What About Charities as IRA Beneficiaries?
You may think that it’s a nice thing to leave some of your unused retirement funds to charity when you go. Generally, this a...
Why It’s Not Only Those Over 70½ Who Are at Risk
Retirees of any age with large IRAs must understand that their IRAs can be hit with estate and income taxes when they die. And...
Creditors and Bankruptcy and Your IRA
When you hold retirement money in a qualified plan, those assets are protected by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). This is a...
Trusts as Beneficiary of IRA
Can a trust be the beneficiary of an IRA?
Even though there are no tax benefits, there may be circumstances when you want to name...
You Inherit an IRA, What Do You Do?
Here are the steps, and we’ll discuss them in order of priority:
Separate your portion from other IRA beneficiaries.
Retitle the IRA.
Name a beneficiary.
Move it to...
IRAs—The Missing Link in Many Seniors’ Estate Plans
According to the IRS, 43 million people have $2.7 trillion in retirement accounts. Most of this money will become IRA rollovers, and the dollars...
No Beneficiary
Suppose that the owner of an IRA or company plan dies before his or her RBD without naming a designated beneficiary?
The beneficiaries must then...
What is the Estate Tax?
The estate tax is a tax on accumulated wealth. So if you die and you are considered wealthy (by the estate tax rules then...
If You’re a Spouse Beneficiary
The spouse has more options than a non-spouse beneficiary. Here are the four options:
You can rollover the deceased’s IRA to your own. This is...
IRA Asset Wills
Funds in your IRAs pass outside of your will and are distributed according to beneficiary-designation forms that you fill out when you open the...