disclaim community property
Texas resident. A community property state. Roth IRA. Beneficiaries listed by deceased: primary is spouse, secondary is the kids. What are the issues around the surviving spouse disclaiming part or all of a Roth IRA in Texas? Can the survivor disclaim ALL, including the half that is the survivor’s community property, or does this trigger gift tax and/or marital deduction issues?
Permalink Submitted by Alan Spross on Fri, 2011-01-28 04:21
Generally speaking, the surviving spouse cannot disclaim the portion that they already owned as community property. But my impression is that in Texas it is very easy to make a legal agreement prior to death, that makes a specific asset like an IRA effectively separate property of the IRA owner. Once the IRA is no longer considered community property, the entire account can be disclaimed by the non IRA owner survivor.