What is a custodian and what is the role of a custodian in the IRA process?

The self directed custodian is simply the custodian, i.e. Kingdom or Udirect, and does not act as Member or Manager. So in the case of an IRA LLC, the IRA account (which is self directed) will be the Member and the client will be the Manager (self book control). In the case of an IRA Business Trust, the IRA account (which is self directed) will be the Beneficiary and the client will be the Trustee (self book control). Also of note, if a client has an existing IRA that is not self directed, when we contact Kingdom or Udirect, the client will "roll over" their existing IRA into the new IRA account with Kingdom or Udirect, which will be the self directed IRA. An IRA is never moved into an IRA LLC or an IRA Business Trust. The IRA is the Member of the IRA LLC or the IRA is the Beneficiary of the IRA Business Trust.