A friend of mine, who was paying college tuition for twins, once said to me that you should borrow for college expenses because you cannot borrow to pay retirement expenses. While this is true, the reality is that sometimes we may have to look at funding some of our children's higher education expenses from whatever assets we can find, including our retirement accounts.
This week's Slott Report Mailbag includes some detailed questions (retirement planning is complicated, you know!) on Roth IRA conversion taxes, excess IRA contributions and the process of combining Roth IRA accounts. Click to read a Q&A with our IRA Technical Consultant.
We are in a now all too familiar position. We don't know what the estate tax rules will be in 2013. The exemption amount is scheduled to drop back to $1,000,000 per person, and it will not be portable. We have no idea what Congress may or may not do about the situation. And, because 2012 is an election year, they may not do anything until late in 2013 or perhaps early in 2014. Do you need a trust to protect your estate tax exemption, or don't you? Should you name a trust as the beneficiary of your IRA, or not?
We frequently see situations where the estate is the IRA beneficiary either because the beneficiary form was never completed, has been lost by the IRA custodian, or, worst of all, the account owner actually named the estate as the beneficiary of the IRA. What options do you have when the estate inherits the IRA? We explain below.
We frequently see situations where minors are the intended beneficiaries of IRA accounts or employer plans. It could be that grandparents want to benefit their minor grandchildren or it could be single parents who want to provide for their minor children. No matter what the circumstances, there are some issues when minors inherit retirement assets.
You made after tax-contributions to your IRA. How does IRS know that you have after-tax money in your IRA? We explain below.
IRS recently completed a SEP plan compliance project and found errors by both the SEP employer and by the financial institution filing SEP contribution information. Below we outline the errors made by the employers and the financial institutions.
Happy Friday! So, let's say you are leaving or have left your employer. What happens to your retirement plan funds? There are options other than taking a taxable distribution of your retirement account balance.
This week's Slott Report Mailbag includes questions on Roth conversions and contributions, the always-confusing Roth IRA 5-year rules and creditor protection for IRAs. Happy a happy, healthy Memorial Day weekend and thank you to the servicemen and women who risk their lives daily to defend and protect us.
Wills have been around for a long time. The oldest known will was found in a tomb in Egypt and dates to 2548 BC. It doesn't matter if you are young, old, or in-between; if you own property - you need a will.
