Sep 17, 2026
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11 min read
Day 61 is a tax bill, not a grace period. But the IRS publishes a free self certification procedure covering illness, a misplaced check and institution errors, and almost nobody uses it.
One indirect rollover per twelve months, aggregated across every IRA you own, counted from the day the money left. Transfers and conversions are unlimited, which is the entire escape route.
The two words get used interchangeably by almost everyone, including people who work at brokerages. One is invisible to the IRS. The other has a deadline, an annual limit and a withholding trap.
Turning down an inheritance sounds absurd until you see the bracket arbitrage. Nine months, no acceptance of any benefit, and the account passes to whoever is named next.
Your IRA does not pass under your will. A blank beneficiary line hands it to the custodian’s default, which usually means probate, creditor exposure, and a five year payout instead of ten.
A minor cannot legally own an inherited IRA, so the default outcome is a court supervised guardianship and a full handover at 18. One extra sentence on the form prevents both.
There is no federal limit on how many people you can name. Two Latin phrases on the form decide whether a deceased child’s share passes to your grandchildren or sideways to their siblings.
A check paid to a non-spouse beneficiary can never be put back, and the ten year rule is a tax bracket puzzle rather than a deadline. Most people learn both facts far too late.
A divorce decree does not move a single dollar out of a 401(k). Only a qualified order does, and the penalty free cash window it opens exists exactly once, at the moment of distribution.
