18 Oct Do minors have to take distributions from an inherited IRA?

Q. When my mother died, she left an IRA that had me and my two minor children as beneficiaries. Do minors have to take RMDs?
— Mom

A. We’re sorry to hear about your mother.

The rules for IRAs are very specific, and you could face some ugly penalties.

But being a minor is irrelevant.

If you inherit an IRA from your spouse, you add the inherited balance into your own IRA, said Bernie Kiely, a certified financial planner and certified public accountant with Kiely Capital Management in Morristown.

Your withdrawals are based on your age, he said.

“When you inherit an IRA from someone who is not your spouse, the inherited IRA is kept separate in an inherited IRA account,” he said. So, your mother’s IRA will become three inherited IRA accounts — one for you and one for each of your two kids.”

The first rule with inherited IRAs is that you must withdraw all of the funds and pay the appropriate tax by the end of 10 years from the decedent’s passing Kiely said.

“If the decedent was old enough to be taking Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), then the person who inherits the IRA must continue to take RMDs based upon their own age,” Kiely said. “Again, the balance must be withdrawn by the end of 10 years.”

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This story was originally published in October 2026. 

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