ABSTRACT
Trust administration for self-directed individual retirement account (IRA) can be a complicated subject to understand and a difficult job to do for several reasons. There are multiple legal arenas which impact the field, including federal Internal Revenue Service Code law, federal securities law, state banking law, and state securities law. Interview members of the compliance staff for in-house levels of expertise, and find out which outside law firms are used by the trustee. One difficulty in finding correct answers to legal questions is the multiple arenas of law discussed earlier. Legislative changes in the area will more than likely continue their meanderings, making life difficult for programmers and compliance officers who must attempt to interpret the changing laws and regulations. Penalties for early withdrawals by participants from their IRAs cuirently are not assessed in the event of death, disability, or distributions after age 59–1/2.
