Transfer Ownership of Inherited IRA?
Is there any circumstance (outside of charity or disclaimer) that a non-spouse beneficiary can assign the ownership of an inherited IRA or Roth IRA? I don’t believe that this can be done but have an interesting situation where it would be advantageous to transfer ownership to a trust. Of course the original beneficiary designation could have done this but it was set to go outright and I’m afraid we’re stuck but I could be wrong.
Permalink Submitted by Alan Spross on Wed, 2011-03-09 20:19
Only exception I can think of would be a special needs trust if that is the situation. See PLR 2006 20025.
Permalink Submitted by Bruce Steiner on Wed, 2011-03-09 20:53
Except for the situation Alan pointed out, and transfers by reason of death, I am not aware of any authority that would allow any transfers of IRAs by beneficiaries. But I think one could make an argument that such transfers (by beneficiaries of deceased IRA owners, not by living IRA owners) should be allowed. If the amount involved is sufficient, it might be worth applying for a private letter ruling.
Bruce Steiner