Keeping Benefits Safe From CreditorsKeeping Benefits Safe From Creditors

Thomas C. Foster, director, McCandlish Holton, PC, Richmond, Va.

Only a minority of clients seem to be aware of the need to protect accumulated tax-qualified retirement benefits¹ from potential future creditors. In my practice, it's often older physicians who want to make asset protection a centerpiece of their estate planning. That's because a doctor's retirement account typically holds a large portion of his wealth, and the threat to this wealth is so clear: medical malpractice claims threaten the fruit of his life's work.²

But many clients hold substantial assets in retirement plans and could benefit from creditor protection planning. And that planning has changed significantly as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court's April 4 decision in...