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1955photo t1_jaakf5u wrote

The beneficiary designation keeps the account out of the estate. It's not a process, like you can disclaim something in a will

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Fish-Weekly t1_jaancbd wrote

A beneficiary can disclaim all or part of an inherited IRA, allowing it to pass either to contingent beneficiaries or if none present, to the estate and then distributed per the will.

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1955photo t1_jaaok1f wrote

I was not aware of that. But Ameritrade is going to require some kind of legal document to handle it. It's possible there are no contingent beneficiaries and the will leaves everything to the person who was originally the beneficiary, and then the beneficiary will have to disclaim part of the estate. Seems a convoluted process for no real reason.

OP needs to get the facts about taxes on this account, which he seems to think must be paid in one year.

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Fish-Weekly t1_jaatodd wrote

It sounds like the will directs the money to be distributed as desired, but I agree with you that I don’t fully understand what the OP is trying to accomplish here from the taxation angle. Worst case, the surviving spouse can assume the IRA as their own and depending on age, let it continue to grow or take minimum RMDs for their lifetime.

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