Both the decedent and the beneficiary must be shown on the registration. The order does not matter, and the inherited IRA custodian may have a preference based on their processing platform. The IRS apparently prefers, ” John Smith Jr, as beneficiary of Mary Smith”, but again this is not a requirement.

Remember that the son can also convert all or part of this 401k to an inherited Roth IRA, if he wishes. In addition, if the 401k holds highly appreciated employer stock shares, perhaps those shares should be transferred to a taxable account where the gains would be taxed at the lower LT cap gain rate upon their sale.

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