Can you stretch an IRA that does not have a beneficiary listed?
if a client passes and has no beneficiary listed- does it become the estate as beneficiary and the spouse can establish an inherited IRA as the beneficiary of the estate? other options?
if a client passes and has no beneficiary listed- does it become the estate as beneficiary and the spouse can establish an inherited IRA as the beneficiary of the estate? other options?
Permalink Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Fri, 2014-04-11 18:39
First, the IRA agreement must be checked to determine the default beneficiary. It could be the estate or the surviving spouse, or less likely any children. If the IRA goes to the estate and spouse is sole beneficiary under the will, the spouse can usually do a rollover to their own IRA. If there is no spouse, the IRA must be either paid out in 5 years if death occurred before the required beginning date or over the remaining life expectancy of the decedent for deaths on or after the RBD. The executor can usually assign the IRA to beneficiaries of the estate who can then execute the limited stretch option available.