When does an IRA go through probate?

This IRA went through probate because he failed to name contingent beneficiaries.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Bruce, you're on WDBO. Go ahead.

Bruce: My father died in February and prior to that, his wife had died and everything was in a trust. Everything else has been resolved with the exception of a fidelity IRA and they're telling us we're going to have to go to probate. Where do I proceed from there?

Attorney Tom Olsen: Let's be clear for the listeners. Normally, IRAs don't go through probate but you need to make sure that you've named beneficiaries, primary beneficiaries and contingent beneficiaries. Your dad might have named his wife as a primary beneficiary but failed to name contingent beneficiaries. Lo and behold, his wife dies before him, now he dies with an IRA without a beneficiary and now it's going through probate. Bruce, yes, it will require a probate process. At the Olsen Law Group in Orlando, we can definitely assist you with that. Holley when we are meeting with people about doing their estate planning, when we get done with the meeting, we give them an action plan.

Attorney Holley Knapik: We do.

Attorney Tom Olsen: On that action plan, it tells the client what we're doing and it tells the client what we want them to do. On that list of things to do is to make sure that all IRAs, retirement accounts, life insurance have a primary and a contingent beneficiary.

Attorney Holley Knapik: It is so important to name that contingent beneficiary.