@TerraID - I read @fanfare 's response as CONSISTENT with @dmertz .
All that was suggested is that FOR EXAMPLE, in Year 1, at least distribute 1/10 of the IRA balance ...in Year 2, take out at least 1/9 of the then IRA balance....in year 4, take out at least 1/6 of the then IRA balance, etc. That way you don't get left with a very large distribution (and probably a higher tax bracket) in Year 10.
I don't see that there was a suggestion that THIS year is YEAR 4 - because of the year death of your MIL. Using Year 4 in the example was just a conincidence to the numbers of years since your MIL's passing.
