contingent beneficiaries, per stirpes
Can children (my grandchildren) of a contingent beneficiary share equally, per stirpes, in the payout of my IRA at my death if the original primary beneficiary and that specific contingent beneficiary have pre-deceased me?
I am being told” per stirpes” arrangements so common under trusts are
not possible under IRA regulations.
Permalink Submitted by Alan Spross on Fri, 2008-01-11 21:47
A per stirpes beneficiary designation is entirely possible for an IRA, but dependent on whether a particular custodian will accept that format.
If your current primary and contingent beneficiaries are deceased, you should establish new beneficiaries ASAP. If your contingent beneficiary is deceased, but “per stirpes” follows their name, the funds should pass in that manner equally to the children of the deceased contingent beneficiary.
If your current custodian will not offer a per stirpes designation, you should transfer the IRA to a custodian who will do so.
Permalink Submitted by Bruce Steiner on Sun, 2008-01-13 06:09
Most people who leave their IRAs to (or in trust for) their children would want that if a child died, his/her share would go to (or in trust for) his/her children (the IRA owner’s grandchildren), rather than to their surviving children. What is the issue?
“Equally, per stirpes” is poor drafting, since “equally” and “per stirpes” are inconsistent.