Wall St. Journal on leaving IRAs or retirement accounts outright to children vs. to a trust for the children: “Every tax practitioner has seen parents leave a lot of money that took a lifetime to save, and then watched the children go through it in less than five years . . . . some estate lawyers and accountants are advising parents to name an irrevocable trust as the IRA beneficiary—and to name their heirs as beneficiaries of the trust.”
