Thread: Lawsuits

Originally Posted by JTH

Tom

Let's say the neighbors bear continuously poops on my sidewalk and I zap it with a stun gun.

Can the neighbor sue me for my TSP money?

Is my TSP money protected from lawsuits?

Not Tom, but I'll join in. Assuming(there is that word again) that your neighbors' bear is domesticated,(who would have a tame bear??...silly) don't take it out on the animal...they don't know any better. May I suggest taking a bag and pooper scooper to the neighbor and, um hum, ask him/her to clean up after their pet. If they are an arse, then sap them.

Your TSP and IRA money is safe everything else is fair game.

Originally Posted by Show-me

Your TSP and IRA money is safe everything else is fair game.

-Show-me, does the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) serve as the basis for concluding that our TSP accounts and IRA's are protected? I don't know because the idea of lawsuits had not crossed my mind before and I haven't done the research.

The quote below seems to specifically reference the state of Wisconsin, which leads me to think that certain rules may vary according to the state involved. I'm also not sure if the protection applies to any legal action, or if it only applies to bankruptcy cases. What I've been able to find so far specifically applies to bankruptcy, without mentioning private law suits. I am not challenging your statement. I'm saying "I don't know".


IV. Retirement Account Contributions. Assets contributed to a qualified retirement plan are exempt from the claims of creditors because of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Thus, an effective creditor protection strategy is to contribute to qualified retirement plans to the maximum extent permitted by the Internal Revenue Code. Wisconsin state law also exempts individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from the claims of creditors. Unfortunately, in the case of an owner/employee of a Wisconsin business (as defined by the Wisconsin statutes), the creditor exemption for IRA benefits is limited to amounts reasonably necessary for the support of the individual and his/her dependents.
Non-qualified (or deferred compensation) plans may also provide creditor protection if the amounts contributed to the plan are held in a trust agreement which contains a "spendthrift clause," such a clause prevents the creditors from attaching the trust assets. Because the limits on qualified plan contributions imposed by ERISA do not apply to non-qualified plans, such plans can be an attractive creditor protection technique for business owners.

https://www.estatecounselors.com/Concepts/article31.htm

http://www.investorguide.com/igu-art...-lawsuits.html

http://www.google.com/search?source=...law+suits&aq=f

I was only speaking of a civil lawsuit, bankruptcy is a different animal. Remember the whole O.J. civil case and the Goldman family could not tough his NFL retirement.