And even though he's only got his GED, he's still had custody of three crazy kids starting at 5 years old and younger and raised us to be good people and always encouraged us to go to college.

Contributions limits are roughly 10x higher, there is no custodial requirement for the 401k, you can take participant loans, you don't need the additional expense and administration of an LLC to have checkbook control, there is a built in-Roth component, a spouse can participate, there are additional tax benefits, there is generally greater privacy, and the plans are often quicker to setup and cost less money over time especially compared to most IRA LLCs.That said, the 2 big reasons to consider a SDIRA over a Solo 401k are lack of Solo 401k eligibility and a need to self-direct Roth IRA funds.

This is a common misconception and something the marketing departments of the custodial firms want you to believe, but it is simply not true.  

Special rules apply to financing an IRA property such as potentially paying what is called UBT tax and a requirement that the financing be non-recourse.3) There are custodial costs and fees associated with setting up and maintaining a self-directed IRA account and/or adding checkbook control which need to be factored into your analysis.4) Properties that have potential to appreciate substantially are better suited for a Roth IRA then those that don't have the potential as the gain is tax free if and when you sell or distribute. 5) The tax free nature of a Roth IRA is far better for real estate then the tax deferred nature of a traditional IRA as eventually, any income and gain in a traditional IRA comes out under ordinary tax rates without the benefit of depreciating the property.

I preferred a qualified plan without exorbitant annual custodial and transaction fees (which aren't necessary, lesson learned).

She ended up running out the door before officers arrived, but they found her at her office a week later and took her into custody.

Some benefits include simplified administration of investments, decreased need for custodial approval, time and fees, making direct investments and using a local bank or credit union to have great control over payments and record keeping.

She is also getting advice from a professional tenant that I just evicted so he's telling her all of these things that we are in "violation" of like the entering without permission (which like I said we have always been invited in, except on a few occasions where I had to enter to get her children up and dressed for school because cps had came and we had custody but they were allowed to sleep next door with their mom still.

Such funds then only become available upon future occurances and while you may have custody, you don't have control.

Alex, if you are using custodial self-directed IRA the name of the custodian will be listed on the title with your name after it.