We’ve all done it…..that crack in the sidewalk that most people would have to intentionally attempt to trip over and still maybe not fall…but, we are the ones who do that trip and are always embarrassed over it. When we trip on the crack, we look at the crack as if it jumped up and knocked us over when no one was looking.

The same can happen with our self-directed IRA and 401K plans. While the IRS rules related to what qualified retirement accounts cannot do are not difficult concepts to understand, almost like that crack in the sidewalk, they seem to creep up on some people and trip them up. And just like falling over that crack, some of us almost fall and then realize to our own embarrassment that we almost entered into an IRS prohibited transaction without even intending to do so.

So, what are some common scenarios that can “pop” up and trip us all. Let’s look at a few that have been addressed by this author over the last few months. Continue reading →

I recently received a call from an upset individual who was claiming that he thought he was taken advantage of by a company that had established his self-directed IRA and was administering the IRA under IRS rules. Please note -– this company did not do anything illegal in any way.

This individual….who we will call Jeff…thought that he had done extensive research, selected the company of choice to hold his IRA and was quite sure he understood the fee structure of this IRA custodian. In fact, what led Jeff to be so upset and to turn on his computer and Google some more key words was not the excessive fees he was paying to the custodian to hold his IRA — but rather a very small, tiny “fee” that made him grind his teeth. Continue reading →