[WSBAPT] IRA without Beneficiary Designation

[Philip N. Jones]

The financial advisor is correct, in most cases. If the account lacks a beneficiary designation, the default clause of the custodial agreement kicks in, and it usually provides that lacking a beneficiary designation, the account goes to (depending on the agreement) the spouse, or the children, or the estate.  Every agreement is different.  Ask for a copy of your client’s custodial agreement, then study the default clause carefully.  If the default beneficiary is the estate, then the IRA becomes a probate asset.  This is not a question of looking for a statute.  It is a question of reading custodial agreement.
Phil Jones
Portland OR

Philip N. Jones
Duffy Kekel LLP
Portland, OR
pjones at duffykekel.com
(503) 853-1482 cell

On Oct 31, 2020, at 7:15 AM, Brent Williams-Ruth <brent at williams-ruthlaw.com> wrote:


Greetings List -

I have a prospective client who has an estate less than $100,000 - unless you count a substantial IRA. However, the IRA does not have any beneficiary designations assigned.

The client called me after talking with their financial advisor who told them that IRA's are not probate assets - EVEN without a beneficiary designation.

I am unaware of any statute or regulation that provides for this.  Anyone able to assist with a citation?

Brent Williams-Ruth  (preferred pronoun: he/him)
Attorney-At-Law

Law Offices of Brent Williams-Ruth, a division of BWR Consulting, PLLC

Office/Scheduling Phone: (425) 830-5134

Direct Mobile: (206) 889-7919

e-mail<mailto:Brent at Williams-RuthLaw.com> / website<http://www.Williams-RuthLaw.com/> / facebook<http://www.facebook.com/bwrconsults> /

As of July 1, 2019 - I began operating as the Law Offices of Brent Williams-Ruth a division of BWR Consulting, PLLC. Please note the new points of contact Brent at Williams-RuthLaw.com and www.Williams-RuthLaw.com<http://www.Williams-RuthLaw.com>

***Disclaimer: Please note that RPPT listserv participation is not restricted to practicing attorneys and may include non-practicing attorneys, law students, professionals working in related fields, and others.***
_______________________________________________
WSBAPT mailing list
WSBAPT at lists.wsbarppt.com
http://mailman.fsr.com/mailman/listinfo/wsbapt
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/wsbapt/attachments/20201031/4a722ad8/attachment.html>