Is Your IRA Safe From Creditors?

By Jim Glass, JD

IRA Analyst

Suppose you unexpectedly incur a major liability, from a lawsuit or some other unforeseen cause. Will the funds in your IRA be protected from your creditors? Maybe ... or maybe not. Here are the rules:

The Markets (as of market close May 31, 2018)

Despite a sell-off on the last day of the month, equities held enough of their gains to post mostly positive month-over-month returns. The Trump administration imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on Canada, Mexico, and the European Union.

Gary attends Ed Slott IRA Retirement Training

Gary completed his semiannual training with America’s IRA Experts at Ed Slott and Company, LLC in Philadelphia May 17-19, 2018.

Marriage and Money: Taking a Team Approach to Retirement

Now that it's fairly common for families to have two wage earners, many husbands and wives are accumulating assets in separate employer-sponsored retirement accounts.

Mid-Year Planning: Tax Changes to Factor In

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, passed in December of last year, fundamentally changes the federal tax landscape for both individuals and businesses. Many of the provisions in the legislation are permanent, others (including most of the tax cuts that apply to individuals) expire at the end of 2025.

Madison Planning Group Vice President, Rochelle Odesser, was a guest on the Ask Beatty radio show. Rochelle discussed how women can empower themselves financially both personally and professionally.

What are the gift and estate tax rules after tax reform?

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, signed into law in December 2017, approximately doubled the federal gift and estate tax basic exclusion amount to $11.18 million in 2018 (adjusted for inflation in later years). After 2025, the exclusion is scheduled to revert to its pre-2018 level and be cut approximately in half.

The Roth Conversion Conversation

When you convert funds to a Roth IRA, your pre-tax funds will be included in your income in the year of the conversion. This will increase your income for the year of the conversion, which may impact deductions, credits, exemptions, phase-outs AMT (alternative minimum tax), the taxation of your Social Security benefits and more.

The Markets (as of market close April 30, 2018)

April was marked by the impending tariff war between the United States and China. Tensions between the world's two largest economies certainly affected stocks both home and abroad. Escalating strife in Syria posed an additional reason for investors to be concerned.

The College Landscape After Tax Reform

College students and their parents dodged a major bullet with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.