By doing it this way you show a complete custody chain for your funds to maintain the 1031.

So I am in Indiana and have several grand moving to a custodial self directed roth ira in a few weeks.

Also, custody of the kids was split 50/50 so I was sitting there with a bunch of cash and some time on my hands that I was not accustomed to.

The link that @Dawn Anastasi posted says this:"HSC Section 7104(a) states, in part, that when no provision is made by the decedent and the duty of interment does not devolve upon any other person residing in the state, or if such person cannot after reasonable diligence be found within the state, the person who has custody of the remains may require the coroner of the county where the decedent resided at the time of death to take possession of the remains and the coroner shall inter the remains in a specified manner."

Find out who the latest trustee is or find out through the latest owner of the note so that you can see who currently holds the deed and what going on with it.If the property was seized directly by the court via attachment and the bankruptcy was not settled, the court might still might have direct custody possibly.Keep in mind the county recorders office is just a constructive notice place where people can time stamp their claims of ownership.

If he is still in custody that should make serving him pretty easy.  

If you were going to be flipping houses and obtaining multiple short-terms notes from an investor, they might be better served with a checkbook IRA LLC or Solo 401k if they qualify, as that will minimize the custodial involvement, paperwork and fees for a more active portfolio.There are a lot of ways to create private lending transactions that are win-win, and my example above is just one option.  

The most promising is converting my current Brokerage IRA into a Custodial type IRA to used to fund some initial purchases.  

How long in business, are they both administrator and custodian, how many alternative assets under custody, are alternative assets their sole focus, are they BBB rated AND accredited, have they ever been sanctioned by any regulatory body are all very important things to know. 

I have a job that requires constant travel but have recently gained custody of my son.