This month, we are going to revisit a topic which is at once one of the most important and misunderstood in all of financial and estate planning.
For many of our clients, 401Ks, IRAs, other retirement plans and/or annuities are one of the largest estate assets - but how do these assets fit into our clients' multi-faceted planning goals if all we have is a beneficiary designation to work with?
This month, we will explore the complex intersection of estate planning goals and retirement plan options. Concerns to be addressed include:
• If my will or trust has one beneficiary, but my IRA has a different one, who gets the plan proceeds?
• Should my 401K be titled in a trust? Who should the beneficiary be?
• What does a good estate plan say about long term care, nursing home stays, and in home care?
• How can my retirement plan prevent a Medicaid qualification?
• How can I make sure my young, irresponsible or incapacitated children don't get money the wrong way at the wrong time? What about my children's spouses?
• Why are IRA or 401K assets called "red money"? Don't the taxes go away if I die (no!) Who pays the taxes, and when?
• Am I one of the many at risk of paying unnecessary estate tax if I name a spouse as beneficiary of my IRA or 401K?
• If I name my spouse as a beneficiary, and my beneficiary dies before I do, how do I keep a court from administering my IRA or 401K?
• What is a "stretch IRA"? Should I have one?
• When does a court manage my IRA or 401K?
• Can my IRA be subject to BOTH estate and income tax?
• How can I use the concerns above in a client meeting to improve the client's outcome just as I accomplish my own practice goals?
Please join me on Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 7:30 a.m. at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club for an informal, timely and informative discussion of:
"PROPER ESTATE PLANNING AND THE ROLE OF THE RETIREMENT PLAN: MIXING OIL AND WATER"