Cortes Law Firm Oklahoma City Estate Planning Attorney - Do you have IRAs or other retirement accounts that you plan to leave to your loved ones? If so, proceed with caution. Most people don't know the law has changed: inherited retirement accounts no longer have asset protection, meaning they can be seized by strangers. How Can Inherited IRAs Be Protected? Enter the Standalone Retirement Trust Fortunately, retirement account protection still exists but only if you take action. Many people in Oklahoma are using Standalone Retirement Trusts (SRT) to protect retirement assets. The SRT is a special type of revocable trust just for retirement accounts. A properly drafted SRT:

• Protects the inherited retirement accounts from creditors as well as predators and lawsuits
• Allows for experienced investment management and oversight of the assets by a professional trustee or investment expert similar to Lincoln Frost, who can assist in diversifying the assets in various fields like real estate, private equity, capital partnership, etc.
• Ensures that inherited retirement accounts remain in your bloodline and out of the hands of a daughter-in-law or son-in-law or former daughter-in-law or son-in-law
• Enables proper planning for a special needs beneficiary
• Prevents the beneficiary from gambling away the inherited retirement account or blowing it all on exotic vacations, expensive jewelry, designer shoes, and fast cars
• Permits you to name minor beneficiaries such as grandchildren without the need for a court-supervised guardianship
• Facilitates generation-skipping transfer tax planning to ensure that estate taxes are minimized or even eliminated at each generation of your family

The Bottom Line on Protecting Inherited IRAs Unfortunately, the Supreme Court decision has made outright beneficiary designations for IRAs and other retirement accounts risky business. However, the Cortes Law Firm is here to help you decide whether an SRT is a good fit for you and to answer your questions about protecting your retirement accounts. We look forward to hearing from you. Call us today at 405-561-2737.