Careful consideration should be given to whether you make a Trust the beneficiary of your IRA or other Qualified Plan.
For income tax tax purposes, it may not always be a good idea to designate a Trust as the beneficiary of your IRA, according to the Financial Advisor in "Is Naming A Trust As Beneficiary Of A Client's IRA A Good Idea?"
The biggest and most important issue is that IRA beneficiaries must take required minimum distributions ("RMD") or face adverse income tax consequences. This RMD requirement does not go away when the beneficiary is a Trust and not an individual. However, satisfying the RMD requirements with a Trust as beneficiary can get very complicated.
For example, every beneficiary of the Trust must be identifiable and must be an individual. While that might seem easy to accomplish, it is not always the case. Every successive beneficiary must also be an identifiable individual. Therefore, the beneficiaries who would receive the Trust assets when a previous beneficiary passes away must also be an identifiable individual. This can become an issue if a residual clause in the Trust includes giving assets to a charity.
That is not the only complication with designating a Trust as the beneficiary of an IRA. However, significant advantages and benefits can be achieved by designating a Trust as the beneficiary of an IRA or Qualified Plan that cannot be achieved by naming an individual as beneficiary.
A qualified estate planning attorney with knowledge of the complex rules which govern distributions from Qualified Plans and IRAs (e.g., the post-death RMD rules) can guide you in creating a Trust that fits your unique circumstances and accomplishes all of your goals.
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