stock basis in trust

[Alan Jones]

Missouri-does titling stock assets in the name of the revocable trust before death prevent the step up in basis on stock obtained after death, or does the trust retain the step up benefit? Also-if an IRA is placed in a trust, I understand that the ability to roll over into the spouse IRA is lost, requiring withdrawals over five years-do the withdrawals have to be equal, or can they be front or back loaded?

 

[dmode101]

The revocable trust retains the benefit. The step-up in basis is based on the fact that the asset is includable in the decedent's estate, and since revocable trust are incl in the estate, then they qualify for the step-up in basis. IRA's should never be *titled* in the trust, however, in certain situations it is ok to designate a trust as *beneficiary.* If done correctly, the five-year rule will not apply, but this is a complicated issue - speak to an attorney familiar with the new rules to determine if the trust is an appropriate beneficiary. If I attempted to answer the question here with all the what-if's it could take hours.