IRA Transfers due to Divorce
If processing a transfer due to divorce from and IRA using a property settlement, would you say that the custodian/trustee should have their specific IRA listed in the property settlement or could it be vague and just say “individual retirement account” with no reference to where the IRA in question is held?
Permalink Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Thu, 2015-03-05 19:48
It should be specific in the divorce decree which IRA account number and custodian the transfer will apply to. The custodian should be requiring that before acting.
Permalink Submitted by Susan Boling on Mon, 2015-03-16 16:33
That is the way I have always processed these but recently was told by a judge that the custodian doesn’t have the right to dictate what should be listed in the property settlement or how it should be worded.
Permalink Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Mon, 2015-03-16 17:15
The custodian has no way of knowing whether ALL IRA accounts of a spouse are to be transferred to the receiving spouse or just certain IRA accounts. If the decree were to indicate “all owned IRA accounts of xxxxxx as of (date)”, then the custodian could transfer the accounts without concern that a certain account was not to be transferred. If the custodian is not comfortable that an account was not intended for transfer, they should not transfer it.