Estate Issue
Father dies on 12/20/20 leaving an IRA that’s inherited 50% by son and 50% by daughter. Son dies on 12/23/20 without a will. Daughter is the sole remaining beneficiary of both her father’s and brother’s estates. Is there any way to keep the brother’s 50% share of his father’s IRA intact to get it to the daughter so that the son’s portion doesn’t get liquidated to his estate?
Permalink Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Sat, 2021-12-04 01:59
An IRA custodian has no authority to make a distribution to the estate that is not requested. The 10 year rule that applies to the son continues for his estate, so there are no RMD distributions required for years. Meanwhile, the executor of son’s estate should be able to assign the inherited IRA out of the estate to the estate beneficiary, the daughter. She will then have one (if combined) or two inherited IRA accounts that she will be in full control of. They must both be fully distributed by 12/31/2030.