Inherited IRAs, primary beneficiaries deceased, no secondary beneficiaries named

Submitted by Judith Scalzi on Wed, 2013-04-17 03:40

Both my parents died in 2012. I am a co-executor. They named each other as primary beneficiaries. No secondary beneficiaries were named. Rather than dissolve the IRAs with a 35% IRS penalty, is there another way of distributing these funds to the five beneficiaries named in the wills?



Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Wed, 2013-04-17 16:37

  • Yes, as executor you can ask the custodian to assign each beneficiary’s share to an inherited IRA for each. Beneficiary RMDs could then be based on the remaining life expectancy of the last parent to pass, assuming that this parent passed on or after their required beginning date.
  • Here is a link explaining more about this process including a sample letter. If IRA custodian resists this, the IRA can be transferred to a different custodian who will cooperate:  http://www.ataxplan.com/bulletinBoard/ira_providers.cfm


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