Probate Court

Plan Now for the “What Ifs” of Life in Houston

Published on: September 16, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

The most important thing for any patient with a long-term illness is to focus on his overall health and mental outlook. Having financial plans in place allows a patient to set other worries aside.

How do you plan for future illnesses or tragedies? The "what ifs" of life are all too real, so get your financial plans in place ahead of time.

Life Insurance is extremely important if you have young children who depend on your income. A recent Time article, titled "When Tragedy Strikes a Young Family," suggests a 20- to 30-year level term policy as a good start to help support your family through the children’s school years. Another often overlooked part of this type of planning is Disability Insurance. As many people have discovered, being unable to go to work due to an injury or sickness can be more financially catastrophic than death. Expenses typically increase with treatment and recovery, but your income stops. A disability policy either through your employer or through a private insurer can be a real wise move and offers a good deal of protection—it provides a portion of your income while you are unable to work.

Houston Boomers – Beware of These Estate Planning Blunders

Published on: September 12, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

David Cutner, partner at Lamson & Cutner, attorneys for the elderly and disabled offered the following tips for both estate planning and long-term care for boomers.

A recent Fox Business article reported that the majority of seniors are completely in the dark on one of the biggest financial risks they are facing. The article, titled "Estate Planning Mistakes Every Boomer Should Avoid," sheds some light on the catastrophic costs of long-term care.

According to the U.S. Department of Health, 70% of the U.S. population over age 65 will require long-term care, and over 40% will need nursing home care for some period of time. Most people do not have insurance coverage for this risk and believe inaccurately that Medicare covers their long-term care. That is just not the case, and without planning, if care is needed, life savings are quickly wiped out. Fortunately, there are solutions that will protect an individual's assets and income, and at the same allow access to Medicaid benefits. An experienced elder law attorney will have the knowledge and background to provide you with needed advice and the skills to design a strategy that will achieve your goals. A well-drafted estate plan is a wise investment to ensure that your assets are passed to your beneficiaries efficiently—in a manner that avoids conflicts among your heirs and that minimizes costs.

Houston Scam Alert! Don’t Fall Victim to Estate Planning Cons

Published on: September 11, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Constantly in the news, it seems like there is a new scam making headlines. One surprising area in which scams are becoming more common is estate planning. Each year, more people fall victim to unscrupulous and unqualified sellers of ineffective estate planning documents. Often, these scammers are door-to-door salesmen or telemarketers.

Estate planning is a very personal and essential process to protect your loved ones and your assets. And all it takes is a scammer to mess that all up. A recent Webwire article, titled "How to Avoid an Estate Planning Scam," points out things to keep in mind when considering your estate planning options.

Employ a qualified estate planning attorney. Do-It-Yourself is very popular these days, from home improvement to filing income taxes. There are many websites that offer DIY wills. Beware! Estate planning is not a point-and-click or fill-in-the-blank proposition: it is a complex area of law with different rules depending on where you reside. Use a licensed, experienced estate planning attorney to prepare your estate plan. Check with the state bar and make sure he or she is licensed to practice law in your state.

Yes, Houston. You Really Do Need a Will

Published on: September 10, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

If for no other reason, you need a will to name an executor (or executrix).

So, do you really need a will? Yes. Really.

A recent Forbes article titled "Do I Really Need a Will?" recommends that you should have a will to at least designate an executor or executrix to administer your estate. This individual will be responsible for taking care of your affairs after you pass away. Without a will, the probate court will appoint an administrator—this could end up being almost anyone. Anyone with a decent reason has the ability to petition the court to be appointed—like your cousin Reggie (who you last saw at your fourth birthday party) or your Uncle Ted (who is always dressed like it is 40 below, even in July).

Fundamental To-Do’s For Houston Families When Loved Ones Pass Away

Published on: September 9, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Losing a loved one is a difficult experience. Yet, during this time, you must complete a variety of tasks and make important financial decisions. The following checklist may help guide you through the matters that must be attended to.

If you have lost someone you love, it's difficult to know what to do next. In addition to the emotional stress of losing someone close to you, you may also be dealing with financial issues you weren't prepared for. Take some advice from a recent article in the Des Moines Register titled "Important financial steps to take following a death." The article contains a helpful checklist to help guide you through the matters that will need attention.

Here are some of the initial tasks:

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?

Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s Passing Spurs Estate Planning Lesson

Published on: August 27, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

His Will was written before the birth of his last two children and never updated; thus, his estate plan is completely silent about his wishes for them. The actor's death also highlights the effect that marriage can have on an estate plan.

It seems that once a high-profile celebrity passes away, news of their estate floods the media shortly after. A recent article in The National Review, titled "A Hollywood Lesson for Everyday People: Trusts," emphasizes how one of the biggest misfortunes in the passing of actor Phillip Seymour Hoffman is that everyone now knows his business. We all know what assets were left to whom, who was left out, and how much money he had. These are typically private concerns, but because Hoffman only had a will, which is publicly probated in open court, everyone has access to these public records. Fortunately, there is a simple way for people to keep their estate plans from becoming blog material (like this!): create a trust.

A revocable living trust is a common type of trust that can help secure your privacy. According to the original article, Hoffman said he did not want his kids to be "trust fund kids." This meant he did not want his kids to be spoiled by his acting fortune. However, his definition of a trust could have used some better intel. Hoffman's children actually would have been better off with a trust that set out specific distributions tied to some conditions or events, such as their 25th birthdays or to use for college tuition.

Estate Planning Pointers for Blended Families in Houston

Published on: August 26, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

No one wants to leave their heirs with a mess to sort out or fight over. Here's a look at the top six things to remember when you're estate planning for a blended family.

If you are remarried, how does the new marriage affect your estate planning? There are many things to consider when blending two families.

A recent article in TheStreet.com, titled "6 Things to Consider When Estate planning for Your Second Family," suggests that you first consider how long your family has been together. If you and your second spouse married when your children were still young, or if you had your own children together, your family is hopefully just one family. If you look at all of your family's kids as "our" kids, then make provisions in your will that show that harmony, according to the original article. This is a truly blended family.

Breaking Taboos – It’s Time to Talk About Your Houston Estate Plan

Published on: August 12, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

If there is a boogeyman when it comes to family conversations about inheritance, it is not death. It’s the $40 trillion that financial advisers say their baby boomer clients are going to pass to their children either in an orderly way — or in a chaotic mess. A report by UBS on why families should talk about inheritance confirms the reluctance of people to talk about death and money.

Remarkably, a recent New York Times article, titled "What’s Almost as Certain as Death? Not Talking About the Inheritance," noted that it is easier to have a will (83% do) than it is to discuss the will with your children (only half). It is even more difficult to give them details about those assets (34%).

Regardless their levels of financial wealth, those surveyed were equally deficient when it comes to discussing estate plans with their children. Roughly 55% of people with more than $1 million talk to their children about an inheritance, and 53% of people with fewer than $1 million did. As you might expect, the majority of parents want the transfer of money to their children to go smoothly (84%) without creating bad feelings among siblings (66%).