The beneficiary form on an IRA is the first and most important part of receiving an inherited IRA," said Matthew Curfman, a senior vice president at Richmond Brothers Financial Management Specialists. "If you fail to name a beneficiary on your IRA it is highly likely that your beneficiaries will not be able to 'stretch' the inherited IRA over their life.
No, the inherited funds (beneficiary IRA) have to remain in inherited (beneficiary) form. So the account/funds can only be distributed out of the beneficary IRA as a distribution or transfer to another alike roth beneficiary account at another firm. However, the deceased account can be transferred into the surviving spouse Roth IRA (or transfer to a beneficiary IRA account). A non-spouse doesn't have this option- they can only transfer to their beneficiary IRA account that they opened.
In most cases, the spouse of the owner of an IRA is the default beneficiary. Therefore, there would be a legal document that would need to be signed acknowledging that he or she is not a beneficiary.
No, because the taxation on disbursement will be different.
Yes, the beneficiary of an inherited IRA (AKA beneficiary IRA) can name a beneficiary to that account. In the past, this was not really allowed so some form may still practice as such.
yes
No, you can't merge both the accounts. They both are independent with each other. For more details speak with your plan administrator.
Should the beneficiary of an IRA be trust or the heirs
I believe it reverts back to the owner, and thus becomes part of his estate.
An IRA requires a named beneficiary. If there are no beneficiaries named, it will be a part of the estate.
The legal system generally will allow you to contest anything you like. However, you chances of changing a designated beneficiary on someone else's IRA are slim. If you decide to contest a beneficiary, recommend you contact an attorney for advice.
You can find information regarding beneficiary IRA's by visiting http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/investment_products/retirement/inherited_iras/faq. They are inherited IRA's that are received after the IRA owner passes away.
A life insurance policy and IRA's are contract documents and are not subject to the will.