Assume that Joe is over 72, and has both a traditional and a Roth IRA which he leaves in equal shares to his children, Jack and Jill. He dies on January 31, 2019. Jack and Jill elect to take RMD's over time according to the table for inherited IRA's.
1) How are Jack and Jill's obligation for RMD's for the traditional IRA for 2019 affected by whether Joe has taken distributions from his IRA in 2019 prior to death? 2) If Joe has not taken any distributions from his Roth IRA, when do Jack and Jill's obligations for RMD's start for the Roth? Would this be any different if Joe died on December 31, 2019 and the accounts were not re-titled until early 2020?I'm assuming that if Joe is at death's door early in any calendar year, and has modest income from other sources, it's probably to his (really his estate's) benefit to take distributions from his traditional IRA to fill up at least his 0% and probably his 10% bracket (if his heirs are in higher tax brackets).