What to do when an Inspira Financial account holder dies
Report the death to Inspira Financial's Beneficiary Claims at 1-877-682-4727
What happens to Inspira Financial retirement accounts after the account holder dies depends on how each account was titled. Beneficiary-designated and trust-owned accounts transfer directly. Accounts in the deceased's name alone go through the estate, and the executor or administrator works with Inspira Financial's Beneficiary Claims (1-877-682-4727) to claim the funds.
Death claim process
To file a claim after an account holder's death, here is what Inspira Financial requires:
Filing a claim
- Automatic rollover IRA (a balance a former employer's plan moved to Inspira): 877-682-4727, fax 630-368-5697, rollover@inspirafinancial.com
- Self-directed IRA or alternative assets: 800-618-6177, Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT, alternatives@inspirafinancial.com
- HSA, FSA, HRA or other health and benefits account: 844-729-3539
- General individual account support: 800-258-7878, fax 630-472-5395, indiv_account_support@inspirafinancial.com
- A designation is on file: the named beneficiary completes the Election of Payment by Beneficiary, Form IRA-024.
- No valid designation is on file: the beneficiary or the executor completes the IRA Beneficiary Testimonial, Form IRA-041.
- Section A asks for the owner's name, taxpayer ID, address, date of birth, date of death, and one account type: Traditional, Roth, SEP or SIMPLE IRA.
- Section B requires a residential address that "cannot be a P.O. Box, Mail Drop or c/o address".
- Section D is the election of how the account is paid, and the withholding election follows it.
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificateThe Custodial Agreement calls for notice of the death "supported by a certified copy of the death certificate or other appropriate evidence of the fact of death satisfactory to the Custodian".
- Certified death certificate for the account owner's spouse, where the spouse died after the account owner and no designation is on fileForm IRA-041: "a certified death certificate for the spouse will be required before any distribution can be processed for this account".
- Election of Payment by Beneficiary, Form IRA-024Completed with Sections A, B and D, the withholding election, and the beneficiary's signature.
- IRA Beneficiary Testimonial, Form IRA-041, where no valid beneficiary designation is on file
- Government-issued photo ID, for the claiming beneficiary or estate representative
- Adoption Agreement enclosed with Form IRA-024, where the beneficiary opens an inherited IRA at Inspira
- Transfer paperwork from the successor custodian, where the beneficiary moves the assets to an inherited IRA elsewhere
- Trust documentation, where a trust is the named beneficiaryPages identifying the trust, its trustees, and the trust's Tax ID.
- Letters testamentary or letters of administration, where the estate is the beneficiary or takes under the default order
- Federal tax withholding election on Form IRA-024
- State W-4P withholding form, where the state requires oneInspira cannot process the distribution until the state form is submitted. The form comes from the state's government website, not the IRS.
Forms Inspira Financial issues4
- Election of Payment by Beneficiary (IRA Owner Deceased), Form IRA-024
Completed by the named beneficiary. Available to download.1
- IRA Beneficiary Testimonial, Form IRA-041
Completed by the beneficiary or the executor, where no valid designation is on file. Available to download.2
- IRA Distribution Request, Form IRA-040, for later withdrawals from a self-directed inherited IRA
Completed by the beneficiary. Available to download.3
- Direct/Automatic Rollover IRA Distribution Request, Form ARP-050, for later withdrawals from an automatic rollover IRA
Completed by the beneficiary. Available to download.3
What happens to each kind of account2
- IRA
If no beneficiary survives, all renounce, or no valid designation is on file, Inspira pays "the Account Owner's spouse", then "the natural and adoptive children of the Account Owner in equal shares per capita", then "the Account Owner's estate, through the estate's executor or other legal representative."4
Form IRA-041, signed under penalty of perjury, asks whether the owner was married at death, the spouse's name if the spouse also died after the owner, and the number of natural and adopted children, a number required for each "even if it is 0".2
For a year-of-death required minimum distribution, Form IRA-024 lets the beneficiary certify it was taken, state an amount they calculated, or have Inspira calculate it for a fee. Inspira calculates it only where the owner died in the current year and Inspira was custodian before December 31 of the prior year.1
Form IRA-024 sets a year-of-death cut-off of December 1 for alternative assets and December 15 for cash and traditional assets, and warns that "some alternative assets require significant lead time (often much longer than 30 days) to process a liquidation".1
Inspira does not appraise or sell real estate, private equity, notes or metals for a beneficiary. The beneficiary takes an in-kind distribution or arranges a sale.3
- Health savings account
With no designation, the HSA passes to the spouse, then to the estate. There is no step for children.3
What Inspira Financial provides to the estate1
- Tax forms
Inspira reports the distribution on Form 1099-R, or on Form 1042-S for a beneficiary outside the United States.3
What Inspira Financial's agreement and guidance say4
- How proceeds are paid
A spouse who is sole beneficiary may take an immediate distribution, treat the account as their own in an IRA at Inspira or elsewhere, or open an inherited IRA at Inspira or transfer to one elsewhere.1
Other individuals may take an immediate distribution, open an inherited IRA at Inspira, or transfer to an inherited IRA elsewhere. An estate, trust or charity may take an immediate distribution or the Qualified Trust option.1
- Indemnity a claimant may have to give
Before it distributes, Inspira may "request from the beneficiary or estate of the Account Owner, indemnification and discharge from any liability".3
- What it says about taxes
Form IRA-024 warns that if the country of residence given is incorrect, the beneficiary, not Inspira, is responsible for correcting it with the IRS.1
- Accounts from a merged institution
Inspira became successor custodian of Quest Trust Company accounts on Sept. 3, 2024 and of NuView Trust Company accounts on Nov. 1, 2024.5, 6
Beneficiary designations made with the prior custodian "will continue to be honored by Inspira". Assets were not retitled at the transfer, so deeds and notes may still name the old custodian.5, 6
Not in Inspira Financial's published guidance1
- How long a claim takes
Inspira Financial's Beneficiary Claims can be reached by phone at 1-877-682-4727, email at rollover@inspirafinancial.com, and fax at 1-630-368-5697 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
- inspirafinancial.com
- account.inspirafinancial.com
- expressclaim.mtrustcompany.com
- wealthretirementforms.inspirafinancial.com
Data sourced from Inspira Financial primary sources (20 pages reviewed). How we research.
Inspira Financial death claims support
Beneficiary Claims
Phone
Self-directed IRA claims and distributions
IRA Beneficiary Testimonial, Form IRA-041
HSA and other health and benefits accounts
Fax
Hours
Mailing address
Website
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