OK to designate trustee of my Will as IRA's Beneficiary

[jane123]

I know you can’t designate your will as your beneficiary. But what if you designate the trustee of your will… is that the same as designating your will as your beneficiary?

Also, given that you can’t designate your will, doe sit mean that is you did put your will on the document, you really do not have a beneficiary designation and the IRA agreement provisions must apply?

Thanks in advance.

[mbozek]

There are some issues that need to be addressed. First, no one names a will as the beneficiary but can designate their estate which is administered by an executor as the bene of the IRA. The IRA assets will be distributed under the terms of the will. Second, some individuals designate their IRA beneficaries in their will. It is a strange practice but some state courts will enforce the designation made in the will. Third I dont know what you mean by designating the trustee as a beneficiary. Some participants designate a trust as the beneficiary of their IRA distributions. The trustee of the trust will distribute the IRA payments in accordance with the terms of the trust.

[BPickerCPA]

There are actually very few limitations on who or what can be named as a beneficiary of an IRA.

The issue is what payout period is available after the death of the account holder. If you want to be able to stretch after death distributions over the life expectancy of an individual, certain rules have to be followed.