Under the new PPA provision for allowing participant's to take hardships for primary beneficiary expenses, can a mother be the primary beneficiary and the participant take a hardship for a parent's medical expenses? If so, can this only be the case if there are no spouse or children that could first make claim on the plan account upon the participant's death?

I believe that the spouse would have to consent to naming the mother as beneficiary for it to be a valid designation.

I've heard of cases where people have named someone as the primary beneficiary of a small percentage (5% or less) and left the spouse as the primary of the remainder in order to be able to take a hardship for that person.