Estate as beneficiary

Submitted by CHRISTINE STRONG on Wed, 2015-09-16 15:56

Estate is beneficiary of IRA. IRA owner’s will says everything goes to son. Can’t the IRA be transferred to son as an inherited IRA of which the son is successor beneficiary and neither estate nor son is subject to tax on the transfer? Of course, if there are RMDs or any other distributions from the son’s IRA, the distributions will be subject to tax.
Thank you in advance.



Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Wed, 2015-09-16 21:18

  • Yes, the executor can assign the IRA to the son. This article explains the process:  https://www.ataxplan.com/bulletin-board/notice-to-executors-and-trustees/
  • There is no tax on the assignment because there is no distribution. But the RMD will still be based on the estate beneficiary so the son will either be subject to the 5 year rule if owner passed prior to RBD, or owner’s remaining life expectancy if owner passed post RBD.


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