If in 2019 a traditional IRA was inherited by 6 of 7 siblings as beneficiaries and the 1 remaining sibling inherited via a trust, can the RMDs be stretched over the life expectancies of each beneficiary?
The traditional IRA was inherited from the mother of these 6 siblings.
Each beneficiary including the trust received a separate new account for their portion of the inherited traditional IRA.
Based on https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p590b.pdf, I believe the sibling that inherited via a trust falls under the discussion of “Trust as beneficiary” that appears on page 12. If the 4 criteria listed in that section of the document are met, I believe this sibling may stretch the RMDs over their life expectancy.
Also based on https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p590b.pdf, I believe the other siblings fall under the discussion of “Separate accounts” that appears on page 12. That section indicates, “However, these separate accounts or shares won't be combined for required minimum distribution purposes after the death of the IRA owner if the separate accounts or shares are established by the end of the year following the year of the IRA owner's death.” Therefore, I believe these other siblings can stretch the RMDs over each of their lifetimes. Note that the last sentence in that section indicates, “The separate account rules can't be used by beneficiaries of a trust.” I think that these other siblings are beneficiaries of the IRA, and they are not beneficiaries of the trust that was inherited by the 1 sibling that inherited via a trust.
