Spouse Might Inherit My Roth IRA
We are in our mid-80s. I have a TIRA and a somewhat significant 20 year old Roth IRA, She has a small ($35K) TIRA, and we have a joint taxable investment account. If I pass first would it be helpful for her to have a small Roth IRA already established into which she could easily move my Roth IRA on which she is designated as primary beneficiary? If so, I was thinking about a small (e.g. $1K) Roth conversion this year from her TIRA after her RMD is complete this year. Just want to keep things as easy for her as possible if I pass first. I don’t see any issues with inheriting my TIRA on which she is the designated primary beneficiary nor the joint taxable investment account we own, which I believe the basis would be stepped up on one-half at my passing.
Any comment on this forum would be appreciated.
Permalink Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Thu, 2023-05-04 02:05
Hi Tom. Should your wife inherit your Roth IRA she should elect to assume ownership of it. She will be credited with your holding period, but her age is used for distribution purposes. Because your Roth is qualified and your wife is over 59.5, her new Roth will also be qualified. Therefore, there is no need for her to open a Roth IRA while you are around unless you determine that it is beneficial for her to convert some of her TIRA. If she did that and then inherited your Roth IRA, she could assume ownership of yours and combine that Roth with hers and the combined Roth would be qualified.