Spousal Rollover

Deceased H wanted W to have spouse continuation rights on his IRA, however like so many, mistakedly made his revocable trust the bene. W’s marital “A” part of trust is fully revocable. Is there any reason as trustee, she cannot direct the IRA DB to the “A” trust (assuming it fits within trust parameters), take a distribution, then roll it over within 60 days? I think Bruce has had this done with a PLR, but would a PLR be necessary if the custodian goes along with it? Could it be done with a Court Order? I believe some annuity carriers are allowing this with a Trust Representation (representing above facts) and Hold Harmless agreement.



Per Bruce’s articles, there were several PLRs, mostly in the 90s that allow a spousal trustee and beneficiary with unilateral rights to control distributions, to roll the IRA over. It would appear that the cost of yet another PLR could be avoided if the custodian can be convinced to go along. A hold harmless might facilitate that.

If not, she could terminate the trust if it is revocable and then the custodian would seemingly have no other choice.



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