yes or no? If a spouse passes away, the surviving spouse can choose a lump sum distribution, not withhold taxes, request the check to be made out to herself OR a separate custodian, and upon the deposit to her own IRA, this would be considered a spousal assumption of the IRA?
Actual election to assume ownership will avoid a reportable distribution to the surviving spouse as it will be treated as a same custodian direct transfer. Taking a distribution might result in part of it being an uncompleted year of death RMD of the deceased spouse, with that portion not being rollover eligible. As spiritrider indicated this distribution would also be subject to the one rollover limit as the IRS has indicated that a beneficiary distribution to a spouse is treated as a distribution rolled over from that spouse’s own IRA in the 12 month period. If allowed this 60 day rollover could be referred to as the “spousal rollover”, but this is different than attaining the IRA as an assumption of ownership which does not involve a distribution.
Permalink Submitted by William Tuttle on Mon, 2021-04-12 19:59
A distribution and 60-rollover would be subject to the one IRA rollover per 12 month rule. It is almost always better to do direct rollovers.