Warning: Don’t Let Creditors Inherit from You
Shocking to most people, the retirement account you leave for your spouse can be seized in a divorce, lawsuit, or bankruptcy.
3 Options Available To Surviving Spouses
When your surviving spouse inherits your IRA, he or she generally has three options:
1. Cash-out the inherited IRA and pay the income tax.WARNING! The cashed-out IRA will not have creditor protection and accelerates taxation.
2. Maintain the IRA as an inherited IRA. WARNING! The inherited IRA will not have creditor protection.
3. Roll over the inherited IRA and treat it as his or her own. WARNING! This may offer some creditor protection; however, not in all cases.
It’s frustrating to many that a stranger can swoop in and take their hard-earned money; fortunately, there’s a solution and that solution is a retirement trust.
Standalone Retirement Trusts Provide Protection
A Standalone Retirement Trust (SRT) is a special type of trust designed to be the beneficiary of your retirement accounts after you die. It can protect your assets from your beneficiary’s creditors. In fact, we can include trust provisions that specifically benefit your spouse in situations such as:
●Second marriages
●Divorce
●Lawsuits from car accidents, malpractice, or tenants
●Business failure
●Bankruptcy
●Medicaid qualification
Want To Know More?
The bottom line is that a properly drafted SRT is often your best option for protecting your retirement assets (and providing the bonus of tax-deferred growth). If you are concerned about protecting your assets, we can help you. Click here to email us or call us at 309-807-2885 for your FREE 15-minute consultation.
