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A study published last month by the National Bureau of Economic Research revealed that the share of parents with wills that give unequal amounts to their children grew significantly between 1995 and 2010—from 16% to 35%. One important element of this increase is the growing number of “complex” families, or blended households with stepchildren and biological children, as well as families where a parent doesn’t have any contact with one or more biological children (e.g., children from a previous relationship). Among parents who had created a will, 61% of those with stepchildren and biological children planned to divide their assets unequally, compared with 27% of parents with just biological children. Among parents who were divorced at the time they were surveyed, the difference was even greater: 75% compared to 29%. However, researchers noted that living with a stepparent for at least 7 to 10 years eliminated the stepchild “penalty.” The study concentrated primarily on complex families, but there are other scenarios in which parents might choose to pass on their wealth unequally. Parents may have given more to one child in the past and decide to leave more to their other children. Or, they may want to split assets unevenly to try to put their kids on more equal footing. Parents may have the best of intentions in making these decisions, but they should speak to their children to prevent hurt feelings. An estate planning attorney can provide valuable guidance. Reference: The Boston Globe (November 16, 2015) “An unequal sharing of the wealth” #Stepchildren #TrustsandEstates #HoustonEstatePlanning #Probate #Inheritance #BlendedFamilies #Wills #HoustonProbateAttorney

In such cases, we frequently recommend a management trust to avoid annual accountings, which is less

The Federal Housing Administration makes up any debt owed from the final loan balance and net proceeds

trusts available now that are specifically meant for families in this particular situation. With these Trusts, you can write a specific letter of intent to either a caregiver or even a facility There will also need to be a trustee that is responsible for overseeing the money in the Trust and of course, you will need to make financial preparations to make certain the trust has been funded. This is allowed only if the gain is placed is a qualifying Trust, also known as a “payback” Trust. 

This may include creating a living will, setting up trusts, and designating beneficiaries for retirement

Organizing your personal finances is especially critical for Baby Boomers who’ve recently retired or who need to make the most of what remains of their working years. There’s no time like the present to tune up your strategy (or make that appointment with the dentist!). The article, “9 ways for older Mainers to get a grip on finances in 2016,” from the Bangor Daily News has some great tips for starting the New Year right: Get ready for tax time. Set up a computer folder to collect tax-related papers as they arrive. If you don’t, April 15th will roll around and you’ll be wondering where you put those tax documents! Make a checklist of the documents you’re expecting and file as soon as possible after you have them all. Also, think about changing your withholding amounts to be closer to the taxes you expect to owe for the coming year. Update your estate plan. Review your estate documents, including your will, your medical and financial powers of attorney and your advance directive for end-of-life care (living will). If you don’t have any of these documents, talk with an experienced estate planning attorney. For your sake and the sake of your heirs, don’t put it off. Fine tune your investments. Review your investments to make certain they’re in sync with your retirement goals and life changes. This includes cash-on-hand needs and risk tolerance. Does your portfolio need rebalancing, or do under-performing assets need to be swapped out? Review your financial condition. Examine your overall financial situation by tallying your assets and liabilities, as well as your expected income and expenses for 2016 to help you decide if you need to use any of your savings or investments to pay monthly bills. Be wary of investment scams. Always research any unsolicited proposals or work with an attorney to do thorough due diligence on anyone who approaches you with a “sure thing.” Review beneficiary designations. This is for your retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and other assets to make sure they are in line with your estate planning. Review insurance policies. Check your life, health, long-term care, home and automobile policies for appropriate coverage and any needed changes. Reference: Bangor Daily News (January 2, 2016) “9 ways for older Mainers to get a grip on finances in 2016” #AssetProtection #HoustonWills #Inheritance #PlanningfortheFuture #HoustonTrusts #PowerofAttorney #HoustonEstatePlanningLawyer #TaxPlanning

Those who choose to work with a Certified Dementia Practitioner can rest assured knowing they have a trusted

Most families just aren’t prepared for the financial burden of dementia. They assume that Medicare cover all of the expenses. Not so. Patients and their families don’t realize that isn’t the case. Plus, everything gets more complicated when an individual has dementia. For example, if a dementia patient in a nursing home gets a fever, the staff may say that they aren’t equipped to handle it. They call 911. The patient is then admitted to the hospital. This can lead to complications for the patient suffering from dementia. They may get delirious and confused, slip or fall out of bed and sustain injuries, or they choke on their food. This can cause medical costs to sky-rocket. There are large disparities in out-of-pocket costs for the three diseases. Medicare covers discrete medical services like office visits and acute care, including hospitalization and surgery. These are the types of expenses experienced by cancer patients and heart patients. Those patients usually don’t need full-time home or nursing home care until the very end of their life, if at all. As a result, they don’t see that continuing cost. On the other hand, dementia patients need constant care for years. In addition, these dementia patients may not be sick enough for a nursing home, but they still will need supervision and care. When dementia patients are sick enough for a nursing home, the cost is not covered by health insurance. More than half of patients with dementia— with three-quarters of those from racial minorities—spend down, using savings to pay for the nursing home until the money is all gone. After that, Medicaid takes over. Talk with an experienced elder law attorney about care for the elderly, Medicaid, and dementia. He or she will have ideas on how to best address your family’s situation. Reference: The New York Times (October 26, 2015) “Costs for Dementia Care Far Exceeding Other Diseases, Study Finds” #PayingforaNursingHome #HoustonAssetProtection #MedicaidTrustPlanning #MedicaidPlanning #HoustonElderLaw #HoustonElderLawAttorney #Medicaid #HoustonTrustPlanning #Dementia #MedicaidNursingHomePlanning #LongTermCarePlanning

help protect elderly clients from scam artists by drafting power of attorney documents that allow a trusted protect significant assets and pass them on to a future generation is to set up an irrevocable living trust Properties held in a properly-crafted trust do not count as assets when you are applying for Medicaid Irrevocable trusts also allow you to pass on properties outside of the probate system, and without paying

Children don’t have the right to inherit, and a father has every right to leave his kid or kids out of his will, says the article, “Your parent left you out of their will: What now?” from New Jersey 101.5. If the father is competent and not being unduly influenced by his current wife, he can decide to leave out the child from his first marriage. A husband frequently leaves everything to a spouse, even if it’s a second marriage. In some instances, a father may feel he’s being fair by leaving a child out of his will. It could be that the child from his first marriage is significantly older than the children from his second marriage. Perhaps he paid for the education of that older child or even put a down payment on the first home of that child. In light of this, the father may believe he must leave the rest of his estate to his other younger children in order to put them in the same position as his first child. Or maybe the father feels comfortable that his oldest child is successful in life and that his half-siblings are more needy. Another scenario might be that the father provided for the child from his first marriage in some other manner, such as by naming him as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy, IRA, or other payable on death account that does not pass under the will. Otherwise, if the father is competent, there is little a disinherited child can do. Upon the father’s death, a child could contest the will, claiming undue influence by his new wife. Reference: New Jersey 101.5 (November 19, 2015) “Your parent left you out of their will: What now?“ #EstatePlanningLawyer #HoustonEstatePlanning #WillChanges #HoustonWills #ProbateCourt #Inheritance #HoustonProbate #HoustonTrustsandEstates

Perhaps more importantly for someone so young, a will is the document that names an estate administrator

One of the best ways to calm those fears is to figure out who you would trust to step up and help you We recommend putting three different documents in place that will designate a person or people you trust A medical power of attorney document names someone you trust to follow the directions in your living Medicaid without spending one’s self into destitution, it is wise to start transferring assets to a trust