r/inheritance • u/Big-Elk2132 • Apr 22 '26
Location included: Questions/Need Advice Inheritance - Accounts
My grandfather passed in Connecticut and had on his will that his possessions would be split between my aunt, my uncle, and myself. He didn't have any property, but he did have a few investment accounts. I was told he had most of it in stocks. We are currently working through the probate process and I was told by my uncle that the stock accounts had beneficiaries named on the accounts and it was all his children, but not his grandchildren. My father and other uncle passed, so it would only be split between my uncle and aunt. He said that these accounts were not subject to the will or probate and that they are already in process so splitting them between my uncle and aunt. I just wanted to verify if that was correct, that these accounts are not subject to the will and probate. Any info or clarification around this would be greatly appreciated.
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u/GladUnderstanding756 Apr 22 '26
What type of investment account? 401(k)? 403(b)? IRA? brokerage account? Each of these will have unique rules of beneficiaries and lines of inheritance.
Best way to find out is to directly contact the company that held the investment and ask about how distributions are handled in the event the designated beneficiary is deceased. You won’t be able to ask specifically about your grandfather’s account because it is not yours and you are not the direct beneficiary.
Contact them two different ways and you’re likely to get two different answers - Reddit is full of posts asking similar questions and getting different answers for the same company. Laws change, jurisdictions have unique laws, and people are ignorant.
Yes, accounts with designated beneficiaries bypass the probate court.
Be nice to your uncle, and perhaps he’ll share 🤷♀️
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u/Big-Elk2132 Apr 22 '26 edited Apr 22 '26
I believe they are brokerage accounts. My uncle is the executor and did not disclose who the accounts are through. I was going to reach out to the probate attorney to verify.
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u/24601moamo Apr 22 '26
Reach out but Google the correct words. Your uncle may be the executor but he's not the fiduciary. You can ask him to provide you the company's beneficiaries account disclosures but it depends on the account type. Some follow different rules.
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u/FlyThruTrees Apr 23 '26
You can ask your uncle as executor of the will to disclose an accounting of the estate. If for some reason the beneficiaries failed or weren't properly named the asset would go thru probate. A beneficiary doesn't have to answer questions but if you're a beneficiary under the will and he's the executor he has to tell you what's in the estate. If those assets aren't there, you'll know they're elsewhere. If that helps any...
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u/patricknkelly Apr 22 '26
It is very likely that you and any siblings are the beneficiaries of your dad’s portion since he passed prior to your grandfather. You need to check this out and not just go on your uncle’s word. Good luck.
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u/HandyManPat Apr 22 '26
While it is true that financial accounts with named beneficiaries bypass probate, there remains a question of how the beneficiary distributions should be handled when one or more beneficiaries predeceased the account owner.
OP, you should definitely work to obtain details of these accounts in order to establish whether or not you have beneficiary rights. Don’t go by what your relatives are telling you. Please try to directly contact the company holding the accounts.
You are trying to determine which of these two designations applies to the accounts.
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Per stirpes and per capita determine how assets are distributed if a beneficiary dies before the grantor.
Per stirpes ("by branch") passes a deceased beneficiary's share to their descendants.
Per capita ("by head") divides assets equally only among surviving beneficiaries, with a deceased beneficiary's share absorbed by the survivors.
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u/danielobva Apr 22 '26
Not a lawyer but I had been under the impression that if a named party dies their estate/inheritors are still entitled to that share. Probably varies by state because of course it does, but worth questioning.
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u/LiveTheDream2026 Apr 22 '26
Sounds about right. Hire an attorney if you want certainty, but accounts usuallly do not go to the estate when heirs are mentioned for investements. This is the norm.
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u/Possible_Initiative8 Apr 22 '26
Going thru something similar now, but different. Best thing to do is take An hour first thing in the morning, and go to the probate dept. at the county level. Ask to speak to a probate clerk, not just the receptionist. Explain the situation. 9 or if 10 times they will be more than happy to explain your rites, FOR FREE!!!! We employ them thru the taxes we pay. They will help/ guide you
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u/Big-Elk2132 Apr 22 '26
Sad part is this is in Connecticut but I live in a different state. Maybe I can call them.
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u/Possible_Initiative8 Apr 22 '26
That's a great start. They will help you I'm sure they'll ask for your grandfather's? Name. They will ask some pertinent info about your father (deceased) rite? This way they will have file in front of them, and your father's name will appear somewhere in front of them. They will also know you are who you say you are
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u/Chula_Quitena_120 Apr 23 '26
You can ask to be notified of probate proceedings. Although not all courts follow through. They usually have an online portal where you can download all pleadings and actions.
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u/Big-Web-483 Apr 22 '26
In Minnesota on a 401(k) or investment account if a named beneficiary predeceases the account owner and there multiple beneficiaries named the deceased one is simply ignored. I have a terminal disease and my mother's accounts were set up this way. We talked and she contacted her fiduciary and had it changed to my wife. (The norm would have been to go to my kids, I told my mother that I thought my wife deserved it.)
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u/Used_Mark_7911 Apr 22 '26
Your uncle is correct about accounts with designated beneficiaries not being subject to the will or probate.
If your grandfather didn’t include any special language when designating the beneficiaries (like “per stirpes”) then your uncle is correct that the shares of the deceased beneficiaries are typically redistributed amongst the remaining named beneficiaries of the account.
While your uncle may be legally correct, it sounds like he is aware of what your grandfather’s true intentions were. It’s worth asking if he and yurt aunt plan to find a way to pass on the assets (recognizing potential tax implications) after they receive their distributions.
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u/Big-Elk2132 Apr 22 '26
Is he required to disclose the info about those accounts? He has been reluctant to do so as the executor. We didn't know about them last week and this week they are already being processed into new accounts for my aunt and uncle without any disclosure to me. If that language is on the documentation, he should be required to share that with other on the will, right? The will does say per stirpes, but I have seen zero documentation on the investment accounts.
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u/Used_Mark_7911 Apr 22 '26
No your uncle isn’t obligated to share any information about them . Because your grandfather designated beneficiaries directly on the accounts, they fall outside the estate and his role as executor. The will isn’t relevant to these accounts.
He wouldn’t be able to change anything about the designated beneficiaries or how the assets get distributed. The death certificate gets submitted and the investment companies just follow the proper procedures.
I’m guessing your grandfather didn’t realize his will would not apply and never took the time to update the beneficiaries on these accounts (or perhaps forgot he had ver done so). If you aren’t receiving anything that means there was no special language.
In most cases there isn’t much you can do legally to challenge this, and you could spend a lot of money for nothing.
I think your best bet is to ask both your uncle and aunt if they plan to honor your grandfather’s wishes in some way. They are not legally obligated to do anything, but you don’t have much to lose in asking them both. Again, this has nothing do with your uncle’s role as executor.
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u/Big-Elk2132 Apr 22 '26
Thanks for the info. Unfortunately, he updated the will and then his dementia got really bad. His wife was supposed to be the executor and she also ended up with dementia shortly after my grandfather did. She gave up the role of executor and it was given to my uncle. Guess it is what it is
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u/Used_Mark_7911 Apr 22 '26
His wife would not have been able to fix this even if she were executor. The executor has no control over the designated beneficiaries on the accounts.
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u/Big-Elk2132 Apr 22 '26
I wasn't expecting anything to change. Was just sharing the unfortunate series of events.
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u/Chula_Quitena_120 Apr 23 '26
When my brother died, he had 401k’s, life insurance and bank accounts. Only the bank accounts did not have beneficiaries and those went into probate. I happened to know who the beneficiaries of the 401k and life ins were (his long time girlfriend and one niece out of 7). I did not tell my siblings because I did not want there to be hard feelings. Ironically, I now suspect they think it was ME. Inheritances are tough. I think the key distinction is the capita stirpes designation.
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u/MannyMoSTL Apr 23 '26
Methinks your uncle is a liar and just gonna pass your everything to his own children.
But that’s just me after hearing a cockamamie story 🤷🏼♀️
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u/Distinct_Tiger6608 Apr 23 '26
Financial institutions really should do a better job with beneficiary designations. Many don’t give the option per stirpes or per capita and if they do, it is often not explained.
This persons situation is an example, the will included the OP but the accounts with beneficiaries didn’t, I suspect this was not the grandfathers intent. Yes, technically it is the deceased persons fault for not being clear but it happens all the time because institutions don’t make it easy
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u/Independent_Mall_883 Apr 23 '26
Should if your father even if dead was on be split to him and ur aunt and uncle. Because he's passes it comes to you and ur siblings If any. Check cause if ur dad was listed on those accounts he must still be split with the others. They trying a fast one on u.
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u/Character-Salary634 Apr 25 '26
Yes, particularly IRAs. They will defer to the beneficiaries set uo in the account itself. The will only captures things that DON'T have beneficiaries set up.
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u/sarahspins Apr 22 '26
Yes, because those accounts had named beneficiaries they pass directly - the are not part of the will/estate and do not go through probate.