IRA in one spouse name only.

[Guest SWynn]

Spouse holding IRA has abandoned wife (4+ years). No beneficiary listed, no divorce, legal separation papers or QDRO. On 3/99 she received statement for the IRA at her home address. What are her options as abandoned spouse? If anything? My understanding is that he can't close or remove funds from the IRA without her signature. Am I out to lunch?

[Kathy]

Unfortunately, there probably isn't much the abandoned spouse can do to withdraw money from the other spouse's IRA. An Individual Retirement Account is for the individual who has established it or for his or her beneficiary(ies) upon his or her death. Furthermore, as a general rule, the owner of the IRA does not have to obtain spousal consent to withdraw the funds.

If you live in a community or marital property state, you may have some way of preventing that money from being paid out to a beneficiary other than the spouse upon the death of the IRA holder. This sounds like you need to seek legal advice from an attorney in your area who knows your state's laws as well as Federal tax law as it applies to IRAs.

[John G]

Kathy's comments match my experience. If you seek control of a spouses IRA, you will need to get a court order. Seek legal advice immediately. The IRA can be transfered or cashed out and you will loose track of the funds. In one divorce case that had an IRA issue, the final resolution took 2 years and was uncertain until the end (finally cemented by bad behavior of one spouse).