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Retirement benefits are typically left to the participant's surviving spouse with the expectation that she1 will do something with them: either roll the benefits over to her own retirement plan to continue maximum income tax deferral, or disclaim the benefits so they can flow to the participant's children or a credit shelter trust as the contingent beneficiary. But what happens if the spouse, having

Natalie B. Choate, Of Counsel

September 1, 2005

17 Min Read
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Natalie B. Choate, of counsel, Bingham McCutchen LLP, Boston

Retirement benefits are typically left to the participant's surviving spouse with the expectation that she1 will “do something” with them: either roll the benefits over to her own retirement plan to continue maximum income tax deferral, or disclaim the benefits so they can flow to the participant's children or a credit shelter trust as the contingent beneficiary.

But what happens if the spouse, having survived the participant, dies without accomplishing either task?

The answer is not pretty.

THE ROLLOVER PLAN

Leaving benefits outright to the surviving spouse, with the expectation that she'll roll them over to her own IRA2 is an excellent estate-planning approach in most cases. In ad...

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About the Author

Natalie B. Choate

Of Counsel

http://www.nutter.com/

Natalie B. Choate is an Of Counsel in the Trusts and Estates Department. Her practice is limited to estate planning for retirement benefits. Her two books, Life and Death Planning for Retirement Benefits and The QPRT Manual, are leading resources for estate planning professionals.

Natalie is the founder and former chair of the Boston Bar Estate Planning Committee; a former chair of the Boston Bar Employee Benefits Committee; and a member and former officer of the Boston Probate and Estate Planning Forum. She is a fellow and former Regent of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and former chairman of its Employee Benefits Committee. Named “Estate Planner of the Year” by the Boston Estate Planning Council, Natalie is listed in The Best Lawyers in America. The National Association of Estate Planners and Councils has awarded Natalie the “Distinguished Accredited Estate Planner” designation.

Her articles on estate planning topics have been published in ACTEC Notes, Estate Planning, Trusts and Estates, Tax Practitioners Journal and Tax Management. She is an editorial advisor for Trusts and Estatesmagazine. She writes a web column and “podcast” for MorningstarAdvisor.com

Natalie has taught professional-level courses in estate planning in 49 states, and has spoken at the Heckerling, Notre Dame, Heart of America, New England, Southern California, Mississippi, Tennessee, Washington State and Southern Federal Tax Institutes. Her comments on estate and retirement planning have been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Money, Newsweek, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Forbes, Financial Planning, Financial World and The New York Times.