Retitling Inherited IRA’s

If you inherit an IRA, retitling the IRA so that it clearly reflects the owner’s death and the new beneficiary can provide valuable benefits.  According to Kelly Greene, Getting the Title Right to an Inherited IRA, WSJ, Oct. 10, 2009:

After you have retitled the inherited IRA, you can stretch out withdrawals from the account across your lifetime, rather than being forced to withdraw the funds sooner. That gives you a chance to extend the time that tax-deferred earnings can accrue, possibly increasing your inheritance.

See Kelly Greene, Getting the Title Right to an Inherited IRA, WSJ, Oct. 10, 2009, for a suggested title format that will accomplish these goals.

Special thanks to Patrick S. Sylvester (Attorney & Counselor at Law, Sylvester Law Firm, PC) for bringing this article to my attention.