Inherited IRA trustee Advice

Submitted by Randy Burgener on Mon, 2024-02-05 23:05

My father will be passing soon and there are 3 sons that will be equally receiving the estate total assets. One of the assets will be an inherited IRA. My questions are: do all 3 sons need to set up an IRA trust individually? AND Can one son take the whole IRA and the other 2 sons will offset their $ missing share of the IRA via offsetting the difference by getting a larger share of other estate assets? The one son is much younger and still many years away from having to take normal RMD’s on his personal IRA’s.



Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Tue, 2024-02-06 00:28

  1. Sorry to hear of father’s medical condition. If the IRA is left to the estate instead of naming the son’s as direct beneficiaries, the executor can assign the inherited IRA out of the estate to the sons in any combination. If father passes after his required beginning date (RBD) for IRA RMDs, any inherited IRAs assigned out of the estate must be withdrawn over father’s remaining single life expectancy. If father instead passes prior to his RBD, the inherited IRAs must be withdrawn in 5 years with no particular annual RMD. Hopefully, the IRA custodian will cooperate with assignment requests from the executor.
  2. Instead, if father has named the son’s as direct IRA beneficiaries, they can each establish inherited IRAs in the amount each inherited (probably 1/3 each) which must be withdrawn under the 10 year rule except for any disabled beneficiary. Annual RMDs will be required in years 1-9 of the 10 year period according to the single life expectancy of each son only if father passed after his RBD.
  3. If father has not completed his year of death RMD if RMD age, the beneficiaries of the IRA must complete that RMD in any proportion.


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