Trusteed IRA: Where retirement planning meets estate planning

A good retirement plan includes planning for how your assets will be distributed upon your death or if you become incapacitated. We all want to know that the assets we leave behind are being used the way we intended or if we become incapacitated that our assets will be there to take care of us. Unfortunately, a traditional IRA often does not protect us or our heirs the way we want them to particularly if you are:

• concerned about incapacity,
• remarried and would like to ensure your children from your prior marriage are provided for, and/or
• concerned about the financial sophistication and discipline of your heirs.

In these circumstances, we will often recommend a client consider a Trusteed IRA as it is a vehicle that allows you to have control over how your assets are passed onto your heirs. With a Trusteed IRA, the investor enjoys the benefits of tax-deferred asset accumulation that an IRA offers along with these other benefits:

1. Makes distributing IRA assets to a blended or complex family situation easier and more streamlined.
2. The ability to restrict distributions to beneficiaries, ensuring that the distributions are stretched or distributed on your specified terms.
3. Beneficiaries will be able to maintain the tax deferral benefits offered by an IRA for as long as possible.
4. Avoid the delay and expense of a guardianship or conservatorship as the assets in a Trusteed IRA can transfer to beneficiaries without going through the probate process.
5. Includes language to automatically assign a trustee to take over management should the owner become incapacitated.
6. Stipulates protection against creditor claims even after an IRA is inherited.

This brief,  1 minute video is a quick overview of the Trusteed IRA.

We would be happy to meet with you to determine if the turnkey solution of a Trusteed IRA is right for your personal situation. Send us an  email or contact the office to set up an appointment.

Please note, changes in tax laws or regulations may occur at any time and could substantially impact your situation.  Raymond James financial advisors do not render advice on tax or legal matters.  You should discuss any tax or legal matters with the appropriate professional.  Any information is not a complete summary or statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision and does not constitute a recommendation.