Inherited IRA Special Needs Trust (d)4(a)

Along with our Conservator & Trustee money management services, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. is among the few firms that will act as custodian and domicile IRA’s inherited by a (d)4(a) special needs trust (SNT). One of our areas of expertise is the custodianship and management of these SNT accounts on a minimal fee basis (0.9% to 0.6% annually). Most importantly, our team will help ensure all of our clients are compliant with the Uniform Prudent Investor Act.

This is how it works:

Moving an inherited IRA to Oppenheimer is a regular IRA custodian to IRA custodian transfer from our perspective. Once the account is here, under the guidance of independent legal counsel, a person with a guardianship (or power of attorney) would instruct us to move from an incapacitated person’s inherited IRA to a SNT inherited IRA (we don’t move directly into the SNT, because the whole thing would become taxable at that point).

If there’s no guardianship, it needs to be established. While we wait for that, if an RMD is required, we’ll accept a signature from the SNT trustee to move the RMD from the inherited IRA to an account at Oppenheimer for the SNT. Of course, we need all of the typical account documentation (client agreements, IRA application, a copy of the SNT, etc.)

We also need an IRA Distribution Form and a specially worded letter of instruction from the guardian which instructs us that, upon the advice of his/her independent legal counsel, he/she is instructing us to transfer the inherited IRA to the SNT inherited IRA. Please contact our team if you would like a copy of the LOA language.

In addition to acting as custodian, domiciling, and managing these accounts, we can also help with reducing bonding costs by blocking and restricting accounts in court supervised cases.

Please feel free to use us as a resource.