This is really surprising, most people think if you leave a retirement account to your spouse is protected from creditors; it probably is not. The funds from the retirement account could be taken in a divorce, lawsuits or bankruptcy.
Three paths for surviving spouses
When you leave an
So, you want to disinherit your spouse? Maybe you can, maybe you can’t.
In most of the United States, it is not easy to disinherit your spouse. The same is not true for other family members. Most of the time you can use your estate plan to disinherit brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews or even your very
Every complex subject has its own myths and misconceptions. Estate planning is no exception. Here are three things that you should understand in order to help you create and maintain a plan that will work for you the way you want it to when you need it to.
Estate Planning Myth #1 – You Don’t Need
U.S. Supreme Court Rules Inherited IRAs are Not Protected from Creditors
On June 12, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court—in a unanimous decision—ruled that Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) inherited by anyone other than a spouse are not retirement assets and as a result will not be protected from the beneficiary’s creditors in bankruptcy.
The rationale behind this is
A recent Forbes article claims that ‘70% of intergenerational wealth transfers fail,’ discussing a new Williams Group study examining the long-term effects of wealth transfers in 3,250 families. ‘Failure,’ according to the study, means situations where the heirs dissipated wealth, often with the family assets becoming a source of friction and dispute.
The researchers were quick