Husband Wife Simultaneous Death Beneficiary Question

Submitted by Jon Countess on Mon, 2016-12-19 21:46

Husband age 85 names spouse age 86 as primary beneficiary of his IRA, children as contingent.
Wife names children as primary on her IRA.
Husband dies, and wife dies 36 hours later. (Does not have ability to disclaim husband’s IRA or to accept as hers.)
The custodian says that in this situation, the wife’s estate becomes the beneficiary of the husband’s IRA.
This reduces the value of the STRETCH for the surviving children.
1) Is there any way that the children can inherit the husband’s IRA and stretch it?
2) How can this problem be prevented in the future?



Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Mon, 2016-12-19 23:38

  • In some states the executor of wife’s estate could disclaim on behalf of the wife which would result in the IRA passing to the contingent beneficiaries.
  • IRA owner could add a survival period before the beneficiary inherits, which would provide more time for the beneficiary to act. If beneficiary does not live to the survival period (eg 60 days) the IRA passes to the contigent beneficiaries. Some custodians will not accept a survival period.


Submitted by Bruce Steiner on Wed, 2016-12-21 02:59

  • The wife’s executors can disclaim on her behalf.  In some states such as New York, a disclaimer by an executor requires court approval, so if they were in such a state, they should allow sufficient time for court approval.  The lawyer handling the estates should be familiar with this.
  • Bruce Steiner, attorney, NYC, also admitted in NJ and FL


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