Life and Death Planning for Retirement Benefits

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502 Life and Death Planning for Retirement Benefits
Keebler, Robert S., et al., “3.8% Surtax Requires Another Look At Roth Conversions,” Steve
Leimberg’s Employee Benefits and Retirement Planning Email Newsletter, Archive message #523, (April
6, 2010).
Trytten, Steven E., “Show Me the Money,” Trusts & Estates (Sept 2009), p. 34.
Chapter 6: Leaving Retirement Benefits in Trust
★ Keene, David, “Trusts Holding IRAs: Income and Estate Tax Issues and Planning Options,”
Journal of Retirement Planning (CCH), May–June 2009, p. 37. Excellent overview of all the issues.
Trust accounting for retirement benefits:
Doyle, Jeremiah W., Esq., “IRA Distributions to a Trust After the Death of the IRA Owner—
Income or Principal?”, Trusts & Estates, Vol. 139, No. 9, p. 38 (Sept. 2000).
★ Golden, A.J., “Total Return Unitrusts: Is This a Solution in Search of a Problem?,” 28 ACTEC
Journal Vol. 2, p. 121 (Fall 2002).
Trusteed IRA (IRTs):
Two articles in the Sept. 2009 issue of Trusts & Estates offer differing perspectives on the trusteed
IRA: Morrow, Edwin P., III, “Trusteed IRAs: An Elegant Estate-planning Option,” p. 53, and Steiner, Bruce
D., “Before Setting up a Trusteed IRA,” p. 48.
For an article comparing the trusteed IRA with a trust named as beneficiary of a custodial IRA, see
Kavesh, Philip J., and Morrow, Edwin P., III, “Ensuring the Stretchout,” Journal of Retirement Planning
(CCH, July–August 2007), p. 31.
Trusts and the minimum distribution rules:
★ Blattmachr, J., et al., “ABeneficiary as Trust Owner: Decoding Section 678,” 35 ACTEC Journal
No. 2 (Fall 2009), p. 106. Excellent article on how to make a trust a 100 percent grantor trust as to the
beneficiary (the tests are different from the standards applied to the actual trust grantor).
★ Tryttten, Steven E., “Got Stretch-Out?,” Trusts & Estates (July 2009), p. 41. Excellent article
recommending, and providing drafting tips for, conduit trusts.
Other articles:
Blase, James G., et al., “Consider the MAT,” Trusts & Estates (Feb. 2010), p. 38.
★Choate, Natalie B., “Tax opinion: Transferring an IRA out of trust,” Estate Planning Studies
(Merrill Anderson Publishing, July 2008)
Choate, Natalie B., “Trustees’ Dilemma with Section 643,” Trusts & Estates, Vol. 143, No. 7,
July 2004, p. 26,
Jones, Michael J., “Transferring IRAs,” 145 Trusts & Estates No. 4 (April 2006), p. 38.
Kavesh, Philip J., and Morrow, Edwin P., III, “Ensuring the Stretchout,” Journal of Retirement
Planning (CCH, July–August 2007), p. 31.
Fiduciary income tax matters:
The following four treatises are recommended for an understanding of the income tax treatment of
trusts and estates:
Abbin, Byrle M., Income Taxation of Fiduciaries and Beneficiaries (CCH, 2007, 2 vols.).