Many San Franciscans have IRAs (individual retirement accounts), and unfortunately these days quite a few go bankrupt at some point in their life.  Generally speaking, retirement assets are shielded from creditors in a bankruptcy. So, for example, what happens if Grandma has an IRA but she went bankrupt at some point in the past? She would have shielded her IRA from her creditors.

IRA and Bankruptcy Issues

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Flash forward to 2015.  Grandma passes away, and you are an heir.  Can you inherit that IRA… or can the creditors come back and claim it? If the suspense is killing you, read our September tax bulletin for a more detailed look at this thorny question.

Estate Planning, IRA Assets and San Francisco Tax Needs

We are specialists as one of the top CPA firms in San Francisco for high income individuals in estate planning.  IRAs and retirement accounts, of course, are not the only types of assets that generation one tries to pass down to generation two, all the while avoiding the tax bill. Although Benjamin Franklin said that, in life, two things are certain – death and taxes, we can help with your estate planning needs to minimize the latter. We can’t, unfortunately, do much about the former; though some clean living and a good physician can postpone the inevitable. So take a moment to read this informative article about IRAs, bankruptcy, and inheritance. Then take a moment to consider your own estate planning, and give us a call.