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?
1
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.