@dfschmagel - first, please turn off the cap lock.... it is hard to read and etiquette says it is a form of SHOUTING.
What you state is accurate and correct.
Since your father passed and did not take his RMD, the responsility passes to the Inheritor.
"If the owner died on or after the required beginning date, the IRA beneficiaries are responsible for figuring and distributing the owner's required minimum distribution in the year of death."
Page 8 of this link
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p590b.pdf
SInce you took the RMD after it was already transferred to your name and you SSN, it goes on YOUR tax return.
if you took out more money from the IRA than the RMD required, you have met the RMD requirement. THat is just simple logic. Remember, RMD stands for "required minimum distribution' and since your distribution exceeded that minimum, what is the issue?
Can you please provide links to the artciles you state are conflicting?
Now all that stated, I suspect all these articles are saying that the RMD requirement is an obligation as of Jan 1. So the IRS doesn't care whether a) the owner of the IRA distrubutes the RMD prior to their passing or b) the beneficary takes the RMD after their passing; in fact, you have until the end of the following year to take that RMD without penalty if this was the circumstance.
I think you are using the incorrect terminology when you state you "liquidated" or "cashed out" the account". What you did was take a distribution that liquidated the account and then once the balance was zero you closed the account. The IRS lanugage is consistently "distribution"...and you did that.
