A 52-year old man with a Traditional IRA died without naming a beneficiary, so his estate is the beneficiary by default. He had no spouse, no children and no will, so by state (IN) law he has five heirs, three siblings and two parents. I am the administrator for his estate.

A 10/3/2016 Q&A in the Slott Report indicated “An inherited IRA would need to be set up in the name of the decedent for the benefit of the estate. When the estate is closed, the IRA custodian could transfer the inherited IRA into inherited IRA accounts for the beneficiaries of the estate.” This was noted as being what the law allows and is subject to whether the custodian will allow it. It also indicates the 5-yr distribution rule applies.

Is all this still correct, and can you cite the relevant code/regulations which permit it?

Also, would the same process be allowable if starting with a similarly situated 401(k)?