Discretionary Accumulation Trust (14 Pages)

Note:  This document was previously titled "See-Through (aka Conduit) Trust For IRA and Retirement Plan Benefits (14 Pages)".  This trust is compliant with the Secure Act in that it receives the required minimum distributions (RMDs) as required by law, and allows the trustee discretion as to when and whether the funds are paid to the trust beneficiary. It would be better described as a “Discretionary Accumulation Trust” rather than a “See Through Trust” since a See Through Trust implies that all RMDs must be paid to the beneficiary on receipt. That is not required here.

 

This Form of an IRA and Retirement Plan Beneficiary See-Through Trust is designed to distribute the Grantor’s Retirement Plans, qualified plans as well as IRAs, to a trust as the designated beneficiary of the Retirement Plans for the lifetime benefit of a child of the Grantor. The required minimum distributions rules must be observed, and the Trustee is authorized in its discretion to make payments to the Beneficiary as well as to the spouse and children of the Beneficiary. Provision is also made for additional issue of the Beneficiary.
 

The Trust is designed to allow the trust property to be transferred in such a manner so as to qualify for Inherited IRA treatment, and to allow the minimum required distributions to be paid, if desired, by the Trustee over the lifetime of the Beneficiary.

Author: 
Steven G. Siegel is president of The Siegel Group, which provides consulting services to attorneys, accountants, business owners, family offices and financial planners. Based in Morristown, New Jersey, the Group provides services throughout the United States. Mr. Siegel is the author of many books, including: The Grantor Trust Answer Book (2012 and 2013 CCH); CPA’s Guide to Financial and Estate Planning (AICPA 2012); and Federal Fiduciary Income Taxation (Foxmoor 2012). In conjunction with numerous tax planning lectures he has delivered for the National Law Foundation, Mr. Siegel has prepared extensive lecture materials on the following subjects: Planning for An Aging Population; Business Entities: Start to Finish; Preparing the Audit-Proof Federal Estate Tax Return; Business Acquisitions: Representing Buyers and Sellers in the Sale of a Business; Dynasty Trusts; Planning with Intentionally-Defective Grantor Trusts, Introduction to Estate Planning; Intermediate-Sized Estate Planning; Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid: Explanation and Planning Strategies; Subchapter S Corporations: Using Trusts as Shareholders; Divorce and Separation: Important Tax Planning Issues; The Portability Election; Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax: A Comprehensive Review; and many other titles. Mr. Siegel has delivered hundreds of lectures to thousands of attendees in live venues and via webinars throughout the United States on tax, business and estate planning topics on behalf of numerous organizations, including The Heckerling Institute on Tax Planning, CCH, National Law Foundation, AICPA, Western CPE, the National Society of Accountants, the National Tax Institute, Cohn-Reznick, Professional Education Systems, Inc., Foxmoor Education, many State Accounting Societies and Estate Planning Councils as well as on behalf of private companies. He is presently serving as an adjunct professor of law in the Graduate Tax Program (LLM) of the University of Alabama, and has served as an adjunct professor of law at Seton Hall and Rutgers University law schools. Mr. Siegel holds a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University (magna cum laude, phi beta kappa), a juris doctor from Harvard Law School and an LLM in taxation from New York University Law School.