Can a spouse disclaim a portion of an IRA and/or a portion of a qualif

[Guest irenes]

Estate questions on IRA Distributions.

1) Can a spouse disclaim a portion of an IRA and/or a portion of a qualified plan distribution?

2) Do you have a suggestion for good reference materials on distributions from both an IRA and qualified plans for a 4 million dollar estate?

[Mary Kay Foss]

Yes, a spouse can disclaim a portion of an IRA or a qualified plan benefit. There are many private letter rulings that approve the technique. I'm in a community property state and one of my favorite examples is PLR 9630034.

The spouse should disclaim a fraction rather than a dollar amount to avoid adverse income tax consequences.

My favorite resources are:

Life and Death Planning for Retirement Benefits by Natalie Choate. Call 1-800-247-6553 to order.

J.K. Lasser's How to Protect Your Retirement Savings from the IRS by Seymour Goldberg. Order from Amazon.com for best price.

Pension Distributions: Planning Strategies, Cases and Rulings by Seymour Goldberg. Call 1-516-222-0422 to order.