By now, we are betting that many of you have been inundated with information about converting your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. For those of you that did not stop to look at any of these items, the buzz is about the fact that ANY taxpayer (regardless of income on your tax return) can convert traditional IRAs to a Roth IRA starting in 2010 by paying the tax on the converted amount. One major benefit about Roth IRAs is that they grow and remain tax FREE when taking withdrawals, not just tax deferred like a traditional IRA. But that is not enough information to make a decision. GCD decided that instead of inundating our clients with yet another document that might make your head explode, we are offering a one-on-one phone call or meeting to discuss either your or your spouses personalized situation - at no charge for our time! (if you are a current client). We know that this is an important issue to consider and there is no way to offer a seminar or whitepaper because everybody's situation is different. 
  
If you would in fact like our assistance in determining if a conversion in 2010 would be appropriate for you, we ask that you answer ALL of the preliminary questions listed below so we can start to prepare the proper analysis and then have a meaningful dialogue with you. If you are unsure of an answer, just type "unsure". You must enter an answer for all questions. There will be other issues to discuss with you relative to this conversion. Be sure to answer the questions for only you, not your spouse. If you would like to do this analysis for your spouse too, you will need to answer the questions again and submit them to us.
 
 
Name *
Email or phone number to reach you *
When is your birthday (mm/dd/yy)? *
At what age do you plan to no longer have wages? *
What is the total value of your traditional IRAs (if any) today? *
What is the total value of your Roth IRAs (if any) today? *
What is the total value of your 401k, or any other retirement plan at work, (if any) today? *
What is the total value of any other assets you have, including joint assets and spouse retirement accounts? *
How much money have you put into your non-deductible portion of IRAs, if any, over the years? *
If we did not prepare your tax returns last years, what is the highest marginal income tax rate you are in today, based on your last year's tax return? *
What is the highest marginal income tax rate you expect to be in when you plan to take money out of your IRAs? *
Other than a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) (by law, this is approximately 4% of the total value of all your IRAs once you turn 70.5), do you think you would need to draw more out of these IRA accounts to fund your lifestyle or major purchases? *
This decision will be impacted if you do not have the cash to pay roughly 30% of the amount converted in income tax using funds that are OUTSIDE of these converted accounts. Do you have that amount of cash elsewhere to pay this tax? *
Are you able to leave this money in the Roth for at least 5 years or would you need the money sooner? *
In order for us to calculate the impact this decision might have on estate taxes, do you anticipate dying with an estate value greater than $3,500,000? *
Check here if you would like more information about our Financial Life Planner Yes, let's discuss with this analysis
 
Please be patient after pressing this SEND button. It will take a minute or so.
Once we receive these answers, we will review them, contact you if we need additional information, and then prepare an analysis. We can then either get together or discuss on the phone. We truly feel that this method will be the most productive and conclusive for you and your family.

Please see our Financial Life Planner� (FLP) to learn more about our process and how we can put together your life's financial picture in such a way that you will be able to address other important financial issues both now and later on in your life.