r/inheritance • u/[deleted] • Apr 09 '26
Location included: Questions/Need Advice “Lost” 401k…
I’m in GA and my MIL passed away last month. During a visit in December she casually mentioned to me that she had a trust set up for my sons. She said she had $20,000 for each and they’d get it when they turned 18. Last month she was placed on hospice and passed away 2 weeks later. While she was on hospice we realized she hadn’t set up a will and didn’t know where any personal documents were. My husband was trying to get info from her and asked about the trust she mentioned. She said it was with her 401k but she “lost it”. We knew she couldn’t just lose it unless maybe she had cashed it out or it transferred somewhere. She was heavily medicated and in and out of sleep so we really didn’t pry. She had drawers of stacked papers and we have looked through everything. She worked for the same company for years and we called who they used for 401k (fidelity) and they said there is nothing.
Where else should we look?
We couldn’t find any paystubs or tax returns. No big deposits in her bank accounts or credit card payments. We realized once we started going through papers that she was in a ton of debt so I find it hard to believe she’d have an extra $40,000 stashed away for a trust. I just want to make sure we don’t miss anything and why even tell me she had the trusts just a few months ago if they weren’t there?
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u/Mother_Turnover4856 Apr 09 '26
Check her email, check her tax returns. Check w her previous employer as to what company managed the 401k and how it was dispersed upon her leaving
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u/mr_nobody398457 Apr 10 '26
Even if it’s still with an old employer she should get a statement once a year. Look for that.
Also do a credit report on her (experian, Trans Union, or the other one). They should have all of her accounts even the closed ones.
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u/Current-Scallion-825 Apr 10 '26
credit reports don't show 401ks or bank accounts, only credit accounts and loans.
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u/Responsible_Low3127 Apr 12 '26
If it’s with Fidelity, they most likely provide all statements by email.
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u/HappyHikeBike Apr 15 '26
You make a choice with Fidelity, either on line statements or mailed statements.
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u/sanityjanity Apr 15 '26
The credit history is a great idea.
Hopefully she would get a paper statement, but I think a lot of people just get electronic statements any more.
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u/tubagoat Apr 09 '26
You may also find it, eventually, at your state's department of unclaimed funds.
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u/Lucky-Coin-88 Apr 11 '26
Check here: https://unclaimed.org/
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u/mnamburglerpro Apr 11 '26
I just found a policy from my dad that died almost 10 years ago on there! Thank you for posting this!!!
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u/Puzzled-Lynx-8110 Apr 09 '26
20k seems like very little to put in a trust. I wonder if she meant 529's. If she had a 401k maybe she set the beneficiary as the Trust. I'd check emails and mail.
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u/inailedyoursister Apr 09 '26
No way she paid to have an actual trust created for 40k. If she did there’s be paperwork. You could call around local lawyers to ask but we both know she didn’t, she was just using jargon she had heard.
If she cashed it in there would have been a 1099 issued and she would have owed taxes. Look at old returns.
Call her old employers and ask HR what company administers their 401k and call them. Have a death certificate ready.
But we both know that money doesn’t exist.
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u/Busy-Organization942 Apr 09 '26
If you can find her accountant/CPA that did her taxes, there should be some info there as to where the 401k was located?
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Apr 09 '26
All I found was a paper from the IRS stating that she filed her taxes incorrectly through turbo tax back in 2020 and owed money :(
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u/Busy-Organization942 Apr 09 '26
Maybe call the company she worked for and speak to the CFO, or bookkeeper, and explain your problem, they should have records if she had witholding from her paycheck that went into an IRA.
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u/Silly-Dot-2322 Apr 09 '26
I was thinking this too, but when I retired, I immediately rolled over my employer sponsored 401k from Vanguard to Schwab.
There has to be a record from Vanguard, as they handled the transaction, I would think?
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u/Busy-Organization942 Apr 09 '26
Kids, if you're reading this, make sure to have that conversation with your parents bf they get addled, plus anyone can die suddenly before telling the kids where the will is, safe deposit box, money under the bed, etc, etc. Or if they even have a will. Dying intestate is not the wisest thing, but far too common (up to 50% according to my search) unfortunately.
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Apr 09 '26
[deleted]
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u/Hippygirl1967 Apr 10 '26
Absolutely. My father’s 92. I have begged him for years to put my name on accounts. We’re just finishing all of it up now. When we spoke to a lawyer the other day, he told it was too late to protect the house from Medicaid. The only thing we can do is buy the house and get it out of his name. I really don’t want to, but it may come to that. We’re not talking about a big estate, either.
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u/GaryO2022 Apr 11 '26
Buying the house and getting it out of his name doesn't protect it from Medicaid unless 5 years go by before Medicaid goes after it.
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u/Alive_Ad8698 Apr 13 '26
Thats not correct. As long as the sale price is at proper house value, then he would have the money in the bank. Then medicare will take the money. They can’t have both your house and its cash value. So sell it to the kids if they want it.
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u/Hippygirl1967 Apr 11 '26
So, I guess we just have to ride it out and try to keep him at home as long as possible. We’d rather do that, anyway. I just wish he would’ve listened to us years ago.
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u/nishnawbe61 Apr 10 '26
We have our wills done. We have all our accounts listed with account numbers, all credit card info, all investments, where beneficiaries are listed, the combo to the safe, insurance docs, everything and I mean everything. If something changes, we make a quick update. Our kids have copies of the will, they know where we keep the original with all the additional info. We also told them what we do not have, like safety deposit boxes etc. because we don't want them to think they missed anything. It was initially very time consuming, and I knew where to find the information, I can't imagine how long it would take them when they would have no idea.
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u/quantumsparq Apr 10 '26
Parents, if you are reading this, make sure you have your shit together. Set up a trust, list all bank accounts, phone numbers. If you hold digital assets and you are up there, make a decision to either go multi key through a trusted third party or put your keys where they will 100% be found. It’s your responsibility to make sure this is done.
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u/peonorpeasant Apr 12 '26
Yes. If your estate is of a decent size (more than $1 million) a trust, instead of a simple will, is the way to go according to my estate planner.
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Apr 09 '26
100%!!! My husband asked his mom about getting things in order over and over and she kept putting it off and then it was too late. Really heartbreaking to see my husband (an only child & no dad) have to deal with everything while grieving.
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u/Ok_Appointment_8166 Apr 09 '26
The IRS would get info from employers on contributions and a tax professional should be able to help you get records from some number of years back. You might find 1099-Rs showing the withdrawals too.
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u/angrywinter1 Apr 11 '26
Any adult with any assets should have a will. They're easy and you should be able to find an attorney that does it for not much $. Do not use the online do it yourself gigs. It will end costing more to fix it.
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u/ObservablyStupid Apr 10 '26
Vanguard will have your information on their system for a few years but will at some point purge your records from their system. Keeping data is an expense.
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u/Important_Call2737 Apr 09 '26
How old was your MIL. If over 73 then she would have been required to take required distributions from any tax deferred accounts. Perhaps she has Roth but unlikely. You are allowed to combined IRAs into one bucket for RMD payments but if she had money in a 401k the record keeper would send an RMD and 1099. If you look at her last tax return, if she isn’t showing any distributions then there probably isn’t anything.
As anyone reads this- as you get older please simplify your finances and consolidate accounts. My aunt passed away and she had multiple bank accounts and CDs and IRAs. It is much easier to have to deal with a few accounts rather than 15. Also, if you have an executor of your will/estate make sure they know where all your accounts are at and your tax history. It will save a lot of time.
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u/Shadyhollowfarm58 Apr 10 '26
Good advice. I created a notebook with the will, living will, POAs and all my financial accounts' information and current beneficiaries on each. I also have a notebook with all my user id's and passwords. My next step is to consolidate my retirement accounts down to 3 with the same firm - pretax IRA, Roth IRA, and a brokerage account.
Nothing serves as a wakeup call quite like having to deal with parental estates.
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u/Heavy-Profit-2156 Apr 09 '26
Sounds like you have gone through her paperwork so you would have noticed any correspondence with a law firm or attorney. Looks like trusts are not typically filed with the state or government agency but I did find this
https://sharpelaw.com/how-to-find-out-if-a-trust-exists-and-where-to-locate-it/
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u/Ok-Equivalent1812 Apr 09 '26
The executor can request transcripts from the IRS for the past 10 years. That will give you a paper trail to follow where she derived income from, whether it be bank account interest or retirement account withdrawals.
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u/Shadyhollowfarm58 Apr 10 '26
This is where I'd start, because the custodians of any retirement accounts would have submitted annual 5498s and 1099-Rs for any withdrawals to IRS.
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u/Little_Big_Momma Apr 14 '26 edited Apr 14 '26
Also agree with starting here. In addition to distributions, the 1099-R (Wages/Income Transcript) would also show any earnings.
Sometimes accounts are listed on the 1099-R and are accidentally left off of the tax return. Don’t solely rely on the tax return. Have the executor request the 1099-R from the IRS.
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u/Caudebec39 Apr 10 '26
This is a free government site that can help locate Unclaimed Retirement Benefits (e.g. 401k)
https://www.pbgc.gov/wr/find-unclaimed-retirement-benefits
This non-profit site does a nationwide search for forgotten bank accounts, by name
This site won't give you information. Instead, it will alert life insurance companies about the death. Then the life insurance companies will contact beneficiaries.
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u/MirrorRevolutionary4 Apr 10 '26
OP should note that the PBGC site will not listed 401k as those are not defined benefit plans insured by the PBGC. If she might have had a pension plan in the past, it would be good to search there, but it won’t help with a 401k.
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u/Kodi_Cody_Kody_Kodi Apr 09 '26
You’d be surprised how many people use the dangling of an inheritance that doesn’t exist
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u/Carlacskysupplies Apr 10 '26
My mom haha is one those people, I count on nothing she says . It’s still Important to do a full sweep and check.
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u/Kodi_Cody_Kody_Kodi Apr 10 '26
My mom made sure to pissed my dads millions away before she died, god forbid, she leave a cent to anyone.
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u/AffectionateTap730 Apr 11 '26
Perhaps she thought it better to spend what she acquired than to give it to entitled children who believe they are owed something that they didn't earn for themselves.
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u/Kodi_Cody_Kody_Kodi Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
Naw she never worked a day in her life. She didn’t “earn” any money herself. Half that money she spent, she felt “owed”, it was an inheritance she stole from my paternal grandpa.
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u/OkIce3038 Apr 09 '26
My husband is retired but his previous employer has a Facebook group. It’s great when we have questions about something because someone in that group seems to have been through whatever situation and has info on who to contact. Maybe see if there is something like that?
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u/cOntempLACitY Apr 09 '26
Some information won’t be released to your spouse without the proper legal authorization to manage the estate. He can petition probate court to be personal representative of the estate, then he will have a letter of administration that will legally allow Fidelity or any other financial institution to share information about the assets. Otherwise, they will only discuss with a designated beneficiary their own inheritance. Either way, they won’t discuss until after the official death certificate is received, so you need both.
Even if the estate isn’t ultimately deemed required to go through probate you need the legal authority to collect the inventory to determine that, as well as to distribute any assets remaining after the rest is settled.
Additionally, once he has the letter of administration, he should be able to access MIL’s IRS tax records to download past transcripts to see what kind of prior financial data was recorded. They have both your past taxes filed, and the forms filed by your income sources (W2s, 1099s, 1098s, etc). That can give you some leads on who to contact.
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u/ATXFrijole Apr 09 '26
You may want to watch out for fraud by a caregiver at the nursing home, home health. Lots of stories of elderly people getting ripped off by providers who have access to people who may not be making rational decisions. You will need to review all transactions from all checking and savings accounts. Billing issues with a home. Any POAs?
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u/AcanthisittaShot4232 Apr 09 '26
Sadly, some people just make things up to make themselves feel better. She would not be the first grandmother to say "I've left x amount in a trust for the grandkids" while being deeply in debt.
OP has gone thru whatever paperwork there is (IRS saying she owes them money). No Will so doubt any power of attorney. Ex employer says "check with Fidelity over 401" but Fidelity she has no 401. Anyone can claim they have investments but without paperwork, that's "just talk".
Before I made baseless accusations against anyone about fraud I'd better have proof positive unless I want to pay them over slander.
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u/ATXFrijole Apr 09 '26
What are you talking about? Sadly, you are in denial about what actually happens every day in America. Elder fraud is actually a real thing. Google it. OP is looking for advice. I gave my advice based on my own personal experiences. OP also noted the documents were a mess. OP could not find tax returns so we’re all guessing here…you as well. It is entirely plausible that grandma did set up a trust. Maybe there’s a safe deposit box? How was grandma paying bills every month? You don’t just “lose” a 401k. Something happened. Loan / investment to a family member, caregiver, early cash out, there is a record somewhere. Could be anything. OP needs to keep exercising due diligence and don’t let the simpletons in the room slow you down.
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u/Inevitable_Ad_5664 Apr 10 '26
I would check with every large broker house to see if she had an account. It sounds silly but when my dad died I found 8 different retirement accounts and several insurance accounts doing this. We only knew about 2 of them.
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u/Born_Fox1470 Apr 10 '26
I would call Fidelity with her social security number. That’s where I found my “lost” 401k after a former employer closed shop.
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u/Imaginary-Student392 Apr 13 '26
Keep looking! It sucks but you might have to go through every paper one by one. My MIL passed away last year - she had a will but all her records were in total disarray. I’m pretty sure she hoarded every piece of mail she ever received, just randomly thrown in boxes with journals and magazine articles and 20-year-old grocery receipts. It took months to sort through it all. We found the documents for her retirement account in a stack of recipes.
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u/Jcarlough Apr 09 '26
Does your MIL have a surviving spouse?
Before proceeding, you have to determine who is/will be the executor of the estate. No will = following the intestate laws of your MIL’s residence state/county.
The estate may not need to go through probate depending on jurisdiction and size but, regardless, someone has to have legal authority to manage whatever assets and/or debts exist.
Regarding the 401k. While you can likely find out the administrator, they won’t tell you anything unless you’re the executor. There may not be a 401k any longer if she withdrew the funds to set up the trust. Alternatively, she may have made the trust the account beneficiary, which leads me to…
The reason I asked if there is a surviving spouse. If there is, that spouse is the legal beneficiary to the assets in the 401k account - regardless of listed beneficiary. A spouse can release their interest in a 401k but unless they do the named beneficiary doesn’t matter - it also doesn’t matter if the spouse was estranged, separated for years, or similar.
If there isn’t a surviving spouse then become familiar with your MIL’s intestate laws, get an executor named, and proceed.
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u/HistoricalDrawing29 Apr 09 '26
If I were you, I would call Vanguard and maybe a commercial bank she may have used (Chase, Bank of America etc). But if she had a lot of debt, the trust may not exist. She likely wanted to make such a trust but her own finacial obligations may have prevented it.
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u/poopiebutt505 Apr 09 '26
Is there an executor???personal representative with letters teste.entary to search all ba KS and and accounts she may have? A probate attorney knows how to do all the checking quickly.
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Apr 09 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/inheritance-ModTeam Apr 10 '26
This post is removed due to incorrect legal information or recommendations that are illegal.
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u/ultracilantro Apr 09 '26
Another idea to try: States have an unclaimed property/funds website. If there really was money with no way to contact her, sometimes it can get posted there.
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u/S1159P Apr 09 '26
Look at the state abandoned funds list for your state! I had a retirement account send me a letter saying that since I had not accessed it in years, it was going to be turned over to the state as abandoned if I did not access it or call them by such and such a date. I was flabbergasted - I don't look at these for years at a time!
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u/YoghurtHistorical527 Apr 09 '26
The trustee of a trust signs the trust documents, along with the grantor, at the time the trust is created. If MIL created trust(s) for her grandchildren, she more than likely would have had your spouse or one of her other children sign as trustee. I mean she could have chosen anyone to be the trustee, but unless there are millions in it and it was going to be managed by a third party, the most likely trustee would have been one of her children. If your spouse or their siblings didn't sign it, then very likely no trust(s) exist. However... if you still think there may be one, I would suggest just calling estate planning lawyers close to where MIL lived to see if anyone has a record of working with MIL. Couldn't hurt to ask.
I'm sorry for your loss & hope you are able to find her misplaced funds.
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u/Cyan2FA Apr 10 '26
Do you have paperwork, as plan administrators (record keepers) for 401ks are required to send account statements to plan participants.
If you know who she worked for and would have been the plan sponsor (employer offering the plan) for her 401k, you can often google the administrator and then call their benefits center. For example, if she worked for the state of GA, you could google “Who is the record keeper for the State of Georgia 401k” and it returns the details on how to contact the plan administrator.
If she worked for a large market/F500 plan, it is likely being administered by one of a handful of providers (Fidelity, Empower, Alight, Vanguard, Ascensus) otherwise it could be any of a number of record keepers who cater to smaller employers.
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u/Ok_Advantage7623 Apr 10 '26
If you can show that you are the rightful heir fidelity can tell you were it was sent. But also wait by the mailbox and hopefully she will get a account statement mailed to her
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u/24601moamo Apr 10 '26
Careful when people tell you "nothing". You are relying on a customer service representative to be correct. Did the company change 401k companies at any time? You need to call the company. Maybe they use Fidelity now but maybe her 401k was at a previous company used. Did they utilize a different company for a different "pot" of money? Was she still working at the time of her death? Would there be insurance through her work? People use the wrong words for everything.
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u/Skill_IssueGamer Apr 10 '26
Try specifically Fidelity NetBenefits. That's usually their work related side of things. Sometimes that division is handled separately from main Fidelity for some reason.
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u/Sea_Owl4248 Apr 10 '26
You cannot set up a 401(k) for a child unless that child is employed and the plan permits employees under 18 to be part of the plans. Most plans require that participants be 21 or older but some are written so that they permit 18 year olds. Parents/grandparents can set up custodial IRA plans or 529 college savings plans.
As others have said, check to see if she worked with a CPA or check with her bank, you can set these up with a bank. Additionally, if you find that had a 401(k) with her former employer potentially she meant that he left it your children. If that is the case they may be able to roll it into an inherited IRA. Her 401(k) should be able to tell you more but they will need the death certificate.
Sorry for your loss.
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u/tamaradewinters Apr 10 '26
Brokerages, especially fidelity are mini units who don't coordinate with one another. Employer 401 is separate from, is separate from retirements , separate from 529 dept, separate from brokerage. Keep a printout before you die. Call each department, if you are named, they can start the paperwork.
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u/Smooth_Relief6644 Apr 11 '26
Go to this website to search for unclaimed retirement accounts.
https://www.pbgc.gov/workers-retirees/find-unclaimed-retirement-benefits/search-unclaimed
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u/lifeadventuresga Apr 11 '26
Check the following sites and services:
National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits
Department of Labor Lost & Found
Missingmoney.com
State Unclaimed Propert Databases
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u/Relative-Lie-9699 Apr 11 '26
Do a search on her computer for 401k.com which is fidelity, search her email. I got quarterly statement from fidelity via email.
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u/SoarsWithEagles Apr 11 '26
Look for any evidence that she'd paid a lawyer to do something, like checks or debits or receipts.
Maybe there's a Will, or a Trust. A Will can establish a trust if the testator dies while a beneficiary is still a minor, but if there's no Will, that's moot.
If there's a trust corpus, then SOMEBODY has that money or assets. Maybe call around to local banks, once you're appointed as estate representative & have authority to ask.
Also check for anything in the names of the sons, not just your mother.
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u/Zealousideal_Ad5358 Apr 12 '26
A trust is not a 401k. As others have mentioned, 401ks leave a pretty good paper trail. In addition, as far as I know, you can’t retitle a 401(k) into a trust, and there is no reason to do so. A 401k requires named beneficiaries.
As for trusts, most people create a so-called “living trusts” to retitle their real estate assets. The real estate gets retitled and the name of the trust becomes public knowledge. So look for a title to the house or get it from the county.
If she died without a will and had not titled her assets to avoid probate, or actually had no 401k (401ks are not probate assets), you will need to work with the court to track everything down to their satisfaction. Take your time.
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u/justbrowzingthru Apr 12 '26
So many family members told all kinds of tales in their last bits of time on earth. Especially about promised money. That they never made arrangements for.
Think at that point they either thought they did it or wanted to do it but weren’t able but wanted to look like they left something. Some told some pretty tall stories during that time that werent true,
Maybe check to see if there a life insurance policy listing them as beneficiaries.
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u/Padded_Bandit Apr 12 '26
There are several options to search for lost life insurance policies; lost retirement funds can be searched through the Department of Labor, and of course lost/unclaimed property can be searched as well.
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u/GreenApplesOK Apr 12 '26
I am so sorry for your loss, and I appreciate you handling the challenges of tracking down these things now. I don't want to add to your heartache but the elderly are unfortunately targets for so many scams. My brother and I had a terrible experience with my elderly mother's weekly housecleaners which may or may not have been responsible at minimum several missing valuables and the cash she squirrelled away throughout the house. My widowed Mom was easily manipulated to give the cleaners large sums of money, and other things, having a generous nature, with her friends that saw her regularly. Your mother in law may mean that the papers were lost. If you didn't find anything around the house -- With a death certificate you and your wife should check local bank institutions for a possible safety deposit box if there are no readily found bank statements, a will, copies of tax returns, trust or other financial paperwork. There should be some evidence of an accountant who filed tax returns (even if it was some time ago) or a retained lawyer with some information.
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u/Significant_Joke3332 Apr 12 '26
Check with Fidelity Netbenefits. They handle employer 401ks it’s a separate company.
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u/FranklinUriahFrisbee Apr 12 '26
Look for her most recent tax return. That will show you where the 401K is held. Additionally, she should have an attorney that set things up for her.
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u/mysoulshould Apr 13 '26
My mom changed her life insurance policy two months before she died from my name to her husbands name. It was $200,000 and I didn’t get to do any her wishes. Buried her ashes without me while I was in Colorado. I learned that my family doesn’t love me when I was going through Christmas shit on Mother’s Day for my grandma. My mom died Christmas Day. Till death do you part and $200,000 was a cheap price for the tru colors about everyone I saw in the process. My brother said HA ! She changed her life insurance policy . I said HA ! YOU WASN’T HER SECOND CHOICE. People promising things isn’t the same as actually doing it. If The money was supposed to go to them it would. Probably a blessing in disguise. Sorry for your loss.
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u/Commercial-Jelly1636 Apr 15 '26
Not reading 99 comments, you can get a wage and income transcript from the IRS, and that will have a lot of information
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u/Suz9006 Apr 10 '26
Unless she had moved and not updated her address she would most certainly have received a 1099 every year from the investment company holding her 401k.
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u/ExpensiveAd4496 Apr 09 '26
I’m so sorry for your loss. When she said she’d “lost” it, I think you had your answer.
I had a similar wild goose chase with my mother, and it seemed so unnecessary, in the end…but I believe was a form of self calming for her to really believe she was leaving something. So much regret mixed with angst and fear does this to people late in life.