Wealth protection encompasses all aspects of financial planning to preserve the pot of gold you’ve worked so hard to create.  Wealth planning is more than investing in U.S. Treasuries.

An IRA account is the simplest form of wealth protection.  It provides some level of protection from creditor claims, it can defer tax on account contributions and earnings, tax rules encourage maintaining the account for the long-term with annual contributions and savings, and it can hold a wide variety of investment assets.

Unfortunately, an IRA is a poor estate tax reduction vehicle, provides little protection from the IRS or bankruptcy court, can cause retirees to incur high ordinary tax rates with forced distributions, and cannot hold closely held businesses or real estate.  This begs the question, should I fund an IRA?  The answer is probably yes, but you may also need a number of other vehicles to assist in your overall wealth planning. 

Corporations, partnerships and trusts provide alternative wealth protection advantages.  Legal devices such as a prenuptial agreement or insurance rider can provide protection from specific events.  Foreign jurisdictions can provide protection with more favorable forums or legal statutes than may be available in the U.S.  Use of these tools generally requires a team of experts that your CPA can field.