Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Arizona

Re: 401K minor beneficiary

You need to establish a private trust, naming the mother as trustee, for this to work. If you name the mother as beneficiary without the trust, she may receive the funds outright, which is not what you want. See an estate attorney. This should coordinate with the rest of your estate plan, ie will, living trust, etc.

Retirement plans which defer taxes are subject to tax when funds are withdrawn. Special rules apply. Contact the plan administrator for details or your financial planner.

We offer free no-obligation consultations for estate planning at 480.835.1500.

Best regards,

James D. Jenkins

Re: 401K minor beneficiary

You can name your grandson as beneficiary, although you probably cannot nominate a guardian on the beneficiary form. Contact your 401k administrator.

A better option, in my opinion, would be for you to create a trust to collect and distribute the assets. This way you could control who will become trustee and you could prevent your grandson from spending all the money when he turns 18.

I offer free consultations, and I have some experience drafting these types of trusts.