What Issues Should I Consider When Inheriting a Traditional or Roth IRA?

An inherited IRA doesn't follow the same rules as your own retirement account, and the distribution requirements can vary significantly depending on whether you're a spouse, a non-spouse beneficiary, or fall into another category entirely.

Coordinating the inherited account with your own financial goals, and with the taxes it will generate, is worth doing early. The distribution rules leave less room for improvisation than most retirement accounts.