Should Designating a Trust as Beneficiary for an IRA Be Part of the Estate Planning in Williamsport, MD?

by | Jan 23, 2017 | Lawyers

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The process of Estate Planning in Williamsport MD can involve a wide range of financial arrangements. That includes establishing trusts and ensuring certain holdings end up as part of the trust. In recent years, some people have considered the idea of naming a trust as the beneficiary for the funds in an Individual Retirement Account. Before deciding this is the best way to achieve the desired end, it pays to get some advice from an attorney. Here are some of the questions that need to be answered.

What’s the Reason for the Trust?

Before deciding if this approach is the best way to go about the Estate Planning in Williamsport MD, it pays to consider what the trust is intended to accomplish. Will the trust provide funds for the kids to go to college even if the parents are no longer alive? Perhaps the plan is to use the funds in the IRA as resources to provide a monthly living stipend to a child after both parents pass on. Depending on why the client wants to establish a trust and what it is supposed to do, the attorney may be able to suggest an alternative that achieves the goal and is somewhat less complicated.

Coming Up With the Right Structure and Using the Correct Language

Designating the proceeds in an IRA account to a trust is a little different from allocating other types of financial assets to a trust. In fact, the language used in the documents to establish the trust and create the connection between the two accounts must be specific. That’s due to the language that is normally utilized in the creation of any type of Individual Retirement Account. Unless the founding documents across the board are worded carefully, the administrator of the trust will face quite a few headaches.

While this type of setup may be ideal in some situations, it’s not the right approach for others. Contact Bonnie A. Winders LLC. and talk about a few different ways to arrange the estate and ensure the money ends up where the individual wants it to go. It won’t take long to identify what needs to be done, how to set up each element, and ensure nothing is overlooked.