Parlay Your IRA Into a Family Fortune

I learned so much about inherited or stretch IRAs on the first read. Now I read selected chapters over again and really like Ed Slott's style of writing and his sincerity. A real life changer and highly recommended!

I think I understood the underlying theme of this book, but the author made it more difficult to read and understand than need be. It seemed he was trying to be either clever or funny to the detriment of the content.

Ed Slott is considered THE expert on stretch IRA's. Book is aimed at investors who will probably die before depleting their IRA funds. It explains how to structure a stretch IRA to pass this money on to future generations with minimal taxation. Book is better organized than Slott's previous books. It is very readable. I keep it for a reference and have purchased additional copies for gifts.

This book focuses on ensuring that your IRA is properly set up, so that it can be passed on to beneficiaries intact, effectively establishing a "stretch IRA". The stretch IRA describes an IRA held by a beneficiary, and which will pay out over their lifetime. This book is very well organized, and the author is clearly very enthusiastic about his subject. He does quite well making his case, that you should ensure your IRA passes intact to a beneficiary, in that it can offer them HUGE tax advantages for their entire life time. He is also quite good about explaining the steps you need to achieve this. Much of the book is reference material that will not apply to everyone at any given time, but that is not a real criticism. The book is cheap enough, and the sections that apply to all are worth the entire purchase price. If you have an IRA, and you have any desire to pass your assets along to a beneficiary, this book is an excellent starting point.

Ed does a great job on giving you detailed information of how to stretch your IRA assets for the next generation. He also does a great job of including information on how to write your trust so that you can control your assets beyond the grave. This is mainly important for clients who have lots of assets in their IRAs or for people who just pass away before they use their IRA assets. Since you don't know when you are going to pass away, I think it is important to get your trust and your IRA beneficiaries set up as soon as possible. One downside of this book is that Ed seems to sell more of his stuff - his newsletter and his training. If you read his books, I think you have most of the information you need unless you run into very complicated situations. If that happens, then I would suggest getting a good financial advisor, CPA, and an estate planning lawyer to assist you.