Winn Beaudry & Winn
Newsletter from Winn, Beaudry & Winn, Attorneys at Law
Issue 17
May, 2016  
Ward Beaudry
G. Ward Beaudry
Rights You Might NOT Want to Forfeit Now That Your Child is 18
   
  Those of you with children who recently turned 18 and are graduating from high school this spring have plenty about which to be proud and excited.
   Please take some time to consider the effects of drastic legal changes that are also happening. Your child is gaining adult rights upon reaching 18, but you are simultaneously losing parental rights.
   For your protection and that of your child, you need to be aware of those changes and how it can adversely affect both you and your child. We are not in the business of telling you how to parent, but we ARE in Doploma Image the business of helping you legally parent the way you choose. Our first piece of advice: be aware of the changes and then make informed and considered decisions about how you want to deal with them.
   Four Key Areas of Concern
   Unless you have taken steps to legally have these rights given to you, there are at least four key areas in which you might want to be able to act legally on behalf of your child, but might find yourself hamstrung:
  • No access to medical information, even in an emergency
  • Inability to make medical decisions on behalf of your child
  • Lack of authority to manage a child's financial affairs
  • No access to grades or other academic information (even if you are paying for the advanced education).
   We recommend at a minimum that you have your child sign a HIPPA Authorization, Medical Power of Attorney and Durable Power of Attorney. A fourth document we recommend is a Will, but the first three we consider essential.
    While colleges work hard to promote safety in and around their campuses, accidents are a fact of life for young people. A quarter-million Americans between 18 and 25 are hospitalized with nonlethal injuries each year. Add to that the likelihood of trips during break periods, both school-supported and freelance, and the possibility of study abroad, and it is clear that parents should have the legal authority to speak to the medical needs of their child in the event the child is unable to do so.
   As to the Durable Power of Attorney, it gives a parent the right to enter into, negotiate and amend contracts on behalf of the child. One advantage, should the parent choose, is the right to access the student's grades. Many colleges will not disclose grades without a student's permission and the power of attorney can be used to overcome this obstacle.
   A Will is often ignored because many 18-year-olds have not acquired much property. Still, life is unpredictable and your child might come into property sooner rather than later. Also, by having one in place early, the child is familiar and comfortable with the concept. In the future as needs change, he or she will face a revision of the Will rather than starting from scratch.

   I'm always ready to take your call or respond to your email about this and other issues related to your family life.
 
 (888) 330-1467 or (214) 969-0001
or email at [email protected]


A Grab Bag of Inheritance Issues

Who Gets the Knives and Forks?
   Let's say you have put considerable time and energy into planning for distribution of the big and obvious assets, like homes, vacation properties and securities. Cutlery But then after a death, the family gets together and has rooms full of personal items to divide. These personal and sentimental items are often overlooked. The disposition of these items, whether expensive or not, can cause friction in the family. There are several ways to avoid this, and this article has some suggestions. We recommend that it be done outside the formal Will. The key takeaway is to put a fair system in place IN ADVANCE.

Impact of Remarriage on Inheritance
   I am part of a blended family, so this issue is naturally close to my heart. Statistics prove that my situation is very common. A Pew Research Center report in 2014 showed that 40 percent of new US marriages are remarriages for one or both partners. Not surprisingly, it adds complications to the issues of inheritance. The best solution is a solid and thoughtful will for each party involved. The alternative is to divide the estate upon a death according to state law. That gets much more complicated, and I can't think of a circumstance where it would be better to have the state decide who gets what over the wishes of the deceased. The only clear and legal way to express those wishes is a will. This is not a "one-size-fits-all" proposition. The solutions are as varied as the families and individuals involved. This is an area where our experience can be a big help.

Inheriting an IRA - Things to Know
   Inheriting an IRA is not nearly as simple as inheriting cash or a brokerage account. For example:
  • You are always subject to required minimum distributions, even if you inherit a Roth IRA. That stipulation did not apply to the original Roth IRA owner.
  • A "stretching" option is available, allowing the inheritor to tie distributions to life expectancy AND allowing full withdrawal of the money if so desired, You must file a request by Dec. 31 of the year follow the death to achieve this.
  • If stretching is not used and the owner died before reaching age 70 1/2, the five-year rule applies. No yearly distributions are required, but the account must be emplied by the end of the fifth year after death.
  • Rollover rules differ for beneficiaries. Owners are allowed to personally withdraw money and place it in a new IRA without penalty as long as the transfer is completed within 60 days. However, this does not apply to someone who receives the IRA through inheritance; they must transfer the money directly from one account to another. More details on this can be found in an article here. 

Advanced Asset Protection Strategies
   The goal here is to make sure there is something left to pass on as an inheritance. Insurance is great and we recommend it, but in some cases it is not enough or not available. For a business, the structure you use to set up your business can be a form of asset protection. For individuals, trusts can be a vehicle for protecting assets from future creditors or claims. The trust vehicles are varied and tailored to your specific situation and needs.

             Competent assistance with any of these issues is just a phone call or email away. 






(888) 330-1467 or (214) 969-0001
or email at [email protected]
 
G. Ward Beaudry, Esq.   
[email protected]       
      View my profile on LinkedIn                                                

 


4200 Thanksgiving Tower
1601 Elm Street
Dallas, Texas 75201-7203

Telephone: 214-969-0001
www.winnbeaudrylaw.com

This E-letter is intended to stimulate thought and discussion, and to provide you with some useful ideas and guidance in the areas of estate planning and business law. The materials and comments made herein do not constitute and should not be treated as legal advice regarding the use of any particular estate or business planning or other technique, device or suggestion or any of the tax or other consequences associated with them. Although we have made every effort to ensure the accurancy of this information, Winn, Beaudry & Winn does not assume any responsibility for any individual's reliance on the information presented in this document. Each reader should verify independently all statements made in this E-letter before applying them to a particular situation and should determine independently the tax and other consequences of using any particular device, technique or suggestion before recommending it to others. 

 

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Treasury Circular 230 Required Statements:

 

Tax practitioners authorized to practice before the Internal Revenue Service are subject to the requirements of "Circular 230" (31 CFR part 10), as published by the Treasury Department.  The Treasury Department has made significant changes to Circular 230, effective June 20, 2005, that affect the form and content of tax advice that we provide. In order to comply with these new changes, while minimizing the cost to our clients, we are including the following statements in all of our e-mail communications.  If you have any question about the statements, please do not hesitate to contact the sender.

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In This Issue

News!

 

Taxation of "Pass-Through" Entities

 

We have established Family Limited Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies for many clients for a variety of reasons. If you are involved with one of these, you should be aware of several issues, including new IRS disclosure rules as they relate to Form 8971. Please see the article here. It is written for CPAs, but the information is valuable to anyone with an interest in one of these entities.

  

 
 
 
Ward is repeatedly honored as a top lawyer in Texas by multiple organizations


Super Lawyer
 
 
Fellow-American Bar Foundation  
 
Among G. Ward Beaudry's qualifications

- Accredited by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 
 - Member, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
 - Member, College of the State Bar of Texas 
 

 

 

 

 
Thanksgiving Tower 
4200
Thanksgiving Tower