Inherited IRA to Spousal IRA
If a client’s spouse passes away and they initially elect to have the IRA titled as an Inherited IRA, is the client able to retitle the IRA as their own after the fact?
If so, how long do they have to switch it over?
If a client’s spouse passes away and they initially elect to have the IRA titled as an Inherited IRA, is the client able to retitle the IRA as their own after the fact?
If so, how long do they have to switch it over?
Permalink Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Tue, 2025-03-18 15:11
The surviving spouse now has 3 choices.
They can elect to assume ownership anytime.
They can continue the inherited IRA as beneficiary.
They can continue the inherited IRA as beneficiary but notify the custodian that they wish to be treated as the participant for RMD purposes only. This is a new option under Secure 2.0. If this option is chosen, they can still elect to be treated as the owner anytime thereafter.
The best option depends on the age of deceased spouse when they passed and on the age of the surviving spouse. Do you have those ages or hypothetical ages?