When creating your estate plan, careful consideration should be given to the beneficiary designations on your retirement accounts.
The laws, rules, and regulations surrounding these assets are complex and require the knowledge and guidance of an experienced estate planning professional. In some instances, it may be preferable to name your living trust as a beneficiary of a retirement asset. In other instances, you may decide to name an individual. Your estate planning attorney will help guide you through this process when creating your plan. Having an experienced estate attorney can make a big difference. Understanding how to set up your estate plan to benefit the people and things you want is key to making sure your estate plan successfully carries out your wishes.
Examples of instances in which you might choose to name your trust as a beneficiary of your retirement assets include:
- When you want to put the retirement benefits in a trust for your surviving spouse, such as to a QTIP trust.
- Allocating the retirement benefits to a trust that will benefit your children or grandchildren is an option some people elect to use when creating an estate plan.
- When you want to allocate the retirement benefits to a charity, held in trust.
- When you chose to put the retirement benefits to a credit shelter trust in order to take advantage of an estate tax savings trust plan.
Retirement assets could include IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, pensions, and many other types of plans and benefits. Significant income tax, estate tax, and required distribution rules could be triggered if you do not carefully plan for these assets when creating your estate plan. There are times when you might choose to make your trust as a beneficiary of retirement assets. To learn more about how to address your retirement assets during the estate plan creation process, contact the experienced estate planning attorneys at the Law Office of James F. Roberts & Associates, APC. Call our office today at (714) 282-7488 for a consultation.