Navigating the Estate-bequest Terrain

Naming a charity as one of multiple beneficiaries of a qualified plan or IRA will not affect the interest of the charity, but it can affect interest of the individual beneficiaries — and not necessarily in a favorable way.

The balance in the qualified plan or IRA must be distributed within five years of the death — if the donor had not attained age 70.5 at death. Otherwise, it would be distributed over the donor’s remaining life expectancy, if death occurs after age 70.5. But there are ways to avoid this.