Bill wrote:

- quote -

Thank-you for the note. For most of us answering quetions here, it's all
about helping. I wish you well, Bill

JOE

Thanks for the reference to Ed Slott's book. I just picked it up from
the library and it looks like his chapter on IRAs and trusts will
answer my question. Reading the chapter is my next step.

--
.Bill.

Bill wrote:

- quote -

If you don't want the spouse to get the RMD, You slould considr leaving
the IRA directly to the chilren, or a trust whose term are what you
intend. I don't claim to be an expert, which is why I cited the quote I
did. It seemed that example was the most common intent of the QTIP setup.
JOE

joetaxpayer wrote:

- quote -

On the contrary, using your example, the RMD is paid to the surviving
spouse who is the beneficiary of the trust, not to the trust. This has
the effect of removing money from the trust and adding it to the estate
of the surviving spouse. Removing the funds from the IRA before the RMD
starts will prevent the IRA from being distributed to the spouse and
not passing to the children.

--
.Bill.

Bill wrote:

- quote -

Under "fair use", I quote Ed Slott;

"In a typical second marriage situation, the IRA owner may want to leave
his wife the annual IRAincomebut, after his wife's death, to make sure
the IRA goes to his children and not to, say, her chilren from a first
marriage. A trust can be used to accomplish this. (snip)

The appropriate trust for these situations is called a QTIP ("qualified
terminal interest property") trust. It is used both to qualify for the
marital deduction and to give you (the IRA owner and trust creator)
control over the trust principal (the IRA) after your death."

This is quoted from his book "Parlay your IRA into a family fortune"

From your question, it sound like you are actually trying to circumvent
the original intent of the QTIP. I would believe that the wording of the
trust should prevent the trustee from doing as you suggest, given that
its purpose (and hopefulluy, the original wording) allows only
distributions based on RMD (required minimum distributions) for the life
of the surviving spouse. Maybe I've misunderstood your intentions.

JOE

Assume I have a QTIP trust. Assume I have an IRA and that the
beneficiary of the IRA is the trust. Assume I die.

Is there anything that prevents the trustee of the trust from removing
funds from the IRA, paying the appropriate taxes, and using the money
for the purpose specified in the trust document?

--
.Bill.