Many taxpayers have accumulated considerable assets in their retirement accounts, which may be in their 401(k) account or other types of qualified retirement plan. In rolling over retirement assets from an employer-sponsored retirement plan into a rollover IRA without a full understanding of the implications to their beneficiaries, the result can be a morass of penalties and complications.

This updated edition of Inherited IRAs is a current, accessible resource that explains these rules and provides guidance for effectively implementing an estate plan that includes retirement assets. This clearly written and logically organized guide includes more than 100 scenarios, questions, and answers that practitioners are most likely to encounter when dealing with often complex retirement asset distributions. Checklists, sample forms, and summaries of court rulings on inherited IRA cases provide additional tools and resources to help your clients through what is often a difficult time in their lives.

This edition is updated to include all of the recent changes to the rules and regulations surrounding estate planning and retirement asset distributions that have been enacted over the past year.

Overview
Common Errors In Retirement Distribution Planning
Why Many Beneficiary Forms Are Defective
Who Should Pay Your Estate Tax on Your Retirement Accounts
Sample Beneficiary Forms Prepared by the Author for Illustrative Purposes Only
Practical Points
How the Inherited IRA Rules Work for a Nonspouse Beneficiary
Key Provisions of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 and the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008
Roth IRA Conversions
Death of IRA Owner Before or After His / Her Required Beginning Date
How the Inherited IRA Rules Work with Multiple Nonspouse Beneficiaries
How the Spousal IRA Rules Work
Trust as Beneficiary of Retirement Assets and the IRS Documentation Rules Letter Ruling 9820021 – February 18, 1998
Advantages of Trusts as IRA Beneficiary
Excess IRA Contributions
Income in Respect of a DecedentRevenue Ruling 92- 47, 1992- 1 CB 198
Letter Ruling 200316008 (December 31, 2002)
IRD and the Tax Court
IRD and Practitioner Tips
Inherited Roth IRAs
Statute of Limitations
Noncompliant IRA Trusts and Circular 230 Issues
Loss of Creditor Rights
Protection of Decedent's IRA in State Court
Use of Separate Irrevocable Spendthrift Trust as Beneficiary of an Inherited IRA for Asset Protection Purposes
Application of One- Per- Year Limit on IRA Rollovers Announcement 2014- 32
Appendix: Life Expectancy Tables