Self directed IRA and Asset Protection

[Victor A.]

I am new to this site and am really impressed by the large group of knowledgeable individuals contributing to the forums. I've learned a ton of information about self-directed IRAs and am planning to take the "checkbook IRA" LLC route in the near future.

What I haven't seen, and I might have missed, is a discussion about Asset Protection of self-directed IRA assets. I'm not even sure if it's worth worrying about, but would appreciate your opinions. Although I'm headed in the LLC direction, I think the topic is also relevant for a standard custodial SD IRA.

Say I buy 3-4 small rental properties with my SD IRA. Should I be concerned that someone sues my SD IRA (whether custodial or LLC) due to injuries at one of the properties? They would potentially have access to the full assets of the SD IRA. The example I'm thinking of is in the case of a serious injury - say someone gets electrocuted, or falls out of a window.

Has anyone considered opening up multiple SD IRAs for Asset Protection purposes? Perhaps you could use one SD IRA LLC custodian and have him set up multiple, independent LLCs.

I'm just not sure what I should consider in the way of asset protection, and would appreciate your thoughts. Thank you in advance.

[Mark Graffagnino]

My 2 cents on SDIRA's- I only lend money from my SDIRA on income properties. In addition to the liability issues you mentioned, with income property one of the best things are the tax advantages, and if the property is owned within an IRA you miss out on some of those. If a property is owned by your IRA you cannot personally benefit in any way or you have created a prohibited transaction by IRS regulations.