When the IRA beneficiary is an Estate beneficiary is another estate?
Hope you are all well.
An individual passed away in January 2021. The beneficiary of her IRA was her estate. The estate also owned a condo Her only heir was a nephew. He was to receive the entire estate, The Nephew passed away in October 2021 before anything was settled.
Does the IRA need to be liquidated before it can transferred to the nephew’s estate?
Jim McHale
Permalink Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Thu, 2022-01-27 21:56
No. The IRA custodian will want to make a total distribution to her estate to avoid complex legal scenarios, but they cannot require it. The executor can direct the IRA custodian not to make any distribution until it clear in the probate process who or what entity will receive the IRA and it’s distributions either as RMDs or as life expectancy payments. The executors of both estates will have to coordinate settlement according to the wills of each decedent.