Houston residents who wish to ensure that their wealth passes to descendants or other individuals often establish trusts and create wills. However, they may be making one major estate planning mistake without realizing it: not changing their named beneficiaries....
Elder Law Attorneys Helping You Plan For The Future
Year: 2013
Heirs may prefer heirlooms to money
Seniors in Houston and around the country who are busy with their estate planning strategy may want to rethink the process. According to a poll taken by Allianz Life Insurance Co. of North America, 86 percent of baby boomers want to be left with a family legacy of...
Baby boomers may face long and expensive retirements
Texas residents who are part of the baby boom generation are starting to think more and more about their retirements. Advances in medical care mean that people today often live for 20 or 30 years after a regular paycheck becomes a thing of the past, and analyzing...
Veterans can wait years for benefits
According to the Veterans Administration, the backlog for medical claims is long, although they are trying to fix the situation. However, a Texas television station claims to have uncovered some startling facts. According to veterans who were interviewed, they often...
Retirement and estate planning basics
Most people in Texas don't like to think about growing older and the end of life, but as the responsibility for funding retirement shifts to the individual it has become more important. Pensions are becoming increasingly rare as companies and the government move away...
Taking care of Mom and Dad
Like many Americans, Texans struggle with caring for their aging parents while trying to manage their own lives. Many people find themselves relocating their parents or traveling back and forth in order to take care of them. Grown children often find caring for their...
Some PTSD claims for soldiers more successful than others
Veterans Affairs regional offices in different states, including Texas, are less likely to give soldiers and veterans benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder if their claims give sexual trauma as the cause. Although the overall number of approved PTSD claims for...
Domicile planning becoming key element of estate planning
State laws vary as far as inheritance and estate taxes are concerned. Some states have neither; however, many have either one or both. Although Texas residents are currently spared estate and inheritance taxes, that may change within their lifetime. Many Americans are...
Mistakes to avoid in estate planning
Death is as certain as taxes. Individuals from Texas would all benefit from estate planning, but they should be careful to avoid these mistakes. One of the biggest mistakes that a person can make is for him or her to believe that he or she is too young to need an...
Houston same-sex couples get IRS recognition despite state’s law
Same-sex couples in Houston and around the country wondered if they would get a break on gift and estate taxes paid when property was passed from one spouse to the other after the U.S. Supreme Court's declaration that the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional....