RMD for Trust Beneficiary
An IRA owner died last year at age 48, leaving her IRA to a Trust for her children. The oldest child is 13. Are we allowed to look through the trust to use the single-life expectancy of the oldest child in order to calculate the required minimum distribution, or are we limited to a 5 year payout?
Permalink Submitted by Alan Spross on Tue, 2011-02-01 17:16
If the trust is qualified for look through treatment per requirements on p 38 of Pub 590 (09 edition), then the RMDs can be based on the single life expectancy of the oldest trust beneficiary. Separate account rules do not apply to trust beneficiaries.
What the trust does with these RMDs will vary considerably per terms of the trust, and state law with respect to guardians for minors. Note the deadline to provide trust documentation to the IRA custodian is 10/31 of this year.