Guest article by Joseph Seagle:

One of the benefits of holding assets in an IRA is that the assets in the account are not subject to claims of the beneficiary’s creditors. This makes the IRA an asset protection tool in addition to its benefits as a retirement planning tool. Without careful planning, this protection may be thwarted.

A common scenario for lawyers: The client purchased a home directly into his self-directed IRA, using IRA funds. After renovating the property, he flipped it for a nice $27,000.00 tax-free profit within the real estate IRA. Frantically, months later, he calls his attorney who advised him during the purchase. His IRA custodian was just served with a lawsuit alleging that the seller-IRA failed to disclose latent defects in the property such as PB plumbing in the walls and asbestos ducts running under insulation in the attic. While facts are disputed, the IRA is going to have to defend the lawsuit at great expense. If it loses, the IRA’s other assets are up for grabs. The lawyer quickly reviews his malpractice insurance policy for coverage and notification requirements.

A prudent attorney will advise the client to never purchase real estate directly into the IRA’s name. Instead, an entity should be inserted between the IRA and the real estate. To do this, many attorneys will recommend that the IRA’s custodian be the sole member of an LLC. However, the asset protection abilities of the single-member LLC have been called into question by recent court decisions, and the lack of confidentiality may make the IRA a target nonetheless.

A Florida land trust holding title to the property would be cheaper, faster, and provides anonymity of ownership. A third party independent land trustee ensures the beneficiaries’ anonymity and confidentiality. The IRA custodian would be the sole beneficiary of the land trust, or it could be a co-beneficiary with other entities, individuals, or even other IRA custodial accounts. A simple co-beneficiary agreement would be used to spell out the sharing of responsibilities and profits. And, better yet, in this case, the lawsuit would have been filed against the land trust whose only asset was the property it had just sold to the buyers, negating the need to defend the lawsuit.

Each morning as our bare feet hit the floor beside our bed, we are in fact one day closer to retirement age.  Those of us who are W2 employees may have our employers set aside a portion of our earnings in our company retirement plans.  We choose the funds we are offered and then hope that earnings will outpace the expected inflationary future.

Trouble is, often our retirement savings don’t work as hard as we do – largely around the choices we make.  Many try to time the market, pulling their money out of stocks and bonds at “just the right time”.  The trouble with the market-timing strategy is that there are no earnings while on the sidelines.  With a self-directed IRA from NuView IRA, you have more ways to keep your money invested than simply riding the ups and downs of the stock market.

For example, one of our clients owns rental properties and lends money from his real estate IRA.  Both of those categories of investments produce a cash flow into his custodial IRA account. The $2,300 per month payments received by his IRA are aggregated into a $10,000 fund that is used, combined with a hard money lender, to purchase mortgage notes.

Another investor who prefers to purchase tax liens has addressed their use of cash differently. She has a brokerage account opened under the Administration of NuView and requests a transfer of the cash as it moves into her IRA. She can invest in the public markets, building funds for the next tax-lien auction.

Many of us have multiple IRA accounts, perhaps a Roth, Traditional or even an HSA.  The ability to partner those funds together into one investment can also be a great tool for smaller balance accounts.  For example, a NuView client can purchase real estate through a tenancy in common titling, partnering several accounts together. A property priced at $50,000 can be purchased with 10% of Roth IRA funds and 90% of traditional IRA funds (titling would be NuView IRA FBO Client Roth IRA as to an undivided 10% and Nuview IRA FBO Client Traditional IRA as to an undivided 90%).

Saving consistently and investing wisely is likely the only formula to achieve your dream of retirement.  Unless you are fortunate enough to be retired, you likely spend most days working for your present.  Make sure your IRA is working as well for your future.

Glen Mather is President of NuView IRA, Inc., a national leading self-directed IRA administrator based out of Orlando, Florida. He can be contacted at 407-367-3472 or gmather@nuviewira.com.

In November of 2012, American Airlines declared bankruptcy and as a result, thousands of their senior pilots are now being forced to make decisions regarding their B-Fund retirement accounts. According to American Airlines, the pilots were given 3 options with their funds and were told to make a decision by early April, with the funds available to roll through June. These options include:

• Roll it into a qualified IRA.
• Roll it into the American Airlines Super Saver 401(k).
• Take a taxable lump sum distribution.

Because the 401(k) offers only a restricted choice of potential investments and the lump sum would trigger tax penalties, most of these American Airlines pilots are seeking additional information regarding IRAs and in turn, becoming increasingly interested in self-directed IRAs because of the flexibility this type of IRA provides. In fact, it has been estimated that roughly 9,000 pilots will be rolling their funds over into a self-directed IRA during the coming months.

Self-direction drastically expands your investment options from a short list offered for traditional IRAs to a wide variety of investments including real estate, tax liens, stocks, bonds, notes, mortgages, precious metals, and other investments.

We at NuView are committed to helping investors learn all they can about self-direction and how to use it to invest in alternative investments and grow their retirement nest egg. Check out our Seminars and Webinars page on our website to discover the upcoming seminars, workshops, meetings, and webinars that can help you as you seek to make wise investment choices.

Many think that their tax bill is set in stone at the end of the year. However, this is not necessarily true. Although most money saving options to defer income or increase deductions are limited after December 31^st of the previous year, there are still a few things you can do to help lower your taxes. In fact, Turbo Tax listed “contributing to retirement accounts” as the number one way to lower taxes after January 1^st.

In her recent article entitled “Claim This Last-Minute Tax Break”, Emily Brandon of US News explains, “If an employee who is in the 25 percent tax bracket contributes $5,000 to a traditional IRA, he will save $1,250 on his current tax bill. He is able to defer paying income on that $5,000 until the money is withdrawn… And if you drop into the 15 percent tax bracket in retirement, you will only pay $750 in taxes on that $5,000 later when you withdraw it.”

The deadline to fund your retirement account, both traditional IRA and Roth IRA, is April 15, 2013. Making a deductible contribution will help you lower your tax bill this year. Plus, your contributions will compound tax-deferred. For 2012, the maximum IRA contribution you can make is $5,000 ($6,000 if you are age 50 or older by the end of the year).

The tax savings from making an IRA contribution in April has the potential to be huge. Over time, you may even end up saving thousands on your taxes, depending on your contribution, income tax bracket, and the number of years you keep the money invested.

Give our Florida self-directed IRA administrators a call today at 407-367-3472 to learn more about your IRA options including self-directed IRAs and real estate IRAs!  We at NuView IRA are educators and administrators, not brokers or dealers, so call us today. And as always, we wish you all the best in your investments!

It’s that time of year again when tax reports start showing up in the mail and you receive your W-2 from your employer. Yes – it’s almost tax season again! Have you thought about what you will do with your tax refund this year?

Like any sudden in-flow of cash, your tax refund presents an opportunity to spend your money wisely or foolishly. While it would definitely be easy to blow the cash on something fun, like the latest iPhone or perhaps the hottest Coach purse, it may be wise to pay down some of your debt and/or invest in saving plans that can help you grow your retirement nest egg.

Here are some ideas to help you make the most of your tax refund this year:

Eliminate Debt: Interest has the potential to build quickly, so consider using your tax refund this year to pay off a portion of your outstanding debt, whether it is credit card debt, student loans, or a mortgage. It is smart to pay off the debt with the highest interest rate first.

Save: Most financial experts will recommend having at least 6 months of monthly income set aside for emergencies, but really any amount is better than none.

Give to Charity: Increase your charitable donations or give to those who are in need. If you need a suggestion about a great charity to participate in, check out the 2013 Hero Games, an event benefiting the Wheelchair Foundation. Your donation and participation can help provide wheelchairs to those who need them.

Invest: Consider investment options that can help you grow your wealth, such as IRAs, 401ks, etc. With a self-directed IRA, an investor can grow his or her retirement funds in traditional as well as non-traditional investments, providing more control over investment choices.

At NuView IRA, we hold many educational seminars and webinars to help you get the most out of your investment choices. At these educational events, you can learn everything from how to protect your investments to how to buy real estate with a self-directed IRA. We are educators and administrators, not brokers or dealers. Call our company of experienced self-directed IRA administrators in Florida at 407-367-3472 to discuss your investment options with a self-directed IRA.