While most people in Van Horn would like to think that families can get through anything together and that nothing can tear them apart, sometimes that just isn’t so. There are just some Texas families in which it is pretty clear that parents and children don’t get along, and sometimes parents want to make it explicitly clear that they don’t want a child to inherit anything. Just like any kind of specific request, the only way to truly ensure only certain heirs will receive property is through a thoughtful estate plan.

Before a parent chooses to disinherit an heir, however, it is important to look at the reasons why. There are many parents who don’t really want to disinherit a child, but they are so concerned that if the child were to inherit anything it would just go to his or her drug or alcohol habit. In a sense, the parent is trying to prevent harm to the child that would come with added income.

If this is the case, maybe disinheriting a child is not the best thing to do. Instead, the parent can set up a trust that has one important clause: the child must go to treatment and get clean before he or she receives any money. Not only would this prevent the child from harming him- or herself through, but would serve as an important incentive for the child to clean up his or her act.

There are many different reasons why a Van Horn parent may wish to disinherit a child, but regardless of the reason, it is wise for him or her to speak with an attorney to create an estate plan. By creating a narrowly tailored estate plan, someone can generally block anyone from inheriting that he or she wants.

Source:Bloomberg, “You Want to Cut Your Kid Out of Your Will. Or Do You?,” Lewis Braham, July 23, 2013

Many parents who know that they will have money or property to hand down to their children struggle with the question of when to do so. Often the concern lies in whether an inheritance or the promise of one will lead to a lack of motivation by children to seek financial independence and success in their own right. For older generations who built businesses attained high levels of professional success, the thought of handing over cash to a young person who has not put in the time or effort can be quite unappealing.

However, while the stereotypes suggest that millenials will take the money and run off to a lavish vacation or quit their job, new data suggests the opposite.

Coming of age in the shadow of the recession, millennials as a group are more concerned about retirement than their parents or grandparents were. They are also more risk averse and show better saving habits than older generations. A loss of trust in the financial markets and big banks has also resulted in a more conservative investment strategy.

Many also consider whether they will be financially stable enough to help support their parents during retirement, according to a financial adviser.

So what does all of this mean for Texas families? Well, it means that now could be a good time to discuss these issues and consider when to tell children about a potential inheritance and whether to make that gift during life or leave it to be handled through a will or a trust.

Source: CNBC, “Millennials Make Most of Massive Inheritance: Study,” Paul O’Donnell, May 31, 2013.

Many Texas residents have a life insurance policy, whether it is through their employer or a policy that they have taken out on their own, life insurance is an important way to make sure that our loved ones have some financial security after we are gone.

Regardless of the sum involved in a life insurance policy, it is important to make sure all your ducks are in a row when you choose a beneficiary. There are a lot of ways that the ultimate goals of taking out the life insurance policy can be properly served, and just as many ways in which the final outcome might not go as planned.

For example, many people may name their spouse as a beneficiary on a life insurance policy but later change their mind and want to name their children or they may divorce and want to name their new spouse. A lot of people think you can do this through a will that leaves everything to that newly chosen beneficiary, however, a will does not control what happens to life insurance proceeds so the payment will still be made to whoever is named on the policy itself, even if there is a contrary provision in the will.

Similiarly, sometimes people will name what is called a “class” on their life insurance policy, such as “all my children” or “my neices and nephews”. This means that when the policy is to be paid out, the insurance company will conduct a length and costly search to make sure that all living children are given a portion of the policy. And since some Texas residents may have children that they are unaware of or who they are no longer in contact with, this may create some confusion about the true intent of the gift. Instead, it is best to list specific individuals along with identifying information such as addresses, birth dates, and social security numbers.

Source:Fox Business, “Naming Life Insurance Beneficiaries: 10 Ways to Screw up,” Barbara Marquand, May 22, 2013

A real estate developer who survived the Holocaust passed away at age 97 recently, leaving behind a legacy of mystery but no family members and no will. The man came to the United States after surviving a war that lead to the death or disappearance of any relatives here or in Europe. Officials in the state where he lived say that his $40 million estate is the largest in their history to go unclaimed by a blood relative or beneficiary under a will.

While most Texas readers have not been subject to a conflict of this magnitude, many people with small families or relatives in distant locations could be faced with a similar situation if they do not execute a valid will.

Even for people who do have children and siblings that may be eligible to inherit from them under state probate laws, executing a will is crucial in the event that those relatives do not live longer than you. However remote the possibility, it is always there, making it incredibly important to designate a backup plan.

For many people, this means choosing charitable causes or friends to inherit otherwise unclaimed portions of an estate.

In lieu of a known relative who has a legal claim to the estate, authorities have hired a genealogist to continue the search for a family member. They are also looking for a will or some kind that could indicate the man’s intentions for his estate. In the interim, a public administrator has sold the man’s primary home and auctioned off belongings and will manage taxes and other financial obgliations of the estate while the search continues.

Source:New York Times, “Holocause survivor left $40 million, but no heirs,” Julie Satow, April 27, 2013.