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I have a self directed IRA that has invested in income property. It generates a few thousand a month in positive cash flow which is currently being re-invested in other funds that the IRA holds.

Currently, we (my wife & I) are not taking any withdrawals from it. But while I'm 53, my wife will be turning 59.5 soon and I'm wondering if we can then start taking penalty free withdrawals from it?

Some background: The money originally came from a 401k (in my name only) which the entire amount was generated while we were married (community property?). After I left that company, I rolled it into a self-directed IRA and the property was purchased.

It is all in my name but are we entitled to withdraw from it based on her age?

Chris W. Rea
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Steve H
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1 Answers1

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we can then start taking penalty free withdrawals from it?

There's no "we" in IRA. There's "I". That stands for "Individual". So your wife's age has no influence whatsoever on your ability to make qualified distributions from your IRA.

The reason courts order distributions from IRAs is due to the community property laws of various States or other considerations that make spouses entitled to the amounts in the IRAs. However, you're talking about family law here, not tax law. For Federal tax purposes, a distribution ordered by the court doesn't trigger penalty (but is taxable), but any other distribution has to follow the regular qualification criteria.

littleadv
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