Is your IRA safe from creditors?

Description

Abstract: If a substantial portion of a person’s wealth is in one or more IRAs, protecting the assets in those accounts is critical to his or her estate plan. IRAs provide significant benefits, including tax-deferred wealth accumulation during life and, with proper planning, during the lives of the IRA’s beneficiaries. This article examines the extent to which IRAs are protected from creditors, depending on such factors as whether the claims are brought in a bankruptcy context, the IRA owner’s state and whether the IRA is an “inherited IRA.”