Anybody who is considering how to structure their Minnesota IRA Investment, should think twice about who they are giving their money to.
Bad Investments, Ponzi-Schemes, and Unscrupulous Companies
I was recently made aware of an article written in the Minneapolis Star Tribune about a potential ponzi-scheme-like investments right here in Minneapolis.
Another Minnesota estate planning attorney sent me this article in response to a question that had been posed to me by a potential client. I was shocked at the article and I am very glad I asked for some help.
Please read the article.
In my law practice, I am often faced with the situation where my clients want to get the most out of their retirement investments. I understand that completely. I want that for my retirement investments too. However, there are limits to what you can do.
Essentially, some people who contact me want their money now instead of at retirement. To me, this is a control issue. The money placed into a retirement account is placed there tax-free so that it can be saved for retirement. Allowing people to essentially utilize their retirement accounts whenever they want would make those retirement accounts illusory and no different than ordinary income.
As such, I wanted to point out to any readers that there are people and companies who – like Bernard Madoff – will try to take your investment money for their own purposes. They may tell you that they have a plan that will make you a lot of money. They may tell you that they don’t give “legal advice” but that there “plan” is a perfectly reasonable thing to do. Don’t believe them. I can’t tell you how often I get asked these types of questions by my clients. Is this legal? Is this a good idea? My response is that if you are asking me, then it is probably not a good idea.
At the end of the day, my legal advice to my clients is to be prudent, reasonable, and thoughtful about what they are doing with their retirement money. If you think you are somehow getting away with something or circumventing the law, I have found that you get caught eventually.
-This article was written by Joseph M. Flanders of Flanders Law Firm LLC, a Minnesota trusts and estate planning attorney.
