Sousal Rollover and RMD distribution
Our client died Sept 2009. He had not taken his RMD, 89 years old. His wife, age 87 at the time, did not roll the IRA into her own because she was debating on disclaiming some of the assets and was working through these issues with her attorney. Today the wife has decided not to disclaim any of the assets and wants to roll her deceased husband’s IRA into her own and she was 100% Primary beneficiary. Do we take the 12/31/2010 value of his IRA and distribute it to her, based on who’s age? Do we do this before we roll the account or after? Or can we roll it, do the calculation with her age and distribute the money?
Permalink Submitted by Alan Spross on Fri, 2010-04-30 22:16
There is no RMD requirement for 2009 since they were waived.
For 2010, if she assumes ownership of the IRA or transfers it into her own IRA, her 2010 RMD will be calculated as if she owned the IRA all year. The 12/31/2009 value would be added to her IRA 12/31/09 value to calculate her 2010 RMD using the age she will reach in 2010. The “rollover” should be done by direct trustee transfer if she does not want to take out the RMD at that time as she would have to do if she did an indirect rollover.