my mom passed away and she had a 401k thru kaiser where she worked for 10 years. before that she work at whitter pres hospital for like 15 years. how can i find out if she had a 401k plan thru them as well? and can i combine the two?
2007-09-20 11:15:12 · 2 answers · asked by jesicka 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Personal Finance
Usually when you leave a company you have 90 days to move your 401k before the company sends you a check for the full amount. It is highly unlikely your mother still has the 401k with her previous employer. If you want to double check you can call their HR department.
2007-09-20 12:12:22 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would think in all your Mom's paperwork (which someone needs to go through) that she would have documents relating to a 401k at a previous job. But if there is nothing there, you'd need to call HR at the previous job, find out who handles their 401k (e.g. Vanguard, Fidelity, etc.) and perhaps call them to see if there are any monies to the next of kin.
401k's typically have beneficiaries, so they will not release the money to anyone except the beneficiary. And if no beneficiary, it will need to go to the estate and then be divvied up according to how the estate is settled. You can't just take the money, even if it is yours.
Why combine them if she has passed away? It isn't a 401k anymore per se. Whoever inherits the money will get just that - the money.
2007-09-20 11:23:50 · answer #2 · answered by CG 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋