How to make sure that your IRA avoids probate

Attorney Tom Olsen: Normally IRAs don't go through probate. She's wondering why is the financial institution not handling over mom's IRA money to them. I guess that would have one guess.

Attorney Chris Merrill: Mom didn't name beneficiary.

Tom: Yes, that would be it. Chrissy, we counsel married couples about this all the time. When we're talking to a married couple, with this situation, we'll be talking to the wife and we'll say, "Hey, surely, you named your husband as a primary beneficiary. Did you name your children as contingent beneficiary?" Often, the spouse will look at us and say, "Ah, I don't know. I don't remember." It's one of the things, when we give them their homework to do in their action plan, is to make sure that on their IRAs, they have both a primary and a contingent beneficiary.

Chris: Exactly, and that's why I always will advise people, when you hear the words, "Oh, IRAs or certain things don't go through probate," that's not accurate. It is that it will go through probate if you do not name, exactly like you said, Tom, a spouse, and/or children as alternate. If you do not do that, there's nothing automatic. Is the issue about-- That it will automatically go to a spouse? I think people have that misconception not only about the IRAs, and the financial accounts, but also about their homes.

Tom: Yes. This text is wondering why the institution won't turn over mom's IRA money to the kids, and there is only one reason, that is mom failed to name the kids as a beneficiary. That means it's going to have to go through probate. Folks, for all your IRAs, life insurance, and annuities, when you get to name a beneficiary, if you're a married couple, of course, you're going to name your spouse as a primary, but make sure you name your children as contingent beneficiaries of your IRAs, life insurance, and annuities.

In case your spouse happens to die before you, it's already set up to go to your kids.

Chris: Exactly, and you're right, Tom, on all of those financial accounts. The same it would be, again, your spouse first, and then your kids as the alternate, and as long as you do that, then it will not go through probate.

Tom: We appreciate that text for you, and if you are going to need some help opening up an estate to get access to that IRA money, the Olsen Law Group, we're all about helping people to avoid probates, and sometimes, probates have to be done. We can help you with that probate as well [unintelligible 00:02:30]. Call the Olsen Law Group in Orlando next week at 407-423-55-61. By the way, we represent clients throughout the state of Florida. We can help anybody in the state of Florida with their estate planning will trust.

If probate needs to be done, we can assist them with that, and we can help them to protect their life savings from the cost of a nursing home. Anybody in Florida, we can help them.

Chris: We sure can.

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