Roth transfer process

[agalkin]

I want to transfer money from my kid's 529 where I am an owner and she is a beneficiary to her Roth IRA using recent law.

What's the process of this transfer? Do I withdraw funds from 529 to my bank account and then write a check to her Roth IRA?

My 529 has only two withdrawal options: "higher education" and "non-qualified". I assume I use "non-qualified"? Does it trigger and will I have to file any IRS forms?

[dcandmc]

An eligible rollover to a beneficiary's Roth IRA is not a "non-qualified" distribution. Check on the 529 account administrator's website for a form to fill out for a direct rollover out to a Roth IRA (or something similar), and if you can't find it, contact the 529 account administrator to ask your questions about how they handle this process. Ideally, once you make this request and provide the beneficiary's Roth IRA account information, the 529 administrator will send the funds directly to the financial institution that holds the Roth IRA. If it's an eligible 529 to Roth rollover and everything is done correctly, there is nothing to report to the IRS.

[agalkin]

For college payment I always withdrew funds using "Higher Ed" option with direct transfer to my bank account and then directly paid the college bill from the same bank account.

[dcandmc]

That's fine and a completely normal way to pay qualified education expenses, but it's not relevant to rolling over 529 funds to a beneficiary's Roth IRA account. Again: check on the 529 account administrator's website for a form to fill out for a direct rollover out to a Roth IRA (or something similar), and if you can't find it, contact the 529 account administrator to ask your questions about how they handle this process.