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Minor Children and IRAs After the SECURE ActMinor Children and IRAs After the SECURE Act

Current options in planning with retirement benefits for the youngest beneficiaries.

Sarah A. Nicholson, Attorney

July 19, 2023

15 Min Read
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The income tax ramifications of qualified retirement accounts complicate clients’ efforts to craft an appropriate estate plan structure for their minor beneficiaries, particularly minor children. The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act passed at the end of 2019,1 and its proposed Treasury regulations (proposed regs) were promulgated on Feb. 24, 2022, with an effective date of Jan. 1, 2022.2 These new authorities offer not only new planning opportunities for minor children but also challenges. The SECURE 2.0 Act, enacted as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 20233 and signed at the end of 2022, didn’t significantly affect post-death planning for minor beneficiaries.

Minor Children Beneficiaries

The...

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About the Author

Sarah A. Nicholson

Attorney, Warner Norcross + Judd LLP

Sara A. Nicholson practices as an estate and tax-planning attorney in the firm's Trusts and Estates Practice Group and serves clients in all areas of estate planning and administration, specializing in planning with retirement assets for individuals and families. While crafting estate plans, Ms. Nicholson helps clients maximize the income tax benefits of retirement assets by advising them on beneficiary designations, specialized trusts designed to continue income tax deferral, and handling a retirement asset after a death. Ms. Nicholson speaks and writes for the Institute for Continuing Legal Education and other professional organizations throughout Michigan. A member of the Probate and Estate Planning and Taxation Sections of the State Bar of Michigan, Ms. Nicholson earned her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and her Executive LLM in Taxation from the New York University School of Law. Ms. Nicholson thanks her ICLE co-author, Nancy Welber, for her immeasurable mentoring and encouragement over the past few years.