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GiftLaw Pro Home   >  Chapter 3 - Deferred Gifts  >  3.2 Bequests  >  3.2.4 Bequests Through Disclaimers  >  Basic Quiz

Basic Quiz - 3.2.4 Bequests Through Disclaimers

1. If a person or a charity is named as a beneficiary in a testator's estate, he or she must accept the gift.
           
2. If a testator has an IRA and wishes the IRA to go to charity at his death but would like it to be available to family if necessary, it is possible to name the family as the designated beneficiary and the charity as the contingent beneficiary. If at the testator's death, the family does not need the IRA, they could simply disclaim the IRA and it would pass to charity with no income tax or estate tax.
           
3. A qualified disclaimer must be made within six months of the testator's death.
           
4. A beneficiary can make a qualified disclaimer by simply telling the executor of the estate that he or she does not wish to receive the item given to him or her in the will.
           
5. If a disclaimer is made in writing six months after the decedent's death but not given to the executor until a year after the decedent's death, the disclaimer relates back to the date it was put in writing.
           
6. It is permissible for any beneficiary to make a disclaimer but still benefit from the property once the disclaimer has been made.
           
7. Using the qualified disclaimer can be a powerful estate-planning tool, especially when the contingent beneficiary is a charity.
           
8. Four items are necessary in order to have a qualified disclaimer. The disclaimer must be in writing, it must be received by the executor within nine months after the date of the decedent's death, the party disclaiming must not have accepted any benefits or input in the property disclaimed and the interest must pass to a person other than the person whom disclaimed the asset.
           
9. In order for a disclaimer to be a qualified disclaimer, the property must pass to charity when it is disclaimed.
           
10. A person who wishes to disclaim property does not need any particular reason to disclaim the property.