The Wealth Preservation attorneys at RCO Law always consider your family relationships, expediency, deadlines, and tax implications in managing estates and trusts. Recently, a client who had just lost her spouse contacted the Firm to help manage her husband’s estate. Before coming in to our offices, she learned from her husband’s bank that his retirement account did not have a listed beneficiary. The bank informed her that the retirement account would be payable to his estate.

From a tax perspective, this meant that our client could lose her rights to use a spousal roll-over IRA, and would instead have 5 years to cash in the IRA and pay income taxes on the entirety of the account. From an expediency and deadline perspective, it meant that our client may have to keep a probate court case open for 5 years, with annual filing deadlines. From a family standpoint, this left a grieving family with potentially-unnecessary burdens.

RCO researched tax law and petitioned the probate court for an order compelling the bank to perform a spousal IRA roll-over. The court granted the order, and the bank completed the transfer, all within a few months of the date of death.

For additional information on services provided by the Estate Planning and Wealth Preservation attorneys at RCO Law, contact Practice Group Chairman Sarah Corney at scorney@rcolaw.com, or call our office at 419-249-7900.