What happens if an estate is the beneficiary of an IRA?

When an estate is the beneficiary of an IRA, account assets will be distributed to the estate, and estate heirs will share them based on the IRA owner's will.

Should estates be named as IRA beneficiaries?

Retirement and estate planning specialists warn clients not to name estates as IRA beneficiaries. Naming an estate as the beneficiary can lead to complicated tax issues. In the case of Taxpayer B, things worked out. The Internal Revenue Service has helped a surviving spouse cut through a complicated IRA tax knot.

What happens if an IRA is inherited?

If the IRA agreement spells out that distributions go to the estate when the estate is the beneficiary, then the only option for the executor is to take the lump sum distribution. Otherwise, the executor will have to shop for a custodian that will allow inherited IRA’s for the benefit of the estate beneficiaries.