You have worked your whole life for your retirement benefits. In order to ensure that your benefits are passed on to those you love after your death, you should carefully consider your estate planning options. Failing to do so can result in costly tax consequences and other detrimental effects.
The Roberts Law Firm, P.C., advises clients in complex estate planning matters. If you want to learn ways in which to protect your retirement benefits so they are distributed according to your preferences, contact a St. Louis estate planning for retirement benefits attorney today.
Missouri IRA Planning Attorneys
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The Importance of Naming the Correct Beneficiary
If you name your estate as the beneficiary for your IRA, a required lump-sum distribution will be triggered after your death. This could end up costing your family a lot in income tax.
If you want to name multiple children as beneficiaries, so that each one can get an IRA, 401(k) plan, or retirement fund distribution over their lifetime, talk to an attorney from our firm. If this is your second marriage and you wish to pass on retirement benefits to your children but not to your spouse's, we can discuss ways in which to do so.
With proper estate planning, it is possible to designate that your beneficiaries receive a lifetime income stream as opposed to a lump sum payment. This is known as "stretching out" retirement benefit payments.
Conduit Trusts
Conduit trusts are designed to preserve and protect the distributions of an IRA or other retirement fund so the funds are not mismanaged by a beneficiary. This is especially useful if the beneficiary is a minor child. For example, a grandparent would not want his or her five-year-old grandchild to receive a large sum of money. Through proper estate planning, those assets can be protected until the grandchild is old enough to manage his or her finances.
Once established, a conduit trust receives the distributions from an IRA or retirement fund, and holds them until they are passed on to the designated beneficiary.
Contact Us to Learn How We Can Help With Retirement Benefit Planning
To learn how we can help you protect your retirement benefits and pass them along to your beneficiaries, contact a lawyer from our firm by calling 866.585.3690.
