"Darren Garrison" <cynapse[at]charter.net> wrote:

- quote -

What happened when you contacted the plan sponsor? Probably
her old employer or union.

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- quote -

Contact the company where the 401k is from. Your mother
should have named a beneficiary of the funds. The HR dept
of the company will tell you what you need to do.

Bruce Raskin, CPA

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If you know where the account is, contact the financial
institution. They will ask for a death certificate and your
identification. If you are a primary beneficiary, you will
fill out papers that they provide to open a benefit on death
account, or equivalent. They will advise you on withdrawal
options. If the beneficiaries are all dead or were never
named (an unusual circumstance), the money passes to the
estate. If there is a will, the named executor contacts the
financial institution to retrieve the money. If there is no
will, then the heirs should agree on one, and he should file
for letters of administration.

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"Darren Garrison" <cynapse[at]charter.net> wrote:

- quote -

Try calling the place that has it?

--
David M. Woods, EA, ChFC, CLU
Woods Financial Services
Norwood, MA 02062
www.woods-financial.com

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Darren Garrison wrote:

- quote -

Are you the executor of her estate? If so, why are you
dragging this out so long (2 YEARS!)?

You need to contact the custodian of the 401K account, or
her previous employer. If they don't know that she is
deceased, then they probably are not aware that they need to
make a lump sum distribution to the estate. I'm sure if you
go through her records (or mail received after death) you
will find quarterly and annual statements on the account.
There should be either a telephone number or web site that
you can contact them. Be advised that they probably will not
give you much information unless you can provide a Letter of
Administration (for being executor of the estate) and a
certified Death Certificate. Once you have established that
you can legally represent the estate, they will be glad to
assist you in making the funds transfer.

If you have not already read IRS Pub 559, I suggest that you
do so. You are already at least one year behind the curve in
getting her estate settled.

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Darren Garrison <cynapse[at]charter.net> wrote:

- quote -

Contact the company that administers or holds the 401k
account. Explain the situation. They will send you some
forms to fill-out that you will have to return with an
original death-certificate. You can get one or several
original death-certificates from the county or state office
in you state that handles such matters. Usually the health
department.

They will usually return the death-certificate after
processing it.

--
To reply to me directly, remove the XXX characters from my
email address.

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- quote -

The administrator of your mother's estate should be in touch
with the 401k plan administrator.

"Jack" - John H. Fisher - TaxService[at]aol.com
Philadelphia, Pa - Atlantic City, NJ - West Wildwood, NJ
My Newsgroups & Boards at: http://members.aol.com/TaxService/index.html

Where Ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise!=

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The executor of the estate should have distributed the 401K
to the listed beneficary(ies). Else it goes to the estate
according to rules of the Will or else via closest
relatives.

If the estate hasnt been cleaned up, you better get moving.
The feds exepct a final tax return, especially if she was
taking distributions from the account. Penalties will drain
the account. You should check with the court in your local
county as to probate procedure. It may be as simple as
obtaining the death certificate and sending it to the
account administrator. Someone in the county- a judge or
clerk- will oversee the steps in probate in order to prevent
theft. Larger, complicated estates could require hiring a
lawyer. Many bookstores will have probate guidebooks in
their law section.

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- quote -

Talk to her employer. They will have the paperwork.

Helen, EA in PA
Director, NAEA; Immediate Past President, PSEA; Tax Expert, AOL
Enrolled Agents - THE Tax Professionals

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"Darren Garrison" <cynapse[at]charter.net> wrote:

- quote -

You have to contact either the 401k administrator, or the
company where she worked that sponsored the 401k.. They'll
tell you what you have to do.

Barry Picker

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Darren Garrison <cynapse[at]charter.net> writes:

- quote -

Contact the plan administrator.

Phil Marti
Clarksburg, MD

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My mother died on December 26th, 2002. Could someone give
me an idea how to go about trying to recover her 401k money?
I've tried googling key words, but still don't know what
steps to take.

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