Updated July 28, 2026. Quick answer: A blank contingent line means that if your primary beneficiary dies first or disclaims, the account generally defaults to your estate — a five-year emptying rather than ten, plus probate, plus lost creditor protection.
Three ways the contingent line gets used
- The primary predeceases you and the form was never updated.
- The primary dies at the same time or shortly after.
- The primary disclaims — which is a planning tool that only works if there is somewhere good for the account to go.
That third case is the one people miss: a disclaimer is often the cleanest way to redirect an inheritance to the next generation, and a blank contingent line makes it useless.
Defaulting to the estate is the worst common outcome in this whole area — compressed distribution, probate exposure, and the loss of the direct-transfer protections. It is prevented by filling in one line.
What to name
Usually the people you would want next: children per stirpes, or a trust if one is appropriate. Naming “my estate” as contingent is functionally the same as leaving it blank and should be deliberate if chosen at all.
Run your own numbers. Inherited IRA drawdown calculator — shape the ten-year drawdown.
Sources
SECURE Act (2019); SECURE 2.0 (2022); final RMD regulations published 19 July 2024; IRC §401(a)(9); IRC §1014 (basis of property acquired from a decedent); IRC §664 (charitable remainder trusts). Cross-checked July 2026 against professional analyses from Kitces, Grant Thornton, Ascensus, Charles Schwab and Kiplinger. Indexed figures and state-specific rules are flagged rather than asserted.
This states what the cited authority says. It is not tax or legal advice, and beneficiary planning turns on family facts and state law that no page can see.