What is the rule on stretching Inherited IRA money left to a Trust, that has a conduit rule in place.

Hello. My name is Damien. I am a Trusts & Estates attorney practicing in the NYC metropolitan area. It sounds like you are referring to the Secure Act: Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act, commonly known as the Secure Act. The Act states in part that if someone inherits money from an IRA or 401k plan (from someone other than a spouse), the person has to withdraw the full amount within 10 years. Before, you could stretch the distributions and tax payments over the beneficiary's life expectancy. Now you would have to withdraw over a 10 year period (with some exceptions). Even if you drafted a trust that says it is over the life expectancy, that trust would only be "grandfathered" if it was already in effect. So, if someone inherited an account on December 31, 2019, or prior to that date, the terms of the trust would be grandfathered and that person could continue to take distributions over their lifetime. There are some exceptions, including the surviving spouse, a disabled or chronically ill person as the beneficiary or someone less than 10 years younger than the account owner, or if there is a minor child of the account owner (there does not seem to be an exception for grandchildren). So, a minor grandchild who could have stretched the payout period over 60-70 years, for example, would have to take the payout over a 10 year period (note that in the case of a minor, a guardian or custodian may have to be in place to accept the money on behalf of the minor). A possible alternative instead of a conduit trust could be an accumulation trust  This trust could give the trustee more discretion to make a distribution, albeit it could result in higher income taxes. If you need any assistance, a New York Trusts & Estates Attorney could help you. If you wish to speak on the phone about it, you can call Damien Bosco, P.C. at (646) 452-7082 or email me at DamienBoscoEsq@gmail.com