disclaimer

Disclaimer

When people set up beneficiaries for their IRAs, they don’t know what the future holds. Assume a simple situation where the the IRA owner...
gift tax

What is the Gift Tax?

The Congress thought about this solution and they enacted the gift tax rules. Essentially, the gift tax rules limit the amount of gifts you...
spousal

Spousal Advantages

When it comes to the spouse inheriting the IRA, the spouse gets special flexibility. (This should make you feel good that you’ll be dead...
ira asset will

IRA Asset Wills

Funds in your IRAs pass outside of your will and are distributed according to beneficiary-designation forms that you fill out when you open the...
charities as IRA Beneficiaries

What About Charities as IRA Beneficiaries?

You may think that it’s a nice thing to leave some of your unused retirement funds to charity when you go. Generally, this a...
non-spouse beneficiary

Separate Account for Non-spouse Beneficiaries

There are non-tax reasons to create separate trusts for beneficiaries: Individual Life Expectancies Can Be Used. Avoid Beneficiary Disagreements. Maintain Separate Investment Strategies by Beneficiary. Beneficiaries Have Option...
e

Properly Naming Beneficiaries

The Stretch IRA The stretch IRA is the ability of the named beneficiaries to spread required post-death distributions over their life expectancy according to the...
bankruptcy laws

The Bankruptcy Law

The Bankruptcy Abuse Protection and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) simultaneously increased, in some cases substantially, the creditor protection available to retirement accounts...
estate planning

Why It’s Not Only Those Over 70½ Who Are at Risk

Retirees of any age with large IRAs must understand that their IRAs can be hit with estate and income taxes when they die. And...
protecting nest egg

Protect the IRA Value

Life insurance Earlier, we showed how a large IRA in a significant estate can be burdened with an 86% combined tax (federal income tax, state...