Disclaimers
It is also possible for the surviving spouse to disclaim bequests, either partially or completely. Any disclaimed property will be distributed as though the surviving spouse had predeceased the descendent. Therefore, once again it is extremely important to understand the dispositive provisions of the descendent's documents.
Disclaimers can offer the opportunity for estate planning and income tax planning and, in effect, can amend the descendent's estate plan. For example, it is typically advisable to name the surviving spouse as the beneficiary of qualified plans, such as IRA's, and 401(K)'s in order to permit the rollover of the distribution into a spousal IRA to defer the income taxation on the distribution. However, there may be situations in which it would be preferable for all, or part, of the qualified plan distributions to be paid to a Credit Shelter Trust. The provisions of the Credit Shelter Trust can be drawn in a manner that would provide income to the surviving spouse during their lifetime. Once again, the surviving spouse must be certain that the provisions of the descendent's estate documents will achieve the desired result before making the disclaimer.