Spousal consent needed on IRA beneficiary form?
A client is legally separated from his wife, but not officially divorced. Does the client need to get a spousal consent from the soon-to-be ex-wife to name someone else as primary beneficiary on his IRA?
Permalink Submitted by mk foss on Mon, 2014-01-20 17:39
The spousal consent rules are for qualified plans not IRAs. However, if the client resides in a community property state, the custodian may request a spousal consent to change the beneficiary to someone other than the spouse. This is not a federal or state requirement but if the custodian requires it, you have a problem. You can wait until the divorce is final or have the IRA transferred to a custodian that does not require spousal consent. I’m not a family law expert but the IRA may be something that comes up in a property settlement so I’m not sure about nontax restrictions on such an action.
Permalink Submitted by Bruce Steiner on Mon, 2014-01-20 23:12
You could live in a community property state and have an IRA that’s separate property. Or you could live in a common law state and have an IRA that’s community property.