When the IRA custodian is provided the Trust documentation by October 31 of the year following the year of my father’s death, does the custodian determine whether the distribution is based upon the life expectancy of my father’s partner rather than 10 years or is this something my attorney or tax professional would decide? Also, according to the SECURE Act even if it was based upon my father’s partner’s life expectancy would it revert to my life expectancy (age 68) if my father’s partner died because I would then be the oldest of the 3 remaining beneficiaries?
Lots of questions! I am not getting warm and fuzzy feelings about my father’s lawyer’s estate planning business 😡 Although his law firm is well known in my area and a lot of people use them I don’t like the fact that he had pre-SECURE Act verbiage in the Trust when he created it post-SECURE Act in 2022. Also, since there are 2 non special needs beneficiaries (my sister-in-law and me) and 2 special needs beneficiaries (my sister and my father’s partner) my father’s lawyer should have made my sister-in-law and me 25% beneficiaries on my father’s IRA and the Trust a 50% Beneficiary for my sister and my father’s Trust. In that case each of their 25% would be managed within the Trust because they are special cases. Now said lawyer, who I am starting to think is incompetent, wants more money to make SubTrusts under my father’s main Trust for my sister and my father’s partner. To me unless it’s absolutely necessary, it creates more complicity because now the Trust would need 3 Tax ID’s (1 for my father’s main Trust and 2 for the SubTrusts) and 3 Tax Returns would need to be filed each year!
