The U.S. taxpayer identification number (TIN) of all parties to the transaction must be on the application for a withholding certificate (pg 2)”https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-access/f8288b_accessible.pdfThe IRS is trying to make sure they can chase whoever has custody of the funds owed to the IRS and they do that by mandating the SSN.

You need an IRA custodial account with the custodian who allows alternative investments.

I'm looking for suggestions, investors, lenders, or alternative ideas.Back story: So my husband and I are separate but not yet divorced because we can't come to any agreement on child custody.

If they resist they can be taken into custody, which happens time to time and would probably have been the expected result in this case.

Do I need to verify her custody of these children if they are on the lease???

I would suggest that, for custodial accounts, people check with their administrator and see if they have in-house capacity or a firm they recommend.  

I saved up a lot of money to buy my first house, but had to use all the money I saved to pay off an attorney so I could have custody of my son! 

Upon further reflection, probably worth a quick discussion with divorce attorneys as well - this may effect who claims children on taxes if there isn't already an every other year/shared-joint custody plan in place as well as child support if that applies- I would feel better verifying there weren't changes to be made here that came up in time (maybe you've already talked about it) or, if there were changes to be made I would want them outlined ahead of time to avoid going back to court if possible and drama ensuing. 

If a tenant says they don't have kids, but then they get custody of their child, you now have to put the tenants up in a hotel and delead.

I like it for 3 main reasons:Passive (just be sure to do your due diligence upfront)Low risk, I usually lend at around 60% CLTV (I've done both 1st and 2nd position notes)Nice return (most of my notes were over 10%)Many of those required quick funding so you may find having a custodial on the middle being a challenge, consider Checkbook IRA.