How to set up secondary beneficiaries in dC qjsa plan

[TPApril]

Husband/wife 2-person DC plan w/QJSA provisions being restated.

Wife has early alzheimers. They are in agreement they want to set up beneficiaries so that if husband predeceases wife, so that wife now has her account, and her husband's account as beneficiary in the plan, no future husband could ultimately end up with both wife and husband's accounts, rather than the children. How would this be approached?

[QDROphile]

Wife consents to children as beneficiaries of husband. Wife trusts children will share the benefit if wife needs the support. That may be the simplest approach, but not the best. If one wants wants sophisticated planning for a result that bucks the policy embedded in the law, one should pay for it.

[jpod]

Don't you have the same concern with the wife's account, i.e., husband dies first, then someone comes along to marry the widow and becomes the required beneficiary of the wife's account?

[mbozek]

Husband could designate that his beneficiary would be an irrevocable trust which would receive MRDs where his wife would be the designated beneficiary of the MRDs under the trust and children would be the alternate beneficiaries. I don't understand what is meant by no future husband could benefit from wife's account. Proper way to preserve benefits for children would be for future husband to waive rights to survivor's benefit.

[jpod]

I had assumed that the family feared the worst, given the wife's medical condition. Therefore, how to protect the wife's account from a bad marriage (i.e., to a second husband who won't consent to waive the death benefit)?

[TPApril]

yes, jpod that's exactly the circumstances, but i'm getting the feeling that there are limitations as to how to do that from within the plan.

[mbozek]

She could have a guardian appointed to manage her affairs. She needs to consult an elder care attorney.