Feb 15, 2023
Have you ever found yourself needing to tighten a screw, but you couldn’t find a screwdriver? Admit it. You went to a kitchen drawer and pulled out a butterknife, didn’t you? Once the project was complete, you probably returned the knife to the drawer slightly bent at its tip, because a butter knife isn’t a screwdriver. Would you have consider buttering a piece of bread with a screwdriver? Let’s hope not. Here’s the thing – Use the correct tool for the correct purpose. I see this time and time again with people who tell me that their 401k or their IRA is a retirement plan. Neither is a plan. They’re both accounts, a place to accumulate money. In fact, there are many advisors who spend countless hours working with these products to try and create a retirement plan and I’ve met many attorneys who try to coordinate ways of alleviating the problems associated with these retirement accounts to correct estate planning problems or mistakes. You may believe that your account is a plan. You may also believe that a butter knife is a screwdriver. Neither is.