[WSBAPT] QUESTION - BENEFICIARY DOES NOT WANT BEQUEST

[Diane J. Kiepe]

Fern,

You need to be careful and make sure this was not beneficiary designated vs a transfer under the Will.  If the former, the PR has absolutely no rights over the account and the receiving beneficiary should gift it away or, eventually, failure to take RMDs will result in exhaustion of the account in penalties - the IRS won't mind.  I unfortunately had this in a case with slightly different facts.  I encouraged them to hire me (or someone else) to get relief from the harsh penalties but they decided they were going to let sleeping dogs lie.

If it was truly under the Will, I am not sure how the account got set up without his knowledge and in any event, the result would be the same - the proper process for refusing a bequest is by disclaimer or receipt and giving it away however you want.  Only way I can think around getting back a testamentary distribution and redistributing it is via TEDRA.

Best of luck -


Diane J. Kiepe
Douglas Eden, P.S.
717 W. Sprague Ave., Suite 1500
Spokane, WA  99201
djkiepe at depdslaw.com<mailto:djkiepe at depdslaw.com>
509-455-5300

Please note that I will be out of the office from July 18 through July 26, 2023.  If you need immediate attention, please call our main number below and our team will make every effort to assist you.


From: wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> On Behalf Of Fern Herbert
Sent: Wednesday, July 12, 2023 7:49 PM
To: wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com
Subject: [WSBAPT] QUESTION - BENEFICIARY DOES NOT WANT BEQUEST

Hello List mates,

Interesting issue: We have a beneficiary who refuses to take what was bequeathed to him. The funds have been placed in a beneficiary IRA for him. PR now wants to close probate. If this beneficiary never accepts the bequest, the PR would like to eventually distribute his share to the other beneficiaries.

 1)Does anyone know of any legal guidance on if and when the PR may go back and distribute the contents of this bequests to the other beneficiaries?
 2) Can the PR close probate and then re-open later on to re-distribute?

Fern Herbert
Managing Attorney
Zenith Law Group, PLLC

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