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Here are a few of the most common mistakes we’ve seen seniors make in regard to their retirement planning.

Sometimes knowing what NOT to do is just as important as knowing what to do. So it is with retirement planning.

Physician’s Money Digest lists some of the most common mistakes that the authors have seen seniors make in a recent article titled “Top Mistakes Seniors Make”:

It’s Time Again: Year-End Planning for Houston Families

Published on: November 13, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

As 2014 dwindles down, it’s time to consider your year-end planning.

The holidays will be here before you know it, and that means the end of 2014 is near. Have you started your year-end planning yet?

A recent article in the Physician's Money Digest, titled "10 Financial Planning Tips for Year-end," offers some helpful financial planning tips for the year-end.