Hello,

My father passed away earlier this year at age 74 (would have been 75 this year) so past RBD and had been taking RMDs from a TIRA. Due to bad financial advice he changed the designated beneficiary on his IRA from his surviving widow (my mother) to me. While the amounts in question aren’t large enough to be especially burdensome over the time designated by the life expectancy table, my income is much higher than my retired mother’s, and we’re trying to ascertain our best option with respect to the disposition of the IRA.

In an ideal world, I would disclaim the IRA, it would pass to the estate (of which I am Executor), which names a revocable (now made irrevocable by the death of the grantor of course) living trust as the sole beneficiary (of which I am the successor Trustee), and would name my mother as beneficiary of the IRA as I am allowed under the terms of the trust, and she would roll the funds into her own extant IRA. Naturally, I suspect such a thing is not possible despite her having special status as surviving spouse, by dint of the distribution going through the estate.

Is the best we can do set up an Estate IRA via trustee-to-trustee and then an Inherited IRA for my mother via same?

Thanks in advance for any assistance.