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The elimination of the Stretch IRA that resulted from passage ofthe Setting Every Community Up for Retirement (SECURE)Act is a game changer for wealth advisors, estate planners, andthose parents who were considering bequeathing savings in individual retirement accounts to theirkids.

"For a lot of people, the bulk of their wealth has beenestablished in their IRAs," said Michael Repak, vice president andsenior estate planner with Janney Montgomery Scott.

"This law, even though it didn't get the publicity of the TaxCuts and Jobs Act, will have an equal impact on estate planning,"he added.

The SECURE Act is the most comprehensive retirement bill to passin a decade and a half. Many of its provisions are designed tostimulate more and better options in the workplace definedcontribution market.

While the policy prescriptions in SECURE enjoyed vast bipartisansupport, the fact that it comes close to revenue neutrality—atleast by the standard's of today's Washington—no doubt helped getit across the finish line.

The bill will add $428 million to the federal budget over 10years. Of its $16.2 billion in revenue provisions, $15.7 billion isaccounted for by elimination of the Stretch IRA.

Existing beneficiaries of Stretch IRAs will not be impacted bythe change in the law, noted Repak. But going forward, IRAsinherited by the children, or anyone not the spouse of thebenefactor, will have to spend down the assets in 10 years.

"Any time a change like this comes along it forces theprofession to revisit the arithmetic of their planning techniques,"said Repak.

"Truth be told, we're all in the same boat and trying toevaluate it all," he added.

Alternative estate planning approaches will emerge to fill theStretch void. Here are three that Repak thinks will garnerattention.

1. Roth conversions

"This will force people to take a hard look at Rothconversions," said Repak.

Traditional IRA owners who had intended to leave theirretirement assets to their children may be passing on negative taxconsequences now that the Stretch has been eliminated.

If the beneficiaries are high earners, a Roth conversion maymake sense; under the traditional IRA model, the distributionswould be taxed as ordinary income at a high tax rate.

There are also political implications in the short and nearterm. A change in administrations next fall may result in tax ratesgoing up. That too could influence whether to convert a TraditionalIRA to a Roth before it is passed on.

Another consideration is state inheritance taxes. A Rothconversion could reduce the size of the estate, and lowertax exposure.

But there is no one-size fits all alternative, be it with a Rothconversion or other strategies, says Repak. And there are pros andcons to each approach. With a Roth conversion, there is, of course,a big tax hit on the front end.

"Just about every planning technique involves some tradeoffs,"he said. "But the tradeoffs can be worth it.

2. Life insurance

The death benefit of a life insurance policy is not included asthe beneficiary's  income.

Using distributions from an IRA to pay for the policy—assumingthe benefactor is insurable—is not a new strategy, but one that maytake on new vitality with the elimination of the Stretch.

"The strategy makes more sense under the new rules," saidRepak.

3. Charitable remainder trusts

IRA assets could be used to fund a charitable remainder trust,which allows the benefactor to establish an income stream for theirchildren with part of the IRA assets, with the remainder going to anamed charity.

The trust can grow assets tax free, but the named non-charitablebeneficiaries (the kids) do pay income taxes on money they drawfrom the CRT.

Repak cited two different types of trusts–a charitable remainderannuity trust, and a charitable remainder unitrust. The formerdistributes a fixed annual annuity and does not allow continuedcontributions; the latter distributes a fixed percentage of theinitial assets, and allows continued contributions.

"I think this is one of the most interesting options, but it'simportant to bear in mind that this works best for a family thatalready has philanthropic intentions," said Repak.

READ MORE:

• Impact and opportunities in the SECUREAct
• With or without SECURE Act, industryon the precipice of new evolution
• What the SECURE Act means for annuities in401(k)s