Has anyone done a distribution where part of it was ROTH?

If they roll it over, (and presently have no where to roll it to)do they have to set up a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA?

Should the money be sent as two checks?

I remember that I am required to report basis to new IRA within a short time. Is there a specific IRS form for that?

What Am I missing?

We generally do 2 checks because Roth money cannot be rolled to a traditional IRA. Now that pre-tax money can be rolled to a Roth IRA, it might be possible to do one check for that situation, but we choose not to for purposes of basis reporting. Our check stub includes the Roth basis amount, and maybe also the Roth start date, although I'm less certain about that.

Issuing two checks would simplify recordkeeping, both for the plan and the participant. The driving factor is how the participant wants to rollover the funds. If it is going to two different accounts (i.e. a Roth IRA and a Traditional IRA) then two checks will probably be necessary for the IRA custodian. Moreover, in the event that any correction needs to be made on the rollover distribution, it will be more difficult for the participant (due to IRA rules and how custodians often administer the accounts) to easily instruct the custodian on how to assist in the correction. At a minimum, the participant will definitely need to know the Roth basis and the date of the first Roth deferral. There's a lot of upside to issuing two checks, and very little downside.