Inherited IRA to Gold - What are my options?

• •My mother recently passed away, and as the sole beneficiary, I inherited her traditional IRA.
• •It's sitting at about $80k right now, mostly in mutual funds.
• •Given how crazy the market has been, I've been seriously considering converting some or all of it into a Gold IRA.

My mother recently passed away, and as the sole beneficiary, I inherited her traditional IRA. It's sitting at about $80k right now, mostly in mutual funds. I'm a government employee here in Albuquerque, and while I’ve got my pension coming, I was really hoping this inheritance could solidify my retirement further, maybe even let me retire a bit earlier than I initially planned. Given how crazy the market has been, I've been seriously considering converting some or all of it into a Gold IRA.

I know the rules around inherited IRAs can be a bit… layered. I’m leaning towards the 10-year rule, where I’d have to empty the account within ten years. My main goal is to protect this money from inflation and market volatility, and physical gold feels like a much safer bet right now. The thought of watching this inheritance shrink in a downturn is pretty stressful, especially since it's money I never really counted on having but would be thrilled to secure for my future.

Has anyone here gone through the process of converting an inherited IRA into physical gold? What kind of hoops did you have to jump through? Are there specific custodians or dealers who are better to work with when it comes to inherited accounts? Any traps or hidden fees I should be aware of? I've been doing some research, but it's a lot to digest, and a lot of the info out there seems geared towards your own IRA, not inherited ones.

Any advice or personal experiences would be super helpful. Just trying to make the smartest move here. Thanks in advance!