Losing someone and inheriting what they worked for — at the same time — is a lot. Here's the truth: most decisions can wait. A few genuinely can't (the IRS made sure of that). We help you tell the difference, then build a plan that honors where the money came from.
Every inheritance is a different mix of accounts — and each piece has its own tax rules. Here's where the real decisions live.
Most non-spouse beneficiaries now have ten years to empty an inherited IRA — and missed required withdrawals carry IRS penalties. We set the account up correctly and pace withdrawals against your income to keep the tax bill low.
Inherited brokerage accounts usually arrive with a stepped-up cost basis — meaning you can often sell, diversify, or simplify with little or no tax. But only if the basis gets documented right, now.
Generally income-tax-free, and usually the simplest piece — until it sits in a checking account slowly evaporating. We give every dollar a job before it loses one.
Very little has to happen this month. We help you park the money safely, meet the few real deadlines, and politely ignore everyone who suddenly has an opinion about your windfall.
Pay down the loans? Invest the rest? Spend something on what they'd have loved to see you do? The best plans usually include all three — on purpose, not by accident.
You don't inherit your parents' risk tolerance, their fund picks, or their advisor. We rebuild the portfolio around your life — your timeline, your goals, your debts, your plans.
Grieve. Park any cash somewhere safe and boring. The only homework: don't make big, irreversible moves yet.
Claim and correctly title the inherited IRA (easy to get wrong, hard to undo), document cost basis, and update your own beneficiaries.
A withdrawal strategy across the 10-year window, coordinated with your salary, your bracket, and your bigger goals.
Fold it into your own plan — the debt paydown, the house, the career change, the thing they'd have wanted for you.
When money moves, the pitches follow — banks, insurance salespeople, your parents' old firm. All of them get paid when you say yes. We're built differently.
We've walked countless millennials through an inheritance — setting up inherited IRAs, pacing the 10-year window, paying down debt, investing in a business, and spending something on themselves to honor the person who left it.
Real work, years of it — details anonymized.
Since the SECURE Act, most non-spouse beneficiaries must empty an inherited IRA within 10 years — and depending on the original owner's age, you may also owe a withdrawal in most of those years. Miss one and the IRS charges a penalty. The good news: paced thoughtfully against your income, those withdrawals can cost far less in tax than taking them carelessly.
Usually less than people fear. There's no federal inheritance tax on what you receive; life insurance payouts are generally income-tax-free; and inherited taxable accounts typically get a stepped-up cost basis. The big exception is pre-tax retirement accounts — every dollar out of an inherited traditional IRA is ordinary income, which is exactly why the withdrawal pacing matters.
Mostly, yes — and often you should. Very few decisions are urgent, and grieving is not the time to make big irreversible moves. The exceptions have deadlines: claiming and correctly titling an inherited IRA, and any required withdrawals. We help you meet the few real deadlines and deliberately postpone the rest.
No. The accounts are yours now, and so is the choice. Many inheritors stay out of loyalty with an advisor who never calls them back — or was chosen forty years ago for a different generation's needs. Transferring accounts is simpler than you'd think, and we handle the paperwork.
One all-in advisory fee of 0.85% that drops to 0.75% as you reach milestones with us — covering both financial planning and investment management. No commissions, no products, no account minimums, and you can cancel anytime.
No. We work virtually with clients across the country — video calls, secure document sharing, and a real person who answers the phone. If you're ever near Ithaca, NY, the coffee's on us.
A relaxed, 20-minute conversation about where things stand — and an honest read on what can wait.
Book a conversation →Ithaca Wealth is an independent, fee-only registered investment adviser. Nothing on this page is individualized tax, legal, or investment advice. Inherited-account rules vary by beneficiary type, the original owner's age, and the year of death; we verify every strategy against your specific situation — and coordinate with your CPA and estate attorney — before recommending it.
Examples of client work are real but anonymized and aggregated; they are not a guarantee of similar outcomes.