What the application asks for

The application is an account-opening document, not an investment document. You are establishing the IRA itself, and you will direct investments later, as a separate step.

Expect to provide:

• Legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, and permanent physical address
• A government-issued photo ID for identity verification under federal Customer Identification Program requirements
• Your selected account type: Traditional, Roth, SEP,SIMPLE, Individual(k), or HSA
• Your intended funding method: transfer, rollover, or contribution
• Primary and contingent beneficiary designations
• Signed adoption agreement, plan disclosure, and fee schedule acknowledgment

Beneficiary designations deserve real attention

This is the single most-overlooked field on the application. An IRA beneficiary designation controls who inherits the account and overrides your will. A designation left blank, or naming an ex-spouse, or naming an estate by default, can create tax consequences and probate exposure that a properly completed form would have avoided.

Name a primary beneficiary and at least one contingent. Include full legal names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers where required, and percentage allocations that total 100%. Review the designation after every marriage, divorce, birth, or death in the family. Coordinate the designation with your estate plan and discuss it with your attorney.

What causes delays

Applications stall for a small number of predictable reasons: a name that does not match the ID exactly, a missing signature, a P.O. box listed as the permanent address, beneficiary percentages that do not total 100%, or a funding form submitted without the source account's most recent statement. Reviewing the packet once before submission removes most of them.

Opening the account before you need it

Investors who open the account only after finding an investment often run out of runway. Establishment, funding, and the purchase itself are three sequential steps, and funding is the slowest. A transfer from an outside institution can take one to three weeks depending on the sending firm. Opening and funding the account in advance means that when an opportunity appears, only the purchase step remains.

Mountain West IRA accounts can be opened online, and the team is available by phone at (866) 377-3311, Monday through Thursday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM MT, and Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM MT.