Probate Court

Don’t Let Texas Decide What Happens to Your Houston Assets

Published on: July 14, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Drafting your will and testament is not exactly on most summer to-do lists. For many, the process is a memento mori, a task more foreboding than mowing the overgrown lawn. It's no surprise that according to the American Bar Association, 55 percent of Americans do not have a will or other estate plan in place when they die. And for families, the statistics are not much better, according to a survey done by the online legal service Rocket Lawyer. The firm found over half of Americans with children did not have a will in 2014. The reason most Americans said they didn't have a will, according to the survey: "They just haven't gotten around to making one."

The Denver Post says that the consequence of having no will is there's no guarantee who’s going to get your assets. The article, “How estate plans protect family assets far better than a will,”also says that you can be placing your children at risk. They could end up in Child Protective Services or in the custody of someone you wouldn’t dream of parenting your kids.

"If you don't have an estate plan, you have a 'plan' written by the state," the article states. This means you're relying on the state to decide what happens with your kids and your assets. It means that your family will be required to go through the courts, and probate may take months or even years, according to the American Bar Association. Most states have waiting periods for creditors to respond, during which time the probate estate can’t be distributed—and that's only if an individual's affairs are in order. Anything hairy means delays and more work.

Tell Your Houston Family Your Estate Planning Goals

Published on: July 1, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

What can you do to push past the emotional aspects of estate planning to make sure your surviving family members can successfully deal with issues that may arise after you pass away?

Start early. Patrick Severo is the senior vice president and financial advisor at RBC Wealth Management. He also has three kids and knew he needed a plan to take care of them after he is gone. Severo recently told Forbes in the article titled, “Don't Let Emotion Sabotage Your Estate Plan,”that, although the discussion about what happens after you pass away feels uncomfortable, the earlier you can begin, the better off you’ll be because these things take time – maybe even years!

To help the people you care about handle the financial, administrative and familial consequences of your eventual passing, be as transparent as possible about what they can expect from your estate. Mismatched expectations can often cause trouble that could’ve easily been avoided if the news wasn’t coming as such a surprise.

Estate Planning Tips for Houston Widows

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

For the last several decades, you’ve always made these kinds of decisions together. What can already be an emotional task of drafting a will is even more so after the loss of a lifelong partner. Even in the event of a terminal illness diagnosis with time to prepare in advance, Senior Vice President and Financial Advisor Cinda J. Collins of RBC Wealth Management often felt overwhelmed during the settlement of her husband’s estate after he passed away from leukemia.

While the best course of action is always to plan together ahead of time, Forbes published estate planning advice for surviving spouses in “The Widow's Guide To Estate Planning And Wealth Transfer.”

Make Sure You Have a Professionally Drafted Will. To be as prepared as possible in the event of a spouse’s passing, talk to an experienced estate attorney together as a couple to ensure all your affairs are in order. If a spouse passes away unexpectedly without planning, the surviving partner will have headaches.

Don’t Have a Will? Do You Know What Happens?

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

In some parts of the U.S., like West Virginia, without a will, your estate is first distributed according to your marital status and children, including those of previous marriages. However, if you have no spouse or children, you may want to pull out your family tree to see who could be in the running.

When there is no will in place, commonly in West Virginia, the current spouse of a married couple with or without one or more descendants receives the full estate. However, your spouse would receive only 60% of the estate if he or she had children with you and also a previous marriage. Your children would then receive the remaining 40% of the estate. But if you were the spouse with kids from a previous marriage(s), then all your children will inherit one-half of your estate, and the other half to your current spouse.

Confused yet? That’s what The (Huntington, WV) Herald-Dispatch asks us in its recent article titled “Planning ahead: What happens if you don't have a will.”

Have You Planned for Your Digital Estate?

Published on: June 23, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Portland attorney Victoria Blachly said people can avoid the personal, financial and in some cases legal headaches that come with losing access to their online accounts by creating a Virtual Asset Instruction Letter where they list their online accounts, the passwords they use to access each one, and instructions explaining what, if anything, should be done with the content each account holds.

What happens to all of your online accounts when you die? Will your loved ones be able to access them? If so, what should they do with those accounts? There is much to think about when it comes to your digital estate planning.

An article from The (Bend OR) Bulletin, “Estate planning in a digital world,”says that you can avoid personal, financial, and legal headaches by creating a Virtual Asset Instruction Letter.

Women Have Important Estate Planning Considerations to Address

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

In the absence of a well-crafted estate plan, women can be affected more often and more directly than men. According to www.forbes.com, women live longer than men, on average, and tend to marry older spouses; this makes women three times more likely as men to be widowed at age 65.

With women commonly living longer than their male spouses, it is essential for women to have their financial and estate plans in order.

Northwest Herald’s article, “Home State Bank Emphasizes Estate Planning For Women,”says that a key aspect of estate planning is designating someone you trust to act on your behalf in financial and legal matters in the event you can't (even temporarily) due to illness or disability. Designate this person in a durable power of attorney.

You’re Getting Married? Is Your Estate Plan Current?

Published on: June 10, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

At some point, everyone needs to consider estate planning. It’s time to create an up-to-date estate plan when you experience one of these life events.

Think estate planning isn’t for you? Think again! And it’s not just a one-time deal; changes in your life should result in changes to your plan, so be ready to make some updates.

The Richland Source notes in a recent article, titled “Do you need an estate plan?”, that it’s time to create an up-to-date estate plan when you have one of these life events:

Crummey Trusts: Viable Tool for Houston Families?

Published on: June 1, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Actually the trusts are Crummey trusts named after one D. Clifford Crummey who won a decision in the Ninth Circuit in 1968, when I was just a high school lad. Israel and Erna Mikel were just in Tax Court showing how powerful the Crummey power can be as they used it to shelter over $1.4 million in transfers to their family trust from gift taxes. An arbitration clause that called for the use of a religious court caused the IRS to challenge the validity of the exclusions, but the Tax Court ruled in the taxpayer’s favor.

Trusts can have pretty funny names. Take the Crummey trust for example – doesn’t sound very good, does it? Who wants a “crumby” trust? Let’s explore this tool further.

A recent Forbes article, titled “Religious Arbitration Clause Does Not Hurt Million Plus Gift Tax Exclusion,” reminds us that there’s an annual exclusion from gift tax. Reminder: every year you can give the annual exclusion amount ($14,000 this year) to as many people as you want without any gift taxes or disturbing the unified credit against transfer taxes. However, to qualify for the exclusion, the gift has to be of a “present interest”.

Guardianship Selected for Bobbi Kristina Brown

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

“We are delighted to inform the public that the court has appointed Bobby Brown and Pat Houston as co-guardians of Bobbi Kristina Brown (‘Krissi’),” read a statement issued by David Long-Daniels, counsel for Pat Houston and Cissy Houston, and Christopher Brown, an attorney for Bobby Brown. “Both Mr. Brown and Ms. Houston are jointly responsible for decisions related to Krissi’s care and medical needs.” A court-appointed attorney, Bedelia Hargrove, will act as a conservator for the 22-year-old.

The court-appointed attorney specializes in fiduciary litigation, probate and estate administration, estate planning, personal injury and wrongful death cases, as well as general civil litigation.

As conservator, the attorney “is responsible for Krissi’s assets, including her likeness, rights and legal claims,” according to the statement read by attorneys for the family.

Estate Planning Isn’t Just for Older Adults

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

"A lot of people think this is just about elderly parents, but it's a big issue for people with adult children away at school or on their own as an unmarried adult," said Carnick, president of Carnick & Kubik Personal Wealth Advisors. "Who's going to speak for them if they get in an accident?"

A recent Chicago Tribune article, titled “Checklist for updating, organizing estate planning documents,” reported some interesting survey results that show many adults are very unprepared and unaware when it comes to estate planning.

The Tribune reports that a new survey of 1,000 adults for www.caring.com shows these startling figures: