How does an IRA holder know what her IRA’s custodial-account agreement provides?

[Peter Gulia]

Before IRAs’ custodial-account agreements next are amended (by December 31, 2027), those accounts will have been operated for about eight years with at least some in-operation provisions different than the ostensible written provisions.

How does an individual learn which provisions are real, and which are displaced by Internal Revenue Code and other law changes?

Remember, many, perhaps most, of an IRA’s tax-sensitive provisions call for an individual to administer her account. Often, a custodian is protected in following the account holder’s instructions.

Why does the IRS not allow an agreement to state provisions by referring to the Internal Revenue Code?