Last May my wife inherited a decent sum of money when her father died.

It turns out that her father put her name on his 401k when she was a child.

The problem is her mother is still alive. The money is rightfully hers. We would like to transfer the money over to her but not have to pay taxes.

Is there a good way to do this?

I would say you need an Attorney. With certain policies and inheritances you can simply renounce the "inheritance" and it goes to the next in line.

An Accountant or Attorney would know a lot more about this than I do.

So you are wanting to transfer the money over to her mother? You will need to go to a good accountant to try to transfer it with out doing a payoff and paying taxes. Like most people know... there are only two things for certain in life... death and taxes.

Last May my wife inherited a decent sum of money when her father died.

It turns out that her father put her name on his 401k when she was a child.

The problem is her mother is still alive. The money is rightfully hers. We would like to transfer the money over to her but not have to pay taxes.

Is there a good way to do this?

Forgive me for saying this but in looking at your question it may not be a good idea for you to give your mom the money in a straight out manner. For starters it might be best for you to manage the funds and provide a reguler income to her. That way there is a steady flow of funds and it can't be taken from her so long as your acting responsible. The reason for saying it that way is because there is a possibility that the money provided in a lump sum could evaporate due to illness or taxes. If you do it right she can live out her years and survive with income she can count on. A lump sum might not make it that long.

Just a thought.

I still think the OP can renounce and allow the money to be transferred through the estate.

Other suggestions are good, of course, but renouncing may be the easiest course.

I still think the OP can renounce and allow the money to be transferred through the estate.

Other suggestions are good, of course, but renouncing may be the easiest course.

I agree. The only problem that may occur is that in having her name on the account already it may have been considered " joint ". Im not exactly sure how a 401k works because most are plan specific.