Should You Consider an IRA Trust?

If you have significant assets in an IRA or other tax-qualified retirement plan, consider setting up a special type of revocable living trust designed to be the beneficiary of your IRA after you pass called an IRA Trust. The benefits of an IRA Trust are: Asset Protection: If you are married and your surviving spouse inherits your IRA, it becomes part of his or her estate and could potentially be given to a new spouse should the surviving spouse remarry. Alternatively, an IRA Trust can provide the surviving spouse the financial benefits of the IRA, like required minimum distributions, but he or she cannot change beneficiaries in the future. The trust will also protect the IRA from a surviving spouse’s lawsuits and creditor claims during his or her lifetime. Legacy Planning: An IRA Trust can hold an IRA for the benefit of your children or grandchildren up to a certain age or stage of life. In addition, the trust is not subjected to the beneficiary’s lawsuits, bankruptcies, or creditor liens. Clarity: Although your IRA can pass to a typical revocable living trust, many financial institutions have trouble interpreting the successor Trustee’s ability to separate the IRA from other nontax qualified, trust-held assets like personal property, brokerage investments, bank accounts, and debts. The IRA Trust provides clarity because there is a single purpose, and it is not commingled in with your personal estate making the administration of your IRA more efficient.
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