There is no grey area. The IRS has provided unambiguous guidance on this issue. Even if investment losses cause the balance to drop below the RMD amount before the RMD is completed, taking in the year-of-death a distribution of the entire balance of the inherited IRA satisfies the RMD requirement unless the remainder can be taken from another inherited IRA that is permitted to be aggregated. (Aggregation is permitted with multiple IRAs inherited by the same beneficiary from the same individual and subject to the same RMD-determination method).
