Does an IRA beneficiary override the terms of a trust?

Question

I inherited an IRA from my brother.  Sister had brother sign a will in the hospital the day before he died from a serious illness and heavily drugged to invalidate all named beneficiaries and all assets to be distributed equally among all siblings.  I just received a letter from the probate attorney stating that I will have to share (equalize) the money I received according to the terms of the will at the final distribution of the probated assets.  Is this legal?  I thought named beneficiaries override wills and trusts.

Spock (rhp) · Answer

you need an attorney.  now.

the new Will is, arguably, invalid because your now deceased brother's state of mind at the time of signing can not be proved due to the drugs.  This is going to require review of his detailed medical records and likely testimony from his medical caregivers to the effect that he wasn't capable of making good decisions.

If the Will is invalid, then the prior Will, if any, continues to hold and your claim as named beneficiary to the IRA will be upheld.

Slickterp · Answer

The IRA isn't part of the estate, so the will has no bearing.  He can't invalidate beneficiaries that way anyway.  Doubt that's legally valid.

Dan H · Answer

In general, named beneficiaries override wills.  It sounds like you need to get your own attorney to counteract your sister's actions.  Do not act on anything the probate attorney says until you at least consult your own attorney.

If you brother had a long standing will, it probably wouldn't take much to get a judge to invalidate the will he signed on his deathbed.

goz1111 · Answer

A named IRA is not subject to Probate, but if there is substantial monies you may want to at least consult a lawyer

davidmi711 · Answer

You need a lawyer if you are going to challenge the new will. If you are not then don't whine about it.

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Does an IRA beneficiary override the terms of a trust?

5 Answers