Probate Attorney

Is Your Estate Plan In Place?

Published on: October 22, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Perhaps the biggest reason to have an estate plan is to decide who will raise and care for your children if you and your spouse should both pass away. An experienced estate attorney who is knowledgeable about guardian ship laws in your state can help you make a plan, as noted in Houston (MO) Herald's recently published article, "Establish an estate plan before death comes knocking."

It is easy to put off these tough decisions by thinking we have plenty of time, but the truth is that we really don't know how much time we're going to have.

It's also easy for disagreements and misunderstandings to occur when someone passes away, particularly when the ownership of assets isn't clear. A professionally drafted will and other estate planning documents can eliminate much of this stress and heartache. The cost of settling an estate may be high, but it's even higher if an estate plan isn't in place.

Estate Planning for Blended Families Takes Special Consideration

Published on: October 12, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Anytime a blended family includes children from prior marriages, estate planning becomes more challenging, as reported in The Meridian Star, in “Estate planning after a second marriage.” If there are young children, how can you ensure that the surviving spouse will take care of them? And what if you pass away and your surviving spouse remarries? One way to prepare for this possibility is to make a child the primary beneficiary of a life insurance policy, place certain property under joint ownership with the child or set up a trust for your children. But none of these steps are simple, and all require the hard conversation with your spouse and with an experienced estate planning attorney.

If you have a written a will, it may require an update. Be extremely specific about which heir gets what and state bequests convincingly. The more convincing your bequest, the less ambiguity and the fewer issues that will arise. Also, update your beneficiary designations for retirement plans, investment accounts, and insurance policies. However, if you’ve been divorced, you may be precluded from changing beneficiaries in certain cases. Talk to a qualified estate planning lawyer. Take a copy of your divorcee decree with you and ask if revising your beneficiary designations will violate it.

You can also take a look at irrevocable trusts, which can be used to provide for your spouse and your kids. Some people establish a separate property trust to provide for their spouse after their death and designate their real property to their children. Parents can also create irrevocable trusts to direct assets to particular children. These can be great estate planning vehicles because: (i) a trust agreement isn’t a public document; (ii) assets within irrevocable trusts are shielded from creditors and from inheritance claims of spouses of the adult children named as heirs; and (iii) an irrevocable trust represents a “finalized” estate planning decision—which guarantees that particular assets transfer to a parent’s biological children. In addition, irrevocable trusts are rarely undone.

Medicaid Planning: Estate Planning AND Elder Law Skills Required

Published on: October 7, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

The Huffington Post published an interesting article on the ethical and legal issues posed by two related legal practice areas, “Some Legal Issues at the Intersection of Elder Law and Estate Planning.” There are legal and ethical issues that arise when determining courses of action in both areas.

One is whether to dispose of assets through pre-need planning to qualify for means-tested government programs such as Medicaid that might pay, for example, the cost of long term nursing home care. This is very complicated, and you should work with a qualified elder law attorney.

If you want to maximize eligibility for means-tested governmental benefits, a common income reduction technique is to create a Qualified Income Trust (QIT), also called a “Miller Trust.” There are also other types of "special needs trusts" that can be created without reducing government benefits. Again, this is a highly complex area that requires help from an elder law attorney.

Intrafamily Loans: An Estate Planning Tool for Houston Families

Published on: October 6, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Utilizing intrafamily loans and trusts is one way that wealthy families can maximize their estate planning strategies. A recent issue of Barron’s features, “How Family Loans and Trusts Can Create Big Wins,” and outlines the specifics on intrafamily loans as an estate planning tool. The note has a fixed value, no matter how big the underlying asset grows.

With low interest rates, families with taxable estates can benefit from structured trusts and intrafamily loans. Not that these intrafamily loans have their own rates and rules – the rates on intrafamily loans allow parents to lend their children cash at rates far lower than a comparable commercial loan. Plus, they can be part of a broader wealth-transfer strategy.

For instance, an aging millionaire can fund a trust for his children’s benefit with a $100,000 gift. He then loans it $900,000 at the allowable 1.82 percent interest rate for five years, which the trust invests. The trust makes regular payments on the loan and then repays the principal in full at the term’s end. Any investment gains over that extremely low interest rate are tax-free in the trust for the next generation – it’s all legal and great planning.

Houston Families Should Take Note of Pending IRS Changes

Published on: August 20, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

The word is out in the estate planning bar that the IRS is looking at making an announcement this September about a favorite tax benefit gained from the use of family partnerships and LLCs. New regulations would effectively raise the taxable value of assets transferred into these entities, which currently enjoy a generous discount. Wealthy clients are being advised to set up partnerships now to capture what remains of these discounts before the new rules take effect.

According an article in Barron’s titled “IRS Considers New Tax on Wealthy Families,” any changes to tax benefits affection family partnerships and LLCs could have significant consequences.

The article explains that partnerships and LLCs currently let families pass on a minority stake in the family business or in a pool of privately-held investments to their children with little or no tax consequences. This is because minority shares in a private business are illiquid, or unable to be easily sold or exchanged for cash without a substantial loss in value. They are worth less, from a tax perspective, than their stated market value. This is a big help to families who want to lower the taxable value of their assets, and in some cases below the $5.43 million gift-tax exemption. It also works even if the underlying investments getting passed on are liquid. The discount could be as much as 20% to 25%.

Estate Planning Isn’t a “Cookie Cutter” Approach for All Millionaires

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

A recent survey from CNBC.com shows that there are differences in how the wealthy perceive the need for estate planning, and not all millionaires behave the same way. There are differences between families at the $1 million – $5 million level and those with $5 million and more. However, a significant number of millionaires do not have an estate plan, and part of that may be due to estate planning fatigue.

According to a poll of 750 millionaires, individuals with $5 million or more (68%) were more likely to seek help with estate planning, compared to individuals with $1 million to $5 million in assets (61%). The survey, conducted by CNBC.com, reports their findings in a recent article: “Wealthy suffer from 'estate-planning fatigue'.”

The political break down was as follows: Republicans (68%) were more likely to use an estate planning expert to create an estate plan than Democrats (61%) or Independents (58%).

Estate Tax Planning Remains Important Step for Some Houstonians

Published on: July 31, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Estate taxes are seen by some as instruments of public policy, an attempt to fight economic inequality by diminishing the ability of wealthy families to aggregate vast amounts of wealth. Others see estate taxes as a “death tax” that penalizes those who are financially successful. Whatever your opinion, estate tax rates are still quite high compared to other taxes. This creates an incentive to plan in advance and use sophisticated methods to reduce estates taxes.

Thirteen different brackets might make you think that estate tax planning is all about college basketball! According to a Fox Business article, “2015 Estate Tax Rates: How Much Will You Pay?” the rate structure for the estate tax has remained virtually unchanged since 2013, even with these numerous brackets. See the chart below for a birds-eye-view of the 13 different brackets:

Amount of Taxable Estate	Tax Bracket
$0-$10,000	18%
$10,001-$20,000	20%
$20,001-$40,000	22%
$40,001-$60,000	24%
$60,001-$80,000	26%
$80,001-$100,000	28%
$100,001-$150,000	30%
$150,001-$250,000	32%
$250,001-$500,000	34%
$500,001-$750,000	37%
$750,001-$1 million	39%
Over $1 million	40%

Source: IRS

Before you do any number crunching, remember that the federal government has an estate tax exemption for all estates more than $5.43 million (in 2015). The “lifetime exemption amount” is the cut-off mark for how much wealth each person can pass to their heirs without owing any estate tax.

The article explains that the exemption is different than a standard deduction. What you do is look at all your taxable estate assets and knock out the first $5.43 million. If you have more than that, the estate tax will be at the maximum rate of 40 percent on the portion of the estate that’s above the $5.43 million threshold. For instance, if your estate is $5.44 million, then your estate's tax liability would be $4,000 — which is 40 percent of the $10,000 above the $5.43 million threshold.

An estate planning attorney can help you with some ways to reduce or even eliminate your estate tax liability. This can include gifts during your lifetime to reduce your estate assets at your death. The law says that you can give an individual up to $14,000 annually without having to pay any gift tax. If you give more than that amount, you'll start using up your lifetime exemption. You don’t want that!

There are also many more-complicated methods of giving money to potential heirs during your lifetime that can reduce your eventual estate tax bill. Talk with your estate planning attorney about these more complex strategies and leave more money for your heirs and less for taxes.

For additional information on estate tax planning and elder law topics in Houston, please click here to visit my website.

Reference: Fox Business (July 16, 2015) “2015 Estate Tax Rates: How Much Will You Pay?”

Business Succession Planning: Key Element for Houston Business Owners

Published on: July 30, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Owners who are personally and emotionally involved in their businesses, including farming operations, often consider what will happen to their businesses, farms and business assets when they are no longer involved. Planning for the disposition of a business is different than estate planning. While many think they are the same process, they are really very different.

Estate planning concerns the transfer of assets, including wealth, of an individual from one individual to another or to an entity, such as a trust, and this occurs only when the person passes away. Ownership of a business and business assets, whether they are tangible or intangible, can be transferred to a legal entity, whenever the owner chooses. The Columbus (NE) Telegram’s article, “Estate planning and business transition quite different,” discusses these two different kinds of transactions.

Business transition is simply the transfer of a business asset or the entire entity from an existing owner who has decided to retire or move on. This usually occurs during the life of the existing owner. However, when a business transfer takes place after the death of the owner, it’s usually part of an existing or implied estate plan or asset transfer process.

Two Key Documents for Houston Estate Planning

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

When a man who had remarried passed away, his children were less upset about his leaving everything to their stepmother as they were about her decision to liquidate the family home and furnishings. Rather than give them an opportunity to enjoy things that had special meaning to the children, she took the position that they could come to the auction and bid on the items, just like anyone else who attended the auction. The heartbreak and hard feelings that resulted could have been prevented with the use of two documents: a Letter of Instruction and a Personal Property Memorandum.

While it seems that listing out personal assets like jewelry, books, photo albums and home furnishings might be tedious and not really necessary, a recent article in Forbes, “Simple Steps To Prevent Future Family Inheritance Rifts,” points the way to using two documents that can ensure that your personal property goes where you want it to go, and also saves your heirs from losing personal items that may hold a great deal of meaning to them.

A Personal Property Memorandum is a legally binding document. It is to be referred to in the will that is to list all the personal property you want to leave to your heirs and loved ones. A personal property memorandum is recognized in 30 states and must be referred to in the will. But the document doesn’t need to be notarized or witnessed. The article suggests that you clearly describe these items so they aren’t confused with others. For example, “All of the Barry Manilow LPs in my collection are to go to Cousin Buddy.” Make sure your executor or executrix has the correct information, as well. You don’t want the wrong relative to walk off with your disco records!

Can You Talk to Your Aging Parents About Finances?

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

Talking with aging parents about their finances, their wishes, and the future, is never an easy conversation. When it became clear that her mother was starting to suffer from memory loss, Gwen started to speak with her mother about finances, accounts and final wishes. While she felt uncomfortable pressing her own mother for information, in the long run obtaining this information made things easier when Gwen, the daughter, ultimately had to take over her mother’s finances. While not all parents are willing to have these discussions, they are important to prevent the difficulties that eventually arise. Gwen Morgan, the author of “What If…Workbook,” a guide that helps gather and convey this type of information, notes that “People hold tight to their bootstraps.” Communicating early and often can help.

Even if your parents are reluctant to discuss their finances, the sooner the conversation begins, the better for all concerned. In an article posted on Go Banking Rates, “How to Talk About Money With Your Aging Parents,” the author shares a deeply personal experience with her own mother. Some parents are simply not willing to have these conversations, and several different approaches may need to be tried before you find the one that they are comfortable with. Not knowing key information could lead to family members needing to go to court to obtain the ability to gain control of their parents' finances and make medical decisions on their behalf. These scenarios can cause serious emotional and financial hardship for families.

Here are several strategies from the article to get aging parents to discuss their finances. Make sure that the conversation is respectful. Also make certain that it’s understood that you’re not trying to take over your parents’ finances. Starting with an area that doesn’t feel like a loss of power, may be more successful, the article advises.